About WAYN

WAYN was founded in 1946 by Wayne M. Nelson of Mooresville. It is one of North Carolina’s earliest radio stations and was the first FCC licensed radio station between Charlotte and Fayetteville.

Bill Futterer, a transplanted New Yorker, became a salesman and ultimately General Manager of WAYN.

His wife, Mary, and sister-in-law Joyce Morris both worked in administration at the station. One of Futterer’s earliest hires was teenager Jim Smith, who used his famous cowbell alarm clock to rouse Richmond County citizens for over 60 years. Read more →