WUAW

WUAW
City of license Erwin, North Carolina
Broadcast area Fayetteville, North Carolina
Slogan "Voice of the Harnett County Schools"
Frequency 88.3 MHz
Format contemporary hit radio
ERP 3,000 Watts
HAAT 63.0 meters
Class A
Facility ID 9842
Transmitter coordinates 35°20′15″N 78°39′49″W / 35.33750°N 78.66361°WCoordinates: 35°20′15″N 78°39′49″W / 35.33750°N 78.66361°W
Former callsigns What YoU Always Wanted
Owner Central Carolina Community College
Website http://wuawfm.com/about/

WUAW (88.3 FM) is an educational radio station broadcasting an eclectic format that features adult contemporary, alternative rock, and top-40 during the school day. Outside of school hours, the station broadcasts top-40. Licensed to Erwin, NC, USA, it serves the Erwin, Dunn, Coats and Lillington areas.

History

The station signed on the air on Friday May 11, 1990 at 12 noon. The call letters stand for "What U Always Wanted". The first Professional Announcer on the air was Durant Cameron, who was a student the in first class of Radio TV Broadcasting at Triton High School in the fall of 1987. Durant Cameron now works as the Master Control Room Operator at WBTV in Charlotte, NC. Former Superintendent of Harnett County Schools, the late Ivo Wortmann Jr. pushed button to place the transmitter on the air for the first broadcast. The first song played was "A New Day for You" by Basia, from the album entitled "Time and Tide". The students in the Radio TV curriculum Senior Class of 1990 (Susan Avery, James Ball, Carla Hall, Donna Knowles, Jennifer Lucas, Robin Lyons, Melbourne Manning, Reggie McLean, Trisha Murphy, Jay Smith, and Kipp Thompson) were the air personalities on that first day. The students in the Radio TV curriculum Junior Class of 1990 (Ron Barefoot, Ken Blackmon, Kelvin Gilbert, John Jarman, David Kniffen, Michelle Nelson, Chris Peeples, Denise Stone, Julie Walker, and Bill Warren) handled the news, sports and weather on that first broadcast day and until the end of the 1989-1990 school year. Dr. Anthony Harrington, the first Radio TV Curriculum instructor, and a 1977 graduate of the CCTI Radio TV Curriculum closed that first day's activities at 6:00 PM EDST. During the summer of 1990, WUAW's 3000 watt signal with its tower at 191 feet (63 meters) in height has been heard as far north as Emporia, Virginia, and outside Greensboro, North Carolina; and as far south as Ellerbee, North Carolina and Shallote, North Carolina. More students were added to the air staff in the summer of 1990 and they were Doug Butler, Chase Ferrell, Jimmy Hicks, Brian Midgett, and Lamont Smith. W U A W ran a block format of music encompassing top 40, country, Alternative, R and B, Rap, Hip Hop. W U A W also aired public affairs programs from the Southern Baptist Convention: Master Control, Powerline, Country Crossroads, The Baptist Hour, and On Track. Beach Music aired Fridays from 1:00 to sign off. News was aired at the bottom of the hour with Associated Press Teletype, weather at 15 past the hour and sports at 45 past the hour. Music source was TM Century from Dallas, Texas.

The station's first station manager was Dr. Anthony Harrington (1990-1999); Rick Hessman (1999-2000); Ronald McLamb (2000-present). The station is currently owned by Central Carolina Community College as part of its Broadcast Production Technology program. The BPT program at Triton High School, originally called the Radio TV Curriculum until the fall of 1997, is a HUSKINS program that enables students in high school age 16 to 18 to take the course and get both high school and community college credit. This BPT program was started at Triton High School in the fall of 1987. The station is operated by Triton High School students through a contract agreement with Harnett County Schools. Under Ron McLamb's leadership, WUAW covers Triton Hawks High School Football and Basketball games live and WUAW has a website which was originally set up by a McLamb graduate, Justin Godwin. Under the guidance of WUAW Chief Engineer, Dr. Jim Davis and his associates, WUAW now operates 24/7. WUAW not only serves the citizens of Harnett and surrounding countries but is a training facility for possible future broadcasters. As of 2012 the Huskins Program was phased out by the Harnett County Schools in favor of the College and Career Promise Program under the State of North Carolina. This having been said, the decision was made to move the studios and offices of W U A W to the Bob R. Etheridge High Tech Building on the Harnett Campus of Central Carolina Community College located at 1075 East Cornelius Harnett Blvd. in Lillington, NC 27546. Transmitter and tower site would remain 64/100 of a mile east of U.S. Highway 421 or 215 Maynard Lake Road in Erwin, NC. The program of BPT would be open to all 4 high schools (Harnett Central High at Angier, Western Harnett High in Lillington, Triton High in Erwin, and Overhills High in Spring Lake). Students would be able to take the BPT courses in the first and fourth block of their schedules each day. [1]

References

  1. ↑ Dr. Anthony Harrington, Station Manager and BPT Lead Instructor, Triton High School (1988-1999) and Lead History Instructor, Central Carolina Community College, Sanford, NC (1999-2013 retired)

External links