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WOKC Disc Jockeys
| HOWDY I’M BILLY
DEAN, MORNING SHOW HOST FOR AM 1570 WOKC,
OKEECHOBEE’S CLASSIC COUNTRY. AFTER TWENTY YEARS IN
AGRICULTURE, I ANSWERED AN AD IN THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER
ABOUT A CAREER IN BROADCASTING. AFTER THREE MONTHS
OF “UNPAID” TRAINING AT A LOCAL RADIO STATION IN FT.
MYERS, I WAS HIRED AS A BOARD OPERATOR. DURING MY
FIRST STAFF MEETING WITH MY “THIRD” PROGRAM DIRECTOR
I WAS HIRED FOR THE OVERNIGHT SHIFT 12AM-6AM. AFTER
THREE MONTHS ON THE JOB, MY PROGRAM DIRECTOR SEEMED
TO GET A LOT SMARTER, HE SOON PAIRED ME WITH A
THREE-TIME CMA NOMINEE FOR BROADCAST PERSONALITY OF
THE YEAR ON MORNING DRIVE. ALTHOUGH WE ENJOYED A
VERY SUCESSFUL FIVE YEAR RUN, THE STATION DECIDED TO
GO IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION AND SO DID I. I HAD
ALWAYS WANTED TO HOST MY OWN MORNING SHOW, SO AFTER
A VERY PRODUCTIVE BREAKFAST INTERVIEW WITH ONE OF
THE OWNERS OF GLADES MEDIA, I WAS OFFERED MY CURRENT
POSITION AT AM 1570 WOKC. AFTER FOUR YEARS, I CAN
HONESTLY SAY THAT I HAVE THE “GREATEST” JOB IN THE
WORLD, WHERE ELSE CAN A CRAZY REDNECK WITH A “BELLY
LAUGH” PLAY “CLASSIC COUNTRY MUSIC” EVERY DAY AND
ENTERTAIN LISTENER’S WITH A DEMENTED SENSE OF HUMOR.
I AM VERY FORTUNATE TO WORK WITH A TEAM OF
OUTSTANDING PEOPLE AT WOKC WHO I CONSIDER NOT JUST
CO-WORKER’S, BUT PRETTY DARN CLOSE TO “FAMILY”. I AM
A DIVORCED FATHER WITH TWO KIDS, AGES 14 & 21, WHO
STILL CANNOT BELIEVE THAT DAD GETS PAID “TO TALK”
FOR A LIVING. I AM A HUGE COUNTRY MUSIC FAN AND A
SPORTS JUNKIE. MY FAVORITE SPORTS ARE FOOTBALL AND
NASCAR. MY FAVORITE TEAMS ARE “THE FLORIDA GATORS”
AND “THE MIAMI DOLPHINS”. MY FAVORITE DRIVERS ARE
DALE JARRETT AND DALE EARNHARDT JR. IN MY SPARE TIME
I LOVE TO BBQ RIBS, STEAK, CHICKEN, HAMBURGERS,
HOTDOGS AND DRINK BEER. |
Billy Dean |
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| Lew has over 30
years in radio with extensive network experience.
Lew's Country experience includes working at
Denver's KYGO, and programming a country network in
the mid-90's based in Branson, Missouri. Major
individual stations Lew has worked at include
Phoenix stations KUPD (morning drive), KZZP, and
Gene Autry-owned KOOL. Lew was top-rated in morning
drive at Tucson's regional 10 kw KTKT, and middays
at Southwest Giant 50 kw KRMG, Tulsa. Lew was raised
on a farm in the Ozarks, and remembers the first
time he was actually paid to play records. It was at
age 13 on the p.a. system at a Harrison, Arkansas
shoe store and he made $3. The clerk who hired him
later became Porter Wagoner's bass player! |
Lew Jones |
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| Marty Montell
is a veteran 30-year plus radio personality having
worked at such stations as legendary NBC
owned-and-operated WKYC in Cleveland and several
major signals in Denver. His country experience
includes WXEX-TV/WLEE radio in Richmond, and
regional powerhouse WWVA in Wheeling, WV where he
participated in that station's legendary Wheeling
Jamboree which, along with the Grand Ole Opry, is
one of the surviving country "barn dance" programs.
In Denver, he worked at former country outlet KLZ,
and at recent country-station-of-the-year KYGO. His
first job was at an Ohio station so small that the
transmitter studios were in a cow pasture which was
in active use. With an open-door policy due to no
summertime air conditioning, very friendly cows
would sometimes poke their heads into the studio and
moo right in the middle of the latest news. Talk
about Country Radio! |
Marty Montell |
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| A true veteran
of the Radio Wars, Bill has served as a liner voice
of WLS, Chicago in the 1960s, was morning drive
personality at KAYO, Seattle and KQV, Pittsburgh,
and did afternoon drive at KPEN, San Francisco, KGON,
Portland, and KIMN, Denver. Other credits include
evenings on KOMA, Oklahoma City's awesome skywave
signal; and air work at KISN, Portland and KYGO in
Denver. For a time, he air-commuted, working
simultaneous jobs as KAYO Seattle morning drive and
KGON Portland afternoons. Talk about frequent-flyer
miles! Bill's earliest radio memory: Touring an
Oklahoma City radio station at age 7 and being so
impressed that he and a friend went home and built
their own pirate radio station! |
Bill Western |
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Hello everyone.
I’m David Lee and I host the Saturday morning
Yard/Garage Sale show from 7am until noon. I was
born and raised in Ohio called Enon. Backwards it
spells None, which is pretty much what is there. I
moved to Florida 15 years ago and then to Okeechobee
about 3 years ago.
I started back in the 1980’s DJ’ing for friends
parties and then became a substitute DJ for an FM
station in Ohio called the “Country Rebel”. Since
then, I have continued my DJ business doing weddings
and Karaoke all over the state. When Billy told me
of the opening there I jumped on the opportunity to
start back in radio. I’ve been doing the Saturday
morning show for about 5 months now.
I work with great, fun people here at WOKC and
couldn’t ask for a crazier family to be a part of.
During my spare time I try to spend time with the
family. The kids are 14 and 13 so you know it is a
constant challenge. I love NASCAR (go Jeff Gordon!)
and going to the Moose and VFW in Buckhead Ridge
where I live. And, of course, hosting Karaoke is
always fun with the variety of people who sing. |
David Lee |
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