Tell your story
John Wishon brings lifelong experience and passion
To local broadcasts on radio station WWWC
By Bob Oswald
Foothills Media, Inc. was started in 1994 for the “express purpose” of bringing radio station WWWC back to life, according to owner John Wishon.
“I had always thought that a Christian radio station could make it by offering strong local news, local sports coverage, weather, engaging live and local air personalities, and of course playing great music,” Wishon said.
He was also convinced the business could be successful with advertising sales, rather than asking listeners to donate to the station.
“That has been our model since day one,” Wishon said.
Wishon began the enterprise with two partners. He bought out one in 1996 and the other in 2006.
“I will forever be grateful to Ken Byrd and Alan Combs for allowing a young kid with more passion than talent to be their partner,” he said.
Wishon began in morning radio in the town of Elkin in 1987 doing airshifts, local news, sales, and some live sports broadcasting. Two years later, he took a job at WABZ in Albemarle, NC, where he did morning radio, sales and sports.
“I learned so much in my time there because we were competing with stations in the Charlotte market,” he said.
Leon Reece, who hired Wishon in Elkin, offered him a job in 1991 to come back and manage the AM station WJOS.
“So I moved back home,” he said. “This is 37 years of morning radio.”
But Wishon, who grew up in Surry County in a little community called Zeyphr, between Elkin and Dobson, said his passion for radio began long before that.
“As a boy, I would use my Mickey Mouse record player and a Tinkertoy microphone and pretend to be be introducing Gospel songs on the radio,” he said. “So, yes I am living my childhood dream and doing what I thought I would be doing for a living.”
Wishon credits the success of the station to a “fantastic loyal team of employees.” Angela Henley has been at 3WC since day one, Ted Hayes, Grady Johnson and Keith Briand have worked there for more than 26 years, Mary Doris Coffey has been part of the group for more than 20 years, and for Ethan Rivers, it’s been six years.
“God has blessed us to be more like a family than co-workers,” he said.
As the day begins, Wishon looks forward to working the morning show.
“I love getting up early in the morning,” he said. “The day is new, it’s quiet, and the Bible tells me that God’s mercies are fresh and new every morning.
“Each weekday my mind immediately kicks into gear, thinking about the radio show and what we can do today to brighten our audience’s morning. Hardly a day goes by without a phone call, an email, or a text sharing how a certain song really encouraged them, or a listener saying how much they needed to laugh today.”
But it’s not always about the laughs.
“We also get the tough calls, from people who have just lost their spouse, thanking us for being there as the first voices they hear every morning,” he said. “We have taken calls from listeners who have told us that they were on their way to unalive themselves and tuned in at just the right time. (It was) something they heard, God used it to speak to them to change their mind. That’s why I love morning radio, you never know what opportunities each day will bring.”
Wishon said the best part is working with his morning show partner.
“Ted Hayes has been with me over 26 years and as we approach 7,000 morning shows together, we have never had a cross word. Ted is 30 years older than me so we hardly ever agree about anything on the air, but off the air, I have never had a better friend.”
Wishon said his other passion is being part of a traveling ministry.
“I was saved during a revival meeting in my home church when I was nine years old,” he said. “My parents had sang in Gospel groups my whole life. I started singing with mom and dad when I was 13 years old. I traveled with them for 33 years.”
In 2015, when his parents came off the road, he started River’s Edge Ministries.
“We do around 120 concerts a year, mainly on the weekends. Our tour schedule takes us all up and down the East Coast,” he said.
In 2020, the group, which includes his wife Rebecca and tenor singer John Blackburn, was awarded the coveted Sunrise Artist of the Year in the SGN Scoops fan awards and they have had 13 Top 40 songs in the past nine years. Wishon, who is also a preacher, will preach as some to the services, in addition to the concert.
Rebecca, in her 27th year of teaching physical education at Mountain View Elementary, also runs a successful digital marketing business, and “is a singing machine,” Wishon said. “We both love to travel, and we block several weeks each year off of the calendar and find our way to some beach, somewhere.”
Their son Miles is a junior at North Wilkes High School and daughter Riley graduated from North Wilkes HS and is now studying radiography in college. They also have a dog named Banjo and two cats, Peanut and Butter.
“Between being business owners, working full time, and traveling ministry, our life is very busy but we still manage to make time together a priority,” he said. “Other than my relationship with Jesus, those three bring the most joy to my life and are my greatest responsibility.”
Looking forward, the radio station is planning to introduce a custom 3WC phone app.
“We will also be adding ALEXA skills so that someone will be able to say, ‘Hey Alexa, play Hometown Christian Radio,’ and we will start playing out of their smart speaker,” Wishon said. “It is always a challenge to keep up with changing technology, but we must, or be left behind.”
And he credits those who have stuck with him in the business.
“It goes without saying that we would not have made it over the years without local advertisers who spend money with us each month to get their message to our audience, and they keep coming back because they get results,” Wishon said.
“To say that we have been blessed over the years would be an understatement! This year marks 30 years on the air, as we brought 3WC back on the air July 11, 1994. We were one of the first stations of our genre to start broadcasting on the internet in 1999. Since then, we have added two FM frequencies, 100.1 FM and 103.5 FM.”
For information on 3WC, visit www.hometownchristianradio.com. For information on the ministry, visit www.riversedgegospel.com
