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Mountain Gospel History
WMTC (Winning Men To Christ) Radio
started out on June 30, 1948 as a 1,000 watt station in an old log cabin. The
radio voice of the Kentucky Mountain Holiness Association - WMTC is located in
the town of Vancleve, KY and was on the air approximately 50 hours per week. In
1981 we upgraded to 5,000 watts and broadcast 65-70 hours per week . Surveys
were done over rugged mountain trails - many times on foot to make this change
in power. The tower had to be dismantled and moved from the campus of the Bible
College to a hill near the studio. A second tower was donated to the radio;
that tower had to be dismantled and moved from Chattanooga, TN. What a joy to
be able to have more power and bring the gospel to more people!
In November of 1991 WMTC-FM began.
The call letters remained the same but the meaning changed - WMTC (Winning Many
To Christ). This would greatly expand the listening audience and the number of
gospel programs to the mountains. All programming was simulcast with the FM
running 24 hours a day and the AM from sun-up to sun-down. In October
2006 we assumed a new image and became Mountain Gospel.
We have gone from playing programs
and music live on the air from reel-to-reel, records, and cassette tapes to
putting CDs and cassettes into the computer and letting the computer play them.
This has increased our production time and cut down on the amount of time that
the staff actually spends on the air. Since we don’t have many staff members
that are DJs this has been a big help. We receive student help from Kentucky
Mountain Bible College which makes it possible for us to function.
We are currently exploring an
increase in power on the AM.
WMTC staff live by faith. There is
no salary attached to working at the station. Housing, utilities, and food
items are furnished.
The first General Manager was
Wilfred Fisher - he held that job from 1948-1978.
Seldon Short became General Manager
in 1978. Seldon started working at WMTC as a student in November of 1951.
He and his wife, Janet, came on as full-time staff in 1958. Janet retired in
1998. Seldon was involved in a near-fatal auto accident on December 8,
2003. He has endured many nights in the hospital, several
surgeries, and rehab as a result. He retired in July 2006.
Kenneth Amspaugh has worked at the
station almost since its beginning. He has taken some time off to serve in the
military and serve on the mission field but has been a part of WMTC since 1948.
He recently retired from his job as Chief Engineer but continues to work part
time. His wife, Faith, is a former member of the staff.
Jennifer Cox came on as staff
in August of 2002. She has two boys, Dustin - 15 years old, and Bradley - 13
years old. She brought some secretarial skills with her so she became office
manager and program director. Jennifer was named Assistant General Manager
after Seldon’s accident. Upon Seldon's resignation, Jennifer was named General
Manager.
Dennis and Theresa Kerley came back
on staff in April of 2003. They had previously worked here June 2001 - August
2002. Dennis is Assistant Engineer and Computer Technician. Theresa works in
the mornings as a DJ on WMTC FM. They have a nine year old son, Dennis IV.
Though the music and programs have
changed down through the years the message has remained the same. The goal is
to bring Christian programming to the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. If you
have not yet listened to us, turn your AM dial to 730 and FM dial to
99.9 for all your favorite Southern Gospel music. Mountain
Gospel operates under a board of directors that oversees the format of the
radio station.
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