Thousands of students and volunteers have worked at the Volunteer State Community College radio station over the years. Now WVCP-FM is welcoming back those alumni to celebrate the 40th anniversary of 88.5 FM. An open house will be held on Saturday, March 16 at the studios in the Ramer Building on the Vol State campus in Gallatin. The tours and events run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors will have the opportunity to see the latest studios and have lunch at noon. Station Manager Howard Espravnik said he is excited to see the many DJs and students who participated in community broadcasting at WVCP.
“I think it will be a lot of fun to see so many of our former WVCP students and volunteers. When you talk to students that you haven’t seen in many years, it’s always interesting to learn about what types of employment they’ve had and their many accomplishments,” Espravnik said.
People are asked to register so the college knows how many people may attend. Attendees should visit www.eventbrite.com and then search for WVCP.
WVCP took to the airwaves on January 4, 1979. The groundwork for the station was led by Sammy Parker and Terry Arnold. James Milliner was radio station chief engineer in 1979, in addition to his full-time job in maintenance at the college. He continues today in a part-time role at WVCP. Skip Sparkman was a broadcast instructor at Vol State for many years. In 1983 he was instrumental in getting the station an increase from 300 to 1,000 watts of power. Espravnik arrived at Vol State in 1986 and has been with the station for the more three decades. His work included rebuilding the station after the studios took a direct hit from an F-3 tornado in 2006.
For more information about the WVCP anniversary open house call 615-230-3218.
Pictured: Garret Miller does his WVCP radio show in October 2008.
