Cook honored with Golden Mic award

By Carrie A. Mizell

One local radio broadcaster was honored during the month of February for the work she does to promote Southern Gospel Music, church work and the tri-county community.

Rhonda Cook, station manager for WTBH (91.5), a Chiefland-based gospel radio station, was named Golden Mic Award recipient for the month of February 2010.
Cook was selected by a panel of Singing News and Southern Gospel Music radio executives for the outstanding award, which comes with a Golden Mic figurine and a feature article in the Singing News.
“As I broadcast Southern Gospel, it’s my prayer that listeners will be encouraged, uplifted and that the seemingly hopeless will be pointed to the blessed hope in Jesus,” Cook said. “I am humbled to receive the Golden Mic Award and most appreciative to all those involved with my selection.”
WTBH was founded in 1987 by Cook’s father Pastor Ron Cason. The radio station, which is owned by Long Pond Baptist Church, broadcasts only Southern Gospel music and Christian programming 24 hours a day, seven days a week under Cook’s direction.
In 1989, Cook started working at the radio station as disc jockey much to her father’s delight. It wasn’t too long before she began taking on other roles at the station. Then, in 1991 Cook lauched her own one-hour phone-in request program that aired daily on WTBH. It wasn’t long before she was named music director for the station. Later, in 2000 Cook started hosting a second one-hour program that featured different Southern Gospel singers and singing groups. That popular show, which is known as “Southern Spotlight,” continues to air on WTBH. After her father passed away unexpectedly in 2005, Cook was named WTBH’s station manager. Not only does Cook direct the business operations of the station, but she also pulls air shifts, while working in advertising sales and production. WTBH’s signal covers the tri-county area, primarily Levy, Dixie and Gilchrist counties, as well as some areas in Alachua, Citrus and Marion counties.