To reflect on the year, Chapelboro.com is re-publishing some of the top stories that impacted and defined our community’s experience in 2020. These stories and topics affected Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the rest of our region.

Longtime 97.9 The Hill WCHL morning show host Ron Stutts announced his retirement after 43 years with the radio station. He leaves behind a legacy filled with UNC national championships, numerous Radio Personality of the Year awards and decades being the voice of the mornings in Chapel Hill.

Ron Stutts first came to WCHL on July 11, 1977. On December 18, 2020, Stutts hosted 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!”


“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,” Stutts said. “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.”

A five-time Radio Personality of the Year award winner, Stutts’ tenure with 97.9 The Hill overlapped with five UNC basketball national championships. He witnessed the change from Dean Smith to Roy Williams, both of Mack Brown’s tenures in Chapel Hill and multiple mayors, chancellors and university presidents. Williams called Stutts on December 18 to congratulate him on his retirement.

While Stutts is leaving 97.9 The Hill, he is not leaving Chapel Hill.

“While I know I will miss waking up the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community every weekday,” he said, “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!'”

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