WHQA is a Southern Gospel station located in the Upstate region of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. The station is licensed by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

(FCC) to the town of Honea Path and broadcasts on 103.1 MHz with an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 6 kW. Its signal can be heard mainly in the Anderson part of the Greenville–

Spartanburg Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-most populous city in the state. The Office of Management and Budg ...

radio market; however, the signal reaches well into Greenville, parts of Spartanburg, and surrounding areas. The station carries a variety of local programming in the mornings, evenings, and weekends.

Programming

On November 28, 2014, WRIX-FM flipped to a Classic Hits format featuring music from the 1960s–'80s. On March 1, 2015, WRIX-FM changed its call letters to WHQA. The format was also changed from Classic Hits to a Southern gospel music format and included local news, weather and community events. The former Classic Hits format has moved to sister station

WANS WANS (1280 AM) was a southern gospel radio station located in Anderson, South Carolina, United States. The station was licensed by the FCC to broadcast with 5 kW nondirectional during the daytime and 1 kW directional at night. Station hist ...

1280 (also on FM at 107.7), and Sunday mornings and evenings feature local church broadcasts. WANS also features Anderson University basketball and community programming and local news.

History

WRIX-FM was founded by the late Matt Phillips (who also started WCCP 1560 in 1969 in

Clemson, South Carolina Clemson () is a city in Pickens County, South Carolina, Pickens and Anderson County, South Carolina, Anderson counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Clemson is adjacent to Clemson University, - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university pr ...

). WRIX-FM signed on the air June 10, 1977 featuring a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

format. The station presented many live remotes broadcasting live from various sponsors. In 1983, the station changed to Classic-leaning

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

as "X103" and added a daytime-only AM station in 1986 when

WRIX WRIX (1020 AM, "Electric City Bluegrass") is a daytime-only bluegrass radio station located near Anderson, South Carolina. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to the nearby community of Homeland Park and br ...

signed on. WRIX-FM has aired many local sporting events, local news, death and crime announcements for many years. Phillips received many awards and recognitions for the station's commitment to community service including the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina's highest civilian honor. The ''Matt and Bev Morning Show'' began around 1980. Phillips and Beverly Ovelle Lockridge, know on air as Bev Brandon, started out broadcasting from the main studio on Main Street in Honea Path, later moving to a booth constructed especially for the show at the Anderson, South Carolina

Dunkin' Donuts DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 19 ...

on North Main Street. The show became the station's most popular program and one of Upstate S.C.'s top-rated morning shows. Lockridge, one of the area's first female radio personalities, received the Order of the Palmetto from Gov.

David Beasley David Muldrow Beasley (born February 26, 1957) is an American politician and the former executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served one term as the L ...

in 1996. She was known for her charity work, especially at Christmas, collecting thousands of toys and other goods for those in need. Lockridge died on December 11, 2010. Phillips, the station's founder and operator, died in August 1997. His funeral was attended by hundreds, including the Governor and Lt. Governor. His wife, Jeannette, took over and ran the station until her own death about ten months later. Their daughter, Karen Phillips Small, then took over management of the station. After Phillips' death, John Woodson, station manager, stepped in to help continue the live, local morning show with Brandon until 2002. When Woodson left to teach broadcasting at Tri-County Technical College, Michael "Porkchop" Branch continued the tradition of a locally-produced morning show. Joel Kay, who has been with the station from the beginning, received the South Carolina Broadcasters Association's Star Award for Top Sportscaster for his many years of announcing Belton Honea Path High School Bears football. All BHP games and programming will continue on WHQA. Local news veteran Paul Brown has provided news for WRIX for nearly 30 years. He now does the same for WHQA and sister station WANS. WRIX-FM purchased WANS in late 1993. Its format has been "

Music of Your Life Music of Your Life is an American syndicated music radio format featuring adult standards music. First created by recording executive Al Ham in 1978, the format achieved popularity in the 1980s among AM radio stations in the United States and Ca ...

Beach music Beach music, also known as Carolina beach music, and to a lesser extent, beach pop, is a regional genre of music in the United States which developed from rock/ R&B and pop music of the 1950s and 1960s. Beach music is most closely associate ...

, talk and Oldies/ Classic Hits. In 2011 WRIX-FM returned to talk as Talk Radio 103.1.

Tom Ervin Thomas Jonathan Ervin (born May 14, 1952) is an American attorney, former judge, one-time politician and former radio station owner. A past member of the Republican Party, he also served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1979 ...

purchased WRIX in 2013. In late 2014, he donated WRIX 1020, WRIX-FM 103.1, WANS 1280 and WANS-FM 107.7 to a non-profit group called the Power Foundation.Power Foundation To Launch 103.1 WHQA Sunday
, ''RadioInsight'', February 27, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2017. Blues artist Kip Anderson and singer-songwriters Bob Edison and Jimmy Gilstrap had radio shows on WRIX FM and WANS AM. Willis H.Crosby also worked at WRIX (AM) Gospel in the 90s. Well-known beach DJ Jerry Peeler broadcast his Saturday show on sister station WANS.

References

External links

* {{coord, 34.425, N, 82.540, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Southern Gospel radio stations in the United States HQA 1977 establishments in South Carolina Radio stations established in 1977 Anderson County, South Carolina