By Taylor Sterling
Thirty years ago, on July 1, 1994, Frank “Smokin” Truatt purchased WTBQ AM when the station was actually off the air. Next, Frank’s ingenious concept came to life…he brought live local call in shows for all the Those shows were and are still hosted by local elected officials, i.e., Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, Orange County Sheriff Paul Arteta, Orange County Commissioner of Emergency Services, Pete Cirigliano (many more elected officials) plus business owners, educators, medical professionals, etc. who come on the air to share their expertise with all the communities that WTBQ AMFM serves including Orange County, parts of Sullivan County, Northern New Jersey, Pennsylvania and more. Over the years Frank has doubled the AM Power and constructed the FM (93.5) and also was one of the first stations to stream the signal worldwide plus he garnered exclusive broadcasting rights to air NASCAR every week for the entire Hudson Valley, Northern New Jersey and into NYC. Frank is the GOAT of music, and he edited every one of the 6,000 Billboard charted songs you hear on the station that covers every genre and decade. Between WTBQ and WGHT (which he acquired just before the pandemic) there are 3 million in the listening audience. When asked what these 30 years have meant to him, Frank had this to say, “I wanted to give our listeners a voice. In this day and age everyone gets their national and global news from the web but where do they get their local news, the news that affects them personally each day. Right here on WTBQ and WGHT. We have grown to represent everyone who lives and works in our listening audience. We give them a voice. The reason we have the #1 Drive Time Morning Show is because it is unscripted, savvy, informative and entertaining. We give the listening audience the ability to chime in, whether by text into the live shows (845-328-0886) or call in (845-986-7766). We want to hear from who we serve. Humor, intelligence, opinions from every side, giveaways every weekday, savvy interviews and amazing guests round out what we have created over these 30 years. We will continue to grow and expand to meet the growing needs of our listening audience. Tune in for yourself, be part of why we have garnered the most loyal listeners. Tune in Monday nights for ROCK-O-LLECTIONS, live by request 6-8pm and thanks for listening…here’s to the next 30 years!
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