WOKD-FM 98.3 Arcadia

Original Call Letters: WOKD

Originally Licensed: Mar 7, 1977

Original City of License: Arcadia

Original Frequency: 98.3

Original Power: 3,000 watts

Original Location: 201 W. Asbury Street

Original Format: Country Western/Beautiful Music

Network Affiliation(s):

WOKD History
The Tampa Tribune - Tuesday, March 9, 1993
Author: Cheryl Waldrip, Tribune Staff Writer

ARCADIA - Arcadia's only two radio stations, which for 37 years filled the airwaves with country, Christian music and later classic rock, are off the air. WOKD, 98.3 FM, and WKGF, 1480 AM, which survived even bomb threats, closed Tuesday, silenced by a lack of advertising. "I was told to make an announcement that we were having technical difficulty and to shut it down," said Richard Holdsworth, the stations' program director. The transmitter had been broadcasting since Sept. 3, 1955. The closing came as a surprise to the stations' 12 full-time and six part-time employees. "Everybody knew things were tough and that we didn't have a whole lot of advertising," Holdsworth said. "We thought it was not going to happen, and it did. We had no notice." The 2,000-watt signal was picked up by radios from Wauchula to Port Charlotte. The stations, owned by Gulf Dunes Broadcasting Inc. of Long Branch, N.J., had changed their call letters and formats as the company tried in recent years to bring on a revival, Holdsworth said. The Christian station, originally WAPG, switched to oldies for a few months and then back to Christian music and changed its call letters to WKGF, which stood for Keeping God First. The FM station had been country until September 1991, when it changed to WXKT and played classic rock 'n' roll for a year. The decision - which was meant to attract Charlotte County advertisers - was not popular. "We had bomb threats," Holdsworth said. "It was tough for a while. But something had to be done. They just didn't have enough advertising to keep it going." When rock failed to bring in much-needed revenue, the country twang returned last October. "Arcadia's in a bad position," Holdsworth said. "If you're not in cattle or orange groves, what do you do? That filters down to car dealers, who are suffering along with everybody else." Station manager Bill Fowler could not be reached Monday at his home in Orlando. Officials with Gulf Dunes also could not be reached for comment. Holdsworth said Gulf Dunes had been subsidizing the Arcadia stations, but to no avail. "They kept sending money down, but the salespeople just couldn't garner enough advertising to keep it going," he said. The loss of the stations is sad, he said, and means die-hard fans will have to scan the dial listening for a replacement for their favorite sounds. "Anytime a business goes under, it's like a death in the family."

Names In WOKD History

Murray Benton-1977-1981-President/General Manager/Commercial Manager/Chief Engineer-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc.

Ruth Benton-1977-1981Program Director-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc.

Charles Burkhart-1977-1981-Music Director-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc.

Jack Welch-1986-Program Director-Dakos Broadcasting, Inc.

Dixie Dakos-1986-General Sales Manager-Dakos Broadcasting, Inc.

Charles Burkhart-1986-Music Director-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc.

Dennis Hedlund-1989-President

Pearl Lee-1989-Vie President-Gulf Dunes Broadcasting, Inc.

Raymond "Doc" Dougherty-1989-Vice President of Sales-Gulf Dunes Broadcasting, Inc.

Daniel B. Dougherty-1989-Chief Financial Officer-Gulf Dunes Broadcasting, Inc.

Bruce Michaels-1989-Music Director-Gulf Dunes Broadcasting, Inc.

Cindy McLeod-1989-Business Manager-Gulf Dunes Broadcasting, Inc.

Jack Welch-1990-General Manager- Gulf Dunes Broadcasting, Inc.

Tim Shannon-1990-Program Director- Gulf Dunes Broadcasting, Inc.

Suzanne Whitman-1990-Sales Manager- Gulf Dunes Broadcasting, Inc.

Richard Holdsworth-Program Director

Steve Kennedy Biography

Louella Whidden Hollingsworth

Gene Thompson

Kurt Mays

History Of Call Letters and Formats:	WOKD-1977-Country Western/Beautiful Music
	WOKD-1978-Country Western
	WOKD-1989-Traditional Country
	WXKT-1990-Classic Rock
	WKGF-1993-Christian Contemporary
	WWRZ-1996-Simulcast of WKGF-AM 1480

Owner(s):	1977-Arcadia-Punta Gorda Broadcasting Co. Inc.
	1993-Dakos Broadcasting, Inc.