After 43 Years With 97.9 The Hill, Ron Stutts Announces his Retirement

Ron Stutts has been the voice waking up Chapel Hill on WCHL for over 43 years. He first came to WCHL on July 11, 1977 – and on Friday, December 18, 2020, he will host his final morning show.

“It is with mixed emotions that we announce the retirement of the inimitable Ron Stutts,” said Aubrey Williams, general manager of 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com. “His voice has woken up this community for 43 years, and he’s as much the fabric of our town as anything. I will miss working with him every day, but I am also happy for him to get to spend more time with his family and to finally get to sleep in every morning!”

Ron Stutts has been a familiar face in our community, on stage at both Chapel Hill’s Fourth of July fireworks festivities at Kenan Stadium and Carrboro’s Family Fourth celebrations, as well as emceeing too many local events to count over his long career – including officiating a wedding or two!

Through four decades and five Radio Personality of the Year awards from the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters, Stutts has been here for five Tar Heel NCAA basketball championships, numerous football bowl games, both of Mack Brown’s tenures, UNC basketball coaches from Dean Smith to Roy Williams, and multiple mayors, chancellors and university presidents. He has seen this town change dramatically over the years, but still believes “it’s the best place to live.”

Stutts began his radio career at his hometown radio station and went on to work at others in North Carolina. Once he came to WCHL, however, he never wanted to leave. Ron has three children: Kathy Foresta of Cary, Zac Stutts of Boone and Cameron Stutts of Raleigh. He and his wife, Beverly, plan to continue calling Chapel Hill home.

Here’s what Ron had to say about leaving 97.9 The Hill:

“When I first came to Chapel Hill in 1977, I had no idea I would still be here in 2020 hosting the morning show! It’s been a blast and an honor to wake up this community every weekday morning. I hope everyone knows that I have put my heart and soul into this job. Lately, during this pandemic, I’ve been very careful like so many others, and even did the morning show from my kitchen for a couple of months. This just seems like a good time to retire.

Look, I’m 71 years old now, and 43 years is probably long enough doing this gig. The radio station has been here for 67 years, and I realized I’ve been a part of it 2/3 of that time! As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

I can’t say enough about the good times I’ve had here at WCHL, and getting to know this wonderful community. Whether it’s hosting the morning show, covering the Tar Heels, including hosting pre-game football and basketball shows, emceeing the 4th of July festivities in both Carrboro and Chapel Hill, or hosting numerous other local events, I’ve treasured nearly every single moment of it all. I have loved playing the music too – that’s a real passion for me.

There are such great people in this community and it’s been an honor to get to know and work with so many of them. Plus, I really appreciate my loyal listeners and hope we can stay connected. My career here at WCHL has given me the opportunity to work with some really outstanding, talented people, too, and for that I’m truly grateful.

While I know I will miss waking up the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community every weekday, I look forward to being able to sleep later each day! And I’m not going anywhere. Chapel Hill is my home; I’ll still be living here…so I’ll see you around. I just won’t ‘see you on the radio!’”

Please join us in celebrating Ron and his career with 97.9 The Hill WCHL over the next several weeks. Call us at 919-240-6000 and leave a message that we will play on the air, or send us an email with well wishes or pictures of your memories of Ron Stutts at info@chapelboro.com.

After 43 Years With 97.9 The Hill, Ron Stutts Announces his Retirement

On Air Now: 97.9 FM