For the third year in a row, the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters (NCAB) named 97.9 The Hill WCHL its Non-Metro Station of the Year and the winner of its statewide Community Involvement Award.
The honors, which were announced on Thursday during the association’s annual Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Broadcasting luncheon, are presented for the Chapel Hill radio station’s efforts in 2022 calendar year. The awards, however, are given as WCHL is celebrating its 70th year of broadcasting in the community.
The NCAB Awards Program is sponsored annually by the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters and is intended to recognize outstanding achievement by North Carolina radio and television broadcasters, while encouraging high standards of reporting, community service and production creativity. The Non-Metro Station of the Year goes to the top radio station not included in the Large Market or Medium Market categories. Meanwhile, the Radio Community Involvement Award is given to the one station that contributes the most to a community’s well-being through its operations, events, and efforts to give back.
Since the Radio Community Involvement Award debuted in 2021, 97.9 The Hill WCHL has won it each time. The 2023 Station of the Year recognition is also WCHL’s third consecutive win — after also winning the Non-Metro division in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. No NCAB awards were held during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
97.9 The Hill WCHL General Manager Aubrey Williams (left) joins WCHL alum and Master of Ceremonies Mick Mixon on-stage to accept an award during the 2023 NCAB Awards Luncheon.
“We are incredibly honored to have received this recognition from the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters,” said Aubrey Williams, the general manager of WCHL. “As we celebrate our 70th year in business, we continue to adhere to the operational standards that were set by those who came before us. We take our mission — to educate, inform, and entertain — very seriously. We couldn’t do what we do every day without the amazing support of our community. And personally, I want to say a big thank you to the staff of 97.9 The Hill WCHL, who give of themselves tirelessly. Ours is truly a labor of love and this recognition means so much.”
Beyond the Station of the Year title and Community Involvement Award, WCHL has also seen its morning show anchors earn the NCAB Non-Metro Personality of the Year honor. Ron Stutts earned the recognition in 2015, 2015, 2018, and 2019 — while Aaron Keck earned the title in 2021 and 2022.
97.9 The Hill WCHL was founded in Chapel Hill in 1953 and celebrated its 70th birthday in January as the town’s oldest broadcaster. It is owned by the Chapel Hill Media Group, which purchased the station with Rudd Media in 2015, and resides in University Place mall in Chapel Hill. More history about the station can be found here, while a list of prior awards won by 97.9 The Hill can be found here.
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