The Women in My Life

By Joel Williams

I know. The title seems like it would be from a T.G. Sheppard country song or maybe from a bad TV reality show, but it came to mind after my co-host Rebecca Biddy mentioned on the morning show recently that my life is “filled with women.” She’s not wrong.

I’m a “girl dad” with two fantastic daughters. I also have a sister, three very cool aunts, had two inspiring grandmothers, a very special great-grandmother, and I even remember my great-great-grandmother. Then there’s my mom, who was awesome and incredibly supportive of my career. I’m pretty sure she was the only person who actually listened to those early Sunday morning shifts during my first year of radio. And no, I haven’t forgotten my wife, B.J. We worked together at several radio stations. In fact, we met when I was applying for a job at a station where she worked, and our mutual friend George Mason Dixon set us up on a blind date. Maybe I’ll share that story in a later blog. Heck, most of my dogs have been female, too. So yes, I’ve had a lot of women in my life, including the aforementioned Rebecca on the morning show and the Girl Next Door, Madison Parker, who drops by on a regular basis.

With that said, there are four women who really made big contributions to my radio career. The first was my junior high guidance counselor Barbara Shirley. I had Mrs. Shirley for an open period during the last half of my 9th grade year. She knew I was interested in radio and it just so happened that a new station was opening in my hometown that spring. She suggested I attend the grand opening and sign-on ceremony. She even gave me permission to leave school and walk the six blocks to the studio. What a day it was! Little did I know that three years later I would have a job at the station working those Sunday mornings I mentioned.

I kept that first job in radio for two years before landing my second job at a station owned by the other three women whom I owe so much: Linda Dotson, Sandra Fowler and Edith Chambers. They owned Country Love 1130 WLBA in Gainesville, Ga. Linda and Sandra were the heartbeat of the station. They both sold advertising, managed the staff, developed promotions and ran day-to-day operations, while Edith was a silent partner with another occupation.

WLBA was part of a market that had two other AM stations and two big FM stations. It had the disadvantage of being a daytime station, which meant it was only on-air during daylight hours. It also meant you had to work a lot harder to compete against the other stations. Nevertheless, that’s exactly what Linda and Sandra did. They fine-tuned a country format - the only one in town. They advertised on billboards and in the local newspapers and even printed their own Top 30 playlist each week and placed those flyers in area record stores. The the biggest and best idea they had, though, was the annual “Acre in the Country” promotion. Each year they would buy an acre of land in the country and give it away. Over a two-month period, listeners would register to win the piece of property. Then, WLBA would have all the qualifiers gather for a big country picnic at a local park where one person would win the land. I think it was one of the best radio promotions ever, making WLBA a hit with listeners and advertisers alike, despite the challenge of being a daytime station only.

Linda and Sandra treated all of us like family, and that was never more evident than about six months into my tenure at WLBA. They hired a new program director from another market, and after a few weeks, he suggested the ladies make several changes, including firing me. I’m still not sure why. I was 19 years old, eager to learn and thought I got along well him. Linda refused to go along with his plan, so he told her he would start looking for another job and leave as soon as he found one. If he said that hoping for a counteroffer, he got one - but not the kind he expected. Linda told him she considered it his two-week notice, and as soon as she found a new program director, he would no longer be needed. She had a new PD in place within two days, and I’ve never seen or heard from that person again.

I owe so much to Linda and Sandra and consider them two of my greatest radio heroes. Who knows what would have happened if I had lost my job. Again, Rebecca was correct. I have had many women in my life - great women - and I am thankful.

Thanks for taking time for this. See you on the radio!

Joel