The Virginia Association of Broadcasters (VAB) recognized WEHC 90.7 FM Friday with three awards for excellence in broadcasting, the most awards from the VAB ever won by the Emory & Henry College station in a single year.
The awards included two first-place awards, one to Josh Floyd and Gary Lester for sports broadcasting and a second to general manager Ivy Sheppard for her show dedicated to traditional music of the region, “Born in the Mountain.”
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Celebrating their awards at the Virginia Association of Broadcasters recent ceremony are (L-R:) Emory & Henry’s Ivy Sheppard, General Manager; Leigh Anne Hunter, Assistant Manager; and Josh Floyd, Sports broadcaster. Not present were sportscaster Gary Lester and reporter Dirk Moore. Contributed photo
Dirk Moore, the host of a show devoted to community development, was honored with a runner-up award in news reporting.
First-place awards in radio broadcasting were given in 14 categories. In most categories one runner-up also was honored.
The award for sports coverage recognized for the fourth time the WEHC announcers for Emory & Henry football broadcasts. Floyd and Lester teamed up for three of the awards, including two first-place honors, and Floyd worked with former WEHC announcer Bruce Hatch in 2011 to win a runner-up award.
Sheppard was honored for the first time by the VAB in the category of best radio personality. The runner-up prize is also the first VAB recognition for Moore, who was honored for a series of reports on gender equality and gender identity in Southwest Virginia.
Sheppard said the awards represent the increasing improvement in content quality that WEHC has emphasized in recent years. “It is very satisfying to be honored with so many awards across the board — from sports coverage to music entertainment to news,” Sheppard said. “This is an incredible accomplishment for a small, non-commercial radio station and a testament to the value of this station to Emory & Henry College and as a voice for this region.”
WEHC is owned by Emory & Henry College and is the only solar powered radio in Virginia. It is a NPR (National Public Radio) affiliate station. In addition to Sheppard, the station is supported by programming director Leigh Anne Hunter, who guides efforts in quality improvement at the station.
“Leigh Anne’s work was indispensable to these awards,” Sheppard said.
