By By Lydia Grimes -features reporter
A guest appearance on WKNU led to the purchase of the radio station.
Jack Floyd had been running advertisements on the station's airwaves for his company, Dura-Med. Hugh Ellington, the owner of the station at the time, invited Floyd to sit in on his morning show, &#8220Rod and Gun.”
Ellington heard about an unusual dog adventure Floyd experienced and invited him to be a guest.
Floyd, a foxhunter, lost one of his dogs in 1996. He looked for him for a few days and finally picked up the dog's signal that was on his collar. Floyd followed the signal right down to a pond and found it was underneath the water. It turns out that an alligator had eaten the dog, but the signal was still going strong.
But the radio show turned out to be more than an opportuntiy to share an unusual story.
After that first visit, Floyd came back and visited for interviews quite often. He was on the air several times while also running ads at the station.
Floyd got his whole family involved in the station. His mother and his sister are in the business, and two of his cousins are regulars on the morning show.
Jim Reynolds and Joey Hutto like it so much that they come to work every morning without even receiving any pay, Floyd said.
In fact, there are only two paid employees. Kristi Bradley is full time, and Carol Ellington, Hugh's wife, has elected to stay on as a part-time employee.
Don't expect many changes in the station's format, Floyd said. The station still airs country music during the week and hosts &#8220Sunday Down South” from 8 to 10 a.m. on Sundays. This show is hosted by various members of area churches.
WKNU will still carry Atlanta Braves games and University of Alabama football. The station has added NASCAR Motor Racing Network to the lineup.
Weekends will be packed with sports, Floyd said, including a special show on Friday nights.
The station has elected not to carry any specific high school game but will instead bring the listener updates of all the area schools' games. The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. and run through late night scores from around the state.
That decision led to &#8220Coyote,” the station's new mascot, which will show up at area games and remote broadcasts.
Floyd said the morning show is picking up new listeners every day.
He, Hutto and Reynolds discuss whatever comes up.
Listeners call in with the answers to trivia questions and a new game the hosts call &#8220Name that Tune.”
They also have birthday and anniversary announcements during this time. At the end of the week a winner is picked to be the &#8220big winner.”
Floyd was born, raised and still lives in Dixonville. He worked at Monsanto for about eight years from 1991 to 1999. In 1995, he, his mother and his sister started their own business. They own and operate Dura-Med (medical supplies), which is in four locations. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Mima, and they have two children, Mallory and Morgan.