Bill Sturgeon's 'Morning Drive' Finale Set for Jan. 6
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — WTBR-FM, Pittsfield Community Radio, will broadcast a special live "Morning Drive" radio program on Tuesday, Jan. 6, at 7:30 a.m. to celebrate seven years on the air at the Pittsfield Community Television facility.
The station moved to PCTV from Taconic High School in 2018 and had its inaugural broadcast from the new studios in January 2019.
The special broadcast will also mark the retirement of the morning program's longtime host, Bill Sturgeon.
Sturgeon, a broadcast veteran and well-known personality in the community, has volunteered his time hosting the hour-long weekdays broadcast prior to the station's move, and continued through to the present day. In that time, he has hosted more than a thousand programs featuring interviews with local community members, elected officials, educators, local business, arts and nonprofit leaders, and more.
He has indicated that he will host an occasional special program on the station going forward.
A former student-run station, WTBR-FM is now managed and operated successfully by PCTV as a community radio station, which added a second frequency in Lee one year ago. Sturgeon was instrumental in saving WTBR amid an outpouring of listener support, when the former Taconic High School building which housed the station since the mid-1970s, was planned for demolition. He has also been active in fundraising for the organization.
Several of Sturgeon's regular guests will join the special show, including several who were key figures in the transition of the station from Taconic High School to PCTV. Also expected are current elected officials and representatives of organizations in the area.
The anniversary broadcast, which will take place at the WTBR studios at 4 Federico Drive, can be heard on 89.7 FM in Pittsfield and central Berkshire County, as well as on 88.1 in Lee, Lenox and Stockbridge; by webstream at wtbrfm.com; and via a simulcast on PCTV's Access Pittsfield channel 1301 and live streamed at pittsfieldtv.org and on the PCTV Select service.
Sturgeon is a Vietnam veteran who served with the 101st Airborne Airmobile Division. Upon returning from Vietnam, he served with the Massachusetts National Guard's Yankee Division, where he was acting platoon sergeant for the unit's Scout Platoon. As part of his criminal justice career, he had assignments in Haiti, South Africa, the Netherlands, and the U.K. Sturgeon made over 120 criminal justice training videos.
In 1995, he won a Telly Award for his video on high-profile celebrity inmates. After completing a successful criminal justice career in 2005, he started his radio career, initially while teaching criminal justice at Southern Vermont College. He then hosted a 3-hour Monday- Friday show on WBRK before moving on to WRRS at UCP of Western Massachusetts. Sturgeon has 19 years of radio experience.
In addition to his involvement with many community organizations, he is a member of the PCTV Board of Directors and the WTBR Community Advisory Board.
Tags: PCTV, public radio, WTBR,
