WMLR radio returns to air adding youthful flare

Plugging in commercials during ball games is how the gig started.  Not such a bad job for a high school kid who loves radio. 

Extraordinary amounts of rain flooded the station in May, damaging not only carpet, but the studio production room and the transmitter, forcing the small AM station off the air.  And it appeared it could force Jordon Hensley out of a job too.

Then the pieces starting falling into place.

Grace Broadcasting, who purchased WMLR about three years ago and who changed the format from local news, information and music to talk radio, decided to sell.

Two brothers whose roots run deep in Lewis County’s history, purchased the station and began searching for the right format to bring the radio station back to the people, so to speak.

While an employee of Grace Broadcasting, “I found Jordon through a school  to work program,” said Ronnie Brewer, host of “Morning Coffee with the Brew Crew”  “He is a dependable, reliable young man...and he likes radio.”  He operated the sound board during ball games last year.

So when Brewer and his brother, Robert, bought the station, they wanted to keep Jordon.  But with advertising down, financially, it was not possible.

In June Ronnie was prompted to call the South Central Tennessee Workforce Alliance to learn more of a summer youth program, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

What he discovered helped him keep a trained employee and saved Jordon’s job.

The program pays qualified youth, through age 24, minimum wage to work four days a week.  The young people attend a mandatory class the fifth day to learn career essentials such as budgeting, resume and cover letter writing, and stress management from a professional facilitator.  

Evaluating, monitoring, coaching and training the youth along the way, is another essential part of the program, Tanya Juday, Lewis County’s coordinator said.  She visits job sites for the 50 youth employed in Lewis County this summer and talks with employers to keep things running smoothly.  The young people are taught about proper work attire, attitude, the value of punctuality and other essentials with regard to successful employment.  It is Juday’s job to monitor the relationship between the employer and the young employee.

“The first thing that impressed me is the orientation.  The youth are the customer,” Juday said.  “We are here to serve them.  My respect level for the program went up” when I learned this.  “We impress upon them--this is all about them.  It is up to each youth whether they make it or not,” she added.

“Work experience is the link between school and career, and this program gives employers an opportunity to provide much needed on-the-job mentoring,” Jan McKeel, Executive Director for the South Central TN Workforce Alliance said of the project.

Getting back to “community” is the result:  youth training at home with adults who have a vested interest in the success.

And to further bridge the generation gap, Jordon has employed his grandmother, a music buff in her own right, for trivia and hit recording from the past, research assistance.

In the meantime, check out  oldies from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.  “Flashbacks with Jammin Jordon” airs on WMLR AM 1230, Mondays through Fridays 3 p.m. until 8 p.m.  Jordon will have guests most evenings to help him pass the time before he heads to the University of Tennessee at Martin in the fall.