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10 Questions with ... Grover Collins
April 21, 2019
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. Well, obviously long before me, there was just a lot of people that cared very deeply about the product that went over the air, as we do now. That hasn't changed. I literally feel like I'm just a captain of an aircraft carrier. It's been in the water long before I came along, and it'll be here long after I'm gone. My job is to keep the needles out of the red and don't crash it into the reef
"I literally feel like I'm just a captain of an aircraft carrier. It's been in the water long before I came along, and it'll be here long after I'm gone. My job is to keep the needles out of the red and don't crash it into the reef."
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
As Hubbard Radio's Country WUBE (B105) celebrates its 50th year in the format, we continue our spotlight series on the station by chatting with Grover Collins, a veteran of more than three decades in radio who serves as PD of both B105 and sister Country station WYGY (97.3 The Wolf).
1. When did you start with the station?
I was hired in August of '97 as APD/on air. There was a gap in there. In October of '01, I moved to our sister station, Pop Q102 [WKRQ], to be middays/APD there. They needed some help, and I was the type, so I left B105 from '01 through '09 when I came back as the PD.
2. Looking back over your time at B105, what are some of the memories that stand out for you?
I've never worked for a radio station that just has such a presence in the community, and has just iconic call letters. Fifty years obviously means a lot, but multiple generations of listeners that have grown up [on us]. And Duke Hamilton, his 41 years on the air here is unmatched by anything in this market, so he stands out. Anytime we do a show, you just have a feeling of knowing that there's so many listeners that just feel like it's just a part of their lives. I've just never really had that experience working at any other radio station.
3. What do you think the secret sauce is that would account for the longevity of the station in the same format in a time when that's just so rare?
Well, obviously long before me, there was just a lot of people that cared very deeply about the product that went over the air, as we do now. That hasn't changed. I literally feel like I'm just a captain of an aircraft carrier. It's been in the water long before I came along, and it'll be here long after I'm gone. My job is to keep the needles out of the red and don't crash it into the reef.
4. Great quote. What else makes the station special?
It goes back to the listeners. I know I may or may not sound kind of dorky, but when we're at a show - like a Luke Bryan show, or a Jason Aldean show -- and our station is set up right near the entrance of the venue, and there's a line of listeners that want to take pictures in front of our van with The Big Dave Show, or [afternoon hosts] Amanda & Jesse, or Duke, I've just never seen it before, or been a part of anything this intense with a relationship between a radio station and its listeners in my 33 years in radio. I mean, we're a fabric of the community, you know?
5. Let's talk more about Duke. An incredible 41 years on the air there. What do you hear about him most when you go out into the market?
We have a saying over here: WWDD - What would Duke do? Duke's absolutely one of the kindest, warmest, most generous, good-hearted people that I've ever been involved with, or been a friend of. After all this time, in our music meetings, I always look to him for his opinion on new music because his ears are still very well tuned to what's a hit. Not only a hit, but obviously a good fit for B105. Why would I pass up that immense history and knowledge for the Duker? And he just sounds right at home. I mean, he's still banging #1 ratings in middays for us.
6. Are there some memories that stand out for you in particular about times or ways that you've felt like you really served the community, like during a crisis or a severe weather event? Something like that where you know you made a difference in people's lives?
I was on the air for over six hours straight on 9/11 with a co-worker on B105, Pistol Pete Miller. It was a job that neither one could do by ourselves, so we just hopped on together. That was very intense, so that's burned in my memory.
Other things for me, I remember a very special day, we celebrated big time on our 30th anniversary, obviously 20 years ago, back in '99. That was a fun day. We had artists call in, and we had some past DJs come back on the air and talk about their time on 'UBE. Stuff like that. That was a one-day event. Our plan this year is to make [the 50th anniversary] like maybe a six or seven month event. We're going to celebrate the entire summer.
7. Run us through everything upcoming you have planned for the 50th anniversary.
Jason Aldean's concert here on August 22nd is going to be the official B105 50th birthday bash. [It will have] Carly Pearce and Kane Brown opening, and we're getting the presents for the show. We're going to give away a ton of tickets.
We're going to do a bunch of fun stuff with our local company, Graeter's [Ice Cream], and some local icons like Skyline Chili throughout the summer. That's going to be a big one.
Carly Pearce is from here, she grew up listening to B105. When she came to do her radio tour, she said, "My two dreams as a little girl was to have my song played on B105 and play on the Riverbend [Music Center] stage," and she's now had both those dreams come true, so that's pretty cool.
8. How about on the air?
There will be special imaging throughout the year. I have many artists that are congratulating us on our 50th anniversary, and the slug line is "I am B105," so it's going to be pretty cool to hear Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney and Blake Shelton all saying, "I'm Garth Brooks, and I am B105." To hear a legend like Garth Brooks saying something like that on your airwaves is really cool.
9. Anything else in the works?
We do a big charity we started last year with Big Dave's show in the morning that's called One Pet, One Vet, [where] we try to raise money for service dogs for local military that may be suffering from PTSD and need a little extra help. These dogs are $25,000 each, and we were able to raise enough for two dogs last year. So we're going to be doing a lot of things that will help raise money for that again in June. We have some artists that go above and beyond and give us, like, an extra meet and greet pair of tickets that we can put on to raise money for that.
10. Finally, how does it feel to kind of be the keeper of the legacy working at a station with that kind of heritage?
How do I put this in words? I would say proud, humbling, knowing the history of the station. The station is the star, absolutely. We all feel that way. Every jock knows. It's like, B105 will be here after we're gone, and we're just here to keep it on the rails. To all those that were here before us, a profound and humble thank you. We will continue to do our best to proudly represent Cincinnati, the entire Tri-state, and Country music.
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