Hull mayor Paul Elkins likes to say the new non-profit radio station coming to his town is “first on the FM dial, first in Hull and first in Madison County.”
And he’s right, WNEE, 88.1, which plans to hit the airwaves late this month, will be the first channel on the FM dial, the first radio station in the county, and certainly a first for Hull.
Lowell Jackson, chairman of the Community Public Radio board that is bringing the station to Hull, and his wife, Penny, were guests at Hull Civic Club’s February meeting for a “get acquainted session” with club and community members and to talk about the new venture.
The station will be based at 55 Easy Street and will feature Christian content.
Jackson explained that everything broadcast below 92 on the dial is non-profit, according to FCC guidelines.
The construction of a radio tower is nearing completion at the site, which sits across from a cell tower on the street.
Jackson explained something of the long process to get to this point, which he said is a dream come true for him.
“Dad was an old-fashioned radio preacher who worked six days a week,” Jackson said, traveling to various towns to preach revivals.
He was only in town one day a week, where he recorded his radio sermons for the week at the radio station in town.
“So, if I wanted to spend time with him I had to go down there and listen in,” he said.
While other boys played ball, Jackson said he played “disc jockey,” pretending to broadcast from his own imaginary radio station.
“It really made an impression on me,” he said.
After graduating from UGA, Jackson moved to Carrollton, where he broadcast from a West Georgia College campus radio station as their newscaster.
“I had to give three 15-minute newscasts per day, in a (then) small town where there was no news,” he said. Eventually, he resorted to announcing fender benders and reading obituaries on air to help fill the time.
Eventually his luck turned and he found himself working with the legendary evangelist Billy Graham for a decade, going in ahead of Graham’s scheduled crusades, doing radio spots and other work to prepare the community for the upcoming event.
Eventually, he and Penny had a daughter and he had promised his wife he would not be traveling dad like his father had been. He settled to doing more local work for Graham, and began a career in the investment business.
He found that more Christians were needed in the media business to help promote Christianity.
“That’s when the seed were planted deep in my heart,” he said.
His family lived in the Atlanta area for many years, and in 1981 he decided to help Community Public Radio (CPR) apply for a radio station in the Atlanta area, where the market is fiercely competitive with ever-more crowded airspace.
Eventually, they moved back to the Athens-area and he found a “window” of air space in the Clarke County/southern Madison County area. After a long and competitive battle, CPR was awarded the air space and started looking around for land to base their tower.
He found land for sale on Easy Street while driving out to look at the cell tower in Hull one day.
He looked up Mayor Paul Elkins, who helped him get more information and welcomed his interest in Hull.
“The mayor liked the idea and made it so easy to come here,” Jackson said.
Jackson explained that the tower and equipment, while located in Hull, will temporarily be controlled remotely from a studio at his home near Watkinsville. He hopes to eventually expand and have the studio on site. The tower is a 150-foot high guide tower with state-of-art equipment, and will be broadcast in HD (high definition) using first-class technology.
“There won’t be a better sound on a nice stereo system,” he said.
Jackson said 88.1 will have a wide range, noting that the signal will be audible to I-20, to Gainesville, to Gwinnett, to Elberton and Royston, and perhaps as far southeast as Washington.
“The station will say broadcasting from Hull, GA,” he said.
Jackson said the station plans to provide “multiple programming formats,” meaning that people with high-definition “HD” radio will be able to pick up three stations from WNEE. There will be the primary station that all radio listeners with an FM radio can hear, but HD listeners could pick up two other frequencies that might include a more talk-oriented format, or perhaps all music.
He said if you go to 88.1 FM right now, you will hear another station on air, but that the station broadcasting from that signal will cease when WNEE signs on.
Jackson said he and Penny would like to see a Bible study format, which they feel is lacking in Christian radio right now, as well as some secular “big band era” music.
“That’s another niche that no one else is addressing,” he said. “Be patient with us; this is an evolving process.”
He also wants to include news and weather, eventually but promises no on-air obituaries or fender benders. And local football games would be another possibility for the future.
“Just stay tuned,” he said, smiling.
Here's another good thing- I was at a Redeemer Presbyterian college gathering last night of about 20 college students and guess what was playing? YOUR STATION! They all really love it and it's the new hip channel!! God bless.