Former major market morning man part of marathon broadcast

WASILLA — A recent addition to the Valley is doing his part to help some of his new neighbors in need this weekend.

Steve “Woody” Woods, the new morning man at KMBQ 997 Valley Radio, is among the station’s personalities who will broadcast live for 75 consecutive hours in the parking lot of the Wasilla Carrs-Safeway store as part an event to benefit the Food Pantry of Wasilla.

The station aims to set a record by collecting 7,500 pounds of food donations for the food panty. And in support of the 75th anniversary of the Alaska State Fair, the station will also give away 75 pairs of tickets to the upcoming Uncle Kracker concert at the 2011 state fair. One pair of tickets will be given away each hour for the concert, which is sponsored by KMBQ.

Woods, who debuted the station’s new “Woody and the Wood Pile” morning show on Valley radio on Monday, is part of the broadcast that begins today at noon and ends Aug. 8 at 3 p.m. Woods said he’s excited to be a part of the project and thrilled to land in Wasilla after working for about 30 years in major markets across the United States.

“I’ve been lucky enough to work in big markets, but Wasilla, it just feels like I was born here,” Woods said. “It just feels like this is where I want to be. I hope this gig lasts a long time.”

Woods’ career as a major market disc jockey has taken him to some of the biggest cities in the country. He’s worked in cities such as Philadelphia, Orlando, San Francisco, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Sacramento and Reno. He joked that it’s not like he can’t keep a job, he’s just worked in the business a long time.

Woods was part of the “Welch and Woody Show” morning team for 18 years in many of those markets. Woods said that eventually, it became harder for radio teams to find opportunities, so each went their separate ways. Woods landed in Reno, and his former partner, John Welch, went to work for XM Radio.

Even though the Welch and Woody show is in the past, Welch helped bring Woods to Wasilla. Welch is now a program director for KMBQ’s parent company, Spirit of Alaska Broadcasting.

“He kept saying, ‘Man we need a morning guy,’” Woods said of Welch.

Woods worked most recently for KUUB in Reno, a station that shifted from a country format to ESPN sports radio.

With the change, the entire on-air staff was laid off. Woods said stations transitioning to an automated format is becoming more regular, but the lure of live, local radio is a reason he’s in Wasilla.

“When Q997 says live and local, that’s what radio needs to be,” Woods said. “When you’re pulling everything off a satellite, it just becomes garbage.”

After decades of working in big cities, Woods said he’s excited to work in a smaller community.

“I thought about it for years, how nice it would be to back in small town radio like I started,” said Woods, a Montana native. “If it weren’t for small market radio, I’d be out of radio. I have no desire to be at a major market.”

Woods said he’s always enjoyed working mornings.

“The morning show is so exciting. (The listeners) hear your voice the first thing in the morning. They depend on you for different things,” Woods said.

Waking up for the early broadcast isn’t always easy.

“I was 18 years old when I got my first morning show in Butte, Mont. I was still going to college and the program director, he’s like, ‘Woody, don’t worry about it. You’ll get used to it in a year.’ Thirty years later, all I can say is that lying S.O.B.,” Woods said with a laugh.

“You never really get used to it, but once that shower hits your face, you’re ready to go.”

Woods will be ready to go each weekday morning for the “Woody and the Wood Pile Show” from 5:30 to 10 a.m. Woods will also make regular appearances in the community, which he said he’s looking forward to. And he’ll be part of the 75-hour live marathon broadcast this weekend at the Wasilla Carrs-Safeway.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.