Although he may consider himself just a “fill-in guy”, WZBD’s Steve Gagle is anything but.
With the station since the very beginning, Gagle is a jack of all trades, aiding the station on the air, with his voice talents and with his love of music.
“It is something I enjoy,” he says of his work high atop the Imaginary Mountain.
Gagle began his career as a play-by-play man for various sports when WZBD first started back in the early 90s. He did football and basketball and spent many nights on the other end of the radio waves. Now, he helps run the board back at the studio while WZBD’s current broadcasters call the games.
“When I retired a few years back, I thought it might be fun to work part time and be the ‘fill-in guy’ when full-time staff needs off,” he noted.
Steve regularly takes his turn each Wednesday evening, but it’s his work on Saturday mornings that he enjoys the most.
“I collect a lot of music from the 50s, 60s and 70s,” he says. “And I share that with the listeners on Saturday mornings.”
Although he chuckles at missing out on his “Golden Oldies” on Saturdays in the winter due to WZBD’s state-leading wrestling coverage, Gagle admits he loves sharing his passion for that era of music over the airwaves of 92.7 FM.
Gagle actually began his professional career in the radio industry, working at stations in Delaware, Ohio and later in Fort Wayne. After stints at the Hartford City station and with WADM in Decatur, he landed at WZBD at the station’s berth and has been with 92.7 ever since in some capacity.
In 1984, Gagle switched gears and began working for Adams County Memorial Hospital in The Stress Center. He eventually morphed that into a career in marketing and then Human Resources. That field led him to a job with the Parkview Hospital system, from where he eventually retired.
When he’s not on the radio and not listening to the station, Steve spends his time passionately following the Chicago Bears and the Chicago White Sox.
He and his wife, Vickie, have a son and two daughters and they attend as many activities of their grandkids as they can. Steve is also active in his church.
Gagle believes that WZBD is one of the last stations in a dying breed of truly local stations serving rural communities.
“What I appreciate most are the people and listeners who stop me on the street or call in to the station to just thank us,” he says. “I feel it is very important that we give them the very best in news, weather and sports, along with good music and entertainment.”
Gagle says he also enjoys the friends he has made at the station.
“Every member of our team goes above and beyond the call of duty to bring something great to our station.”
You can listen to Steve and his ‘Golden Oldies’ on most Saturday mornings on WZBD, 92.7 FM.
