By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Everybody has a favorite radio station growing up. That was the topic of conversation at Thursday's Great Bend Chamber of Commerce Coffee at Eagle Media in Great Bend. The event not only celebrated all things radio, but also a big anniversary for KHOK, 100.7 Eagle Country. On-air personality Phil Grossardt has been along for the ride the entire time.
"What we're talking about today is the 30th anniversary of the format change because KHOK shifted gears and went from a pop-contemporary format to country on Aug. 9, 1994," Grossardt said. "The station went on the air in October 1978."
Paul Kelly was the original owner of KHOK, which was once located on Hoisington's Main Street where the Cardinal's Nest is now located. Grossardt was hired in August 1979, followed by Scott Donovan in 1983, and Rick Nulton in 1988.
Bob Schmidt, the owner of Eagle Communications, showed interest in buying KHOK and did just that in October 1988, bringing in Nulton as the general manager. Shortly after that, KHOK changed locations to West 10th Street in Great Bend. At the time, KVGB AM and FM were experiencing some difficulties. Schmidt took advantage and purchased both stations, moving KHOK to its current location at 12th Street and Baker Ave. in Great Bend in April 1995.
At that time, KVGB's FM station was 104.3 on the dial and played country music. It was beating KHOK's pop format in all the ratings. Donovan approached Nulton about making the switch at KHOK from pop music to country with the believe they could do it better. The switch was made on Aug. 9, 1994.
"He's not here today, but if anybody should be remembered, as far as I'm concerned, as the father of KHOK, it's Scott Donovan," Grossardt said. "Scott created, crafted, and cultivated KHOK more than anybody. There are still a lot of things that Scott put into place that are still in place today."
100.7 Eagle Country became the area leader in the format. KVGB's FM station turned to B104.3 The Point, and Eagle added its fourth radio station, now known as Hits 106.9, in April 2001. Eagle Media now serves several markets across Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri.
"With our more than 28 radio stations, we're able to reach more than 5 million sets of ears over four or five states," said Great Bend General Manager Dakota Tucker. "We have an opportunity to impact a lot of people. We like to think we have a good opportunity to impact the Great Bend area, and we continue to reach out our hand and try to help businesses and organizations to make our communities better."
One attendee asked how radio can thrive in the era of digital streaming. Tucker reminded everyone of Eagle's many giveaways, including the Trax to the Max presented by Sutherlands, Farmers Bank & Trust, Eldridge Fencing, and Ehler Chevrolet, Together Let's Drive, on Aug. 9.
"As far as competing with it, there is no competition between traditional radio and streaming platforms," he said. "We continue to own 93 percent of listeners' ears that listen to the actual radio. To combat that technology shift, we have opportunities to listen online. You can download a listening app for the radio station on your phone. You can go to greatbendpost.com and click on a link to listen on your computer at work. Those are ways we're trying to mirror some of those competitive things, but we continue to own the market. We do that by being local. You turn on Pandora. Pandora's not local."
One finalist for the Trax to the Max Giveway will win a 2024 Cayenne Orange Chevy Trax at Ehler Chevrolet on Aug. 9. The contest begins at 7 p.m. and will be live-streamed on the Great Bend Post Facebook page.