Kevin West moves on to a new challenge

When I think of Kevin West, two words come to mind: “rock solid.”

Kevin West

First, for the physical definition. I first met Kevin on the softball field back in the KZ-106 Foul Tips days. When I worked there, I helped start a softball team at the station, and we played all over the region every weekend. We kind of wanted to win, and we did maybe half the time. But it was primarily a station promotion. The team was made up of a few station employees, like deejays and sales people, along with a few “ringers” who could actually play softball.

By 1987, I had switched to TV, but I still played for the Foul Tips. Kevin began working at the radio station that year, and was a great addition to broadcasting, and to softball. I remember him being lean and mean back then, and he still is today.

He is also a rock solid journalist, dad, husband, friend, and human being. Not to mention his “other life.”  Kevin also served a military career in the United States Navy that spanned more than 24 years from his on-air enlistment in the Navy Reserve in the spring of 1997 to his retirement as a Navy Captain in the fall of 2021. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2016 and 2017 as the Deputy Director of Public Affairs at Resolute Support Headquarters in Kabul and also served as commanding officer of 6^th Fleet Public Affairs, 7^th Fleet Public Affairs, and Navy Public Affairs Support Element-Headquarters. His awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, 2 Navy Commendation Medals, a Joint Services Achievement Medal, a Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, and Sharpshooter ribbons in rifle and pistol. And he still does his “Navy workouts” every day.

Kevin has announced his retirement from radio, and he will be missed in that capacity. For someone with such a youthful appearance and outlook, you may be surprised to learn the facts of his 43-year career:

He started in 1979 as a disc jockey at WRCN, the campus radio station at the University of Michigan and got his first paying job in the summer of 1980 at WIBM in Jackson, Michigan.

He became news director and assignment editor at WIBM/WXCM in Jackson, then moved to WIBM-AM as a a morning host.

He came to Chattanooga in 1987 as the morning news anchor and street reporter for WGOW-AM.

He became program director of Talk FM 102.7 when it went on the air from Eastgate in the spring of 1994, the station later becoming Talk FM 102.3 on Pineville Road.

He took over as program director of the two WGOW talk stations – Talk Radio 102.3 FM and NewsRadio 1150 WGOW-AM in 2011.

Along with the way, he has worked with some unforgettable radio personalities, including (but not limited to) Jim Reynolds, Garry Mac, Dale Deason, Jeff Styles, Parker Smith, Brian Joyce, Bill Lockhart, all of the Sport Talk guys, Scott Chase, Jammer Scott, and Kelly McCoy.

In his role as radio news director, he has competed against local legends like Ed Buice, Earl Freudenberg, and Bob Cox among others. As a key component of the Talk Radio morning show, he is often a voice of sanity and local knowledge, always with a smile.

Throughout his local radio journey, he has been creative, energetic, cheerful, thorough and fair. I’ve never known of anyone to speak ill of Kevin West. In this business my friends, that makes him a unicorn.

He has an exciting new adventure to announce in the days ahead, in a position that will utilize his unique skills in a most appropriate way. He will share those details soon.

For now, I wish Kevin nothing but the best. He has been a gift to Chattanooga radio listeners, and I appreciate him keeping us informed, enlightened, and entertained for 35-plus years.