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WGWD is the brainchild of three old broadcast
engineers who own the station. “Smokin’” Joe Colson,
Jimmy “Gabby” DeVane and Monte “Buckshot” Bitner have
all spun records at one time or another and WGWD-FM
reflects their love of radio and country music.
“Smokin’” Joe Colson earned his nickname the day he was
fine-tuning a transmitter and it burst into flames and
ever since then he’s been known for “tuning for maximum
smoke.”
Gabby? The boy sings, he plays bass, loves country and
bluegrass. He has been a disc jockey since Marconi
singed on and well… he never quits talking!
How did Monte get the nickname “Buckshot”? He’s not
telling, but he has over forty-six years behind the mike
and spent forty-four of ‘em in Quincy! Never did get
back to Nashville!
Not one of a thousand, this station is one in a million.
Absolutely unique, locally owned and goes back to a time
when radio reflected the community, when Conway Twitty,
Merle Haggard and George Jones did the singing and you
could call in to request a song. It recalls a time when
a station had the responsibility to deliver the news and
be a good citizen, with public service announcements for
fish-fries and blood drives. At WGWD, we still
play that kind of radio… take a listen and enjoy. |
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Her air-name is Calico and she’s as down-to-earth as
the name suggests… a Georgia girl who grew up on the
shores of Florida’s Lake Okeechobee, she has been
listening to country music as long as she can remember.
Today she plays that same music Tuesday nights from
seven ‘til eleven, with the soft side of classic
country, easy and romantic. Wednesday thru Friday she
teams up with Jack to play all-request music, chat with
country stars, give away passes and prizes on the show
that’s the most fun you can have on radio ‘round here.
Jack is a good ol’ boy from Gadsen County who loves his
“night job” as a country DJ, his Florida Gators and his
family, which includes a flock of grandkids. Jack’s
knowledge of country music in encyclopedic and nothing
tickles him more than playing a really obscure request
on the “Jack and Calico Show” heard Wednesday thru
Friday nights. “They stump us sometimes,” he says, “but
not often.” The fun of chatting with country’s stars of
the past, present and future and the folks who call in
is a bonus for Jack.
 Trooper
Jim
Our resident trooper has just the ticket for you… the
best of bluegrass and country on Monday and Saturday
nights.
A retired State Trooper, Jim is still active in the
reserves. In the 1950’s, he was a country DJ in
Jacksonville, went into law-enforcement, but kept his
love for radio and music.
Today, he owns an enormous collection of country
recordings, literally thousands of CD’s and records. If
you ask him, he’ll pick a pretty mean five-string banjo
for you… or take you hunting or fishing.
Jan
G. Rogers – Public Affairs/Production/Creative
Made his first broadcast in 1958 and hasn’t shut up
since. After a thirty-five-year career in broadcasting
including television, radio and satellites, he retired,
got bored, came to work part-time at WGWD. Jan
writes and produces most of the commercials you hear and
asks awkward questions on the weekly public affairs
show, “Gadsen Journal.” “Don’t know whether I’ll sign
off or die first,” says Jan, “stay tuned and find out.”
Monte
Bitner—Drive Time Personality
A Tennessee boy who came to Quincy to work for a few
months back in 1962, he somehow never quite got back to
Tennessee. Monte’s Tennessee drawl is as much a part of
mornings in this neck of the woods as the rooster’s crow
and breakfast. After a long day’s work, Monte gets you
home again with homespun observations on the music and
the passing parade. Says he’s glad to have the job and
as long as he’s a part owner of the station, he plans to
keep it. |
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