At 101Q, Eric Loy, Program Director and Afternoon Drive Personality, threaded up my reel to reel audition tape of my on air work at WBTY for a listen. Following the 5 minute condensed show, he nodded and asked if I could return the following weekend for a tour of Brunswick and The Golden Isles and a discussion of the Evening Show position that was available. 

The Q was a major step up from WBTY's less powerful signal and remote location. WPIQ was a behemoth Class C, 100,000 watt signal that covered the entire Georgia coast from Savannah to Jacksonville and roughly a two hour drive inland. For the most part, it’s the highest power FM signal you can get. There are none in Northeast areas like New York, Philadelphia or Boston. The most powerful stations that you see there are a handful of Class B 50,000 watt FM’s. You don’t need high power to cover densely populated areas. In New York, you’d have to give the current temperature for Boston with a Class C.  I have no idea how far out to sea our signal went.

 101Q was also a Key Emergency Broadcast System Radio Station, meaning that if there was a significant event, other stations in the area would defer to us for governmental information and instructions. The broadcast tower was behind the station building in a low lying area not far from the actual coastline that blasted the signal off the Marshes of Glynn.

The operation was a cutting edge live assist automation system for 1981 with music on big fifteen inch reels supplied by Drake Chenault, one of the premier radio station consultants of the day. The auto system was in the adjacent room to the on air control room, visible through a soundproof glass window.  All the recorded commercials were placed in tape carousels that rotated to the correct selection. In the control room, there was a Collins rotary pot control board, a sleek and silver rectangular state of the art Sennheiser microphone and an automation system controller to stop the system at will and do live DJ announcing. I didn’t have to touch anything else. It was a far cry from the two station operation in Lake City. This place was truly uptown for the day. Another soundproof glass window looked out directly to the lobby where Fatima performed her receptionist duties. Off to the right was was the WYNR studio, our Urban formatted sister station.  Dr. Love was the Morning Show DJ there and I had attended Jones College with him. It was a pleasant surprise to see the good Doctor there.

Dick Buckeloo was the young General Manager at 37 years old.

Eric arranged for me to stay at his home on Jekyll Island the following weekend for the area tour and second interview.

I knew right away that I wanted to be there. It was like jumping off a sinking ship into a lifeboat. I envisioned doing Top 40 radio with good living on the beach.