WRAC (103.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Country music format. Licensed to Georgetown, Ohio, USA, the station is owned by Dreamcatcher Communications. History
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The station was assigned the call letters WIAO on 1981-06-05. On 1981-10-16, the station changed its call sign to the current WRAC.
WRAC was originally founded and placed on the air by Virginia Purdy as part of the Ohio River Broadcasting Association (ORBA). The studios started out with its creme and blue colors scheme, in a converted barn/garage on Virginia's personal property in West Union. The transmitter was placed on Spencer Mountain, roughly 10 miles west of West Union and one mile north of the pan handle. Gene Bowen (formerly of WURD provided much of the logistical help in getting the station on the air. The studios and transmitter site were furnished with state of the art equipment. The station was one of the first in the area to originate high fidelity remote broadcasts using link backs by transmitter rather than conventional phone lines.
The first primary hosts were Virginia Purdy (afternoon talk), Gene Bowen (morning drive), Phil Swayne (lunch block), Ted Foster (evenings) and Dan Ramey (afternoons). Jeff Hall and Jeff Scott joined soon afterward. Jeff Hall replacing Dan Ramey afternoons, and Jeff Scott providing engineering support, remote broadcast setup and vacation fill-in support. Jeff Scott later worked stints in morning drive and lunch block.
Gene Bowen, Jeff Hall, and Jeff Scott left successful previous positions at WURD to join WRAC. Gene Bowen, Phil Swayne, Jeff Hall, and Jeff Scott have since left the station to pursue careers outside of radio. (Gene Bowen has since died.)
The station started out playing an eclectic blend of top hits in pop, country, and adult contemporary. Bluegrass segments were later added on the weekend and subsequently to weekday evenings. The station was known for its community involvement stemming primarily from the founders interest in politics. Virginia herself maintained a tight grip on the public persona of the station by banning content that she felt was unacceptable for the public airwaves. At her request, the playing of the song "Jack and Diane" by John Cougar was banned, as one early example. She also hosted regular afternoon talk segments on relevant topics with the movers and shakers of the area. At her direction, the station, early on known as the bridge across the Ohio, maintained a presence at every festival and celebration in the surrounding Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky markets. As Virginia became ever more involved in educational politics, her day to day influence and interest in the station began to wane.
