Today is the last day for WDAV’s manager, Kim Hodgson. After nearly nine years at WDAV and over 40 years in public radio, he is retiring. The WDAV staff wants to wish him and his wife Judy well as they move into what promises to be a very exciting and fun time in their lives. We also want to thank him for his all he has done for WDAV. Here’re Kim’s parting words as published in our quarterly newsletter, The Source. We hope you’ll join us in wishing him the best by leaving your comments.

When I retire from WDAV at the end of June, I will have been the general manager of this station for eight years and eight months. I don’t know if eight is considered a lucky number by anybody, but I consider myself extraordinarily lucky to have spent this time at this station in this community with these wonderful colleagues, associates and friends.
I came here from Washington, DC, where I managed a station that was all news, talk – and bluegrass! I’m very grateful to the folks at Davidson College for taking a chance on someone with such a checkered past.
When I left Washington, some people said it was because I wanted to spend more time with my boat. That’s odd, because I don’t have a boat. No, I came to Davidson because I thought this was a great job, and I was right. Davidson College may well be the best institutional licensee in public radio. We have a terrific staff of dedicated professionals, and it turns out that these folks are just as nice in person as they sound on the air (and the ones you don’t hear on the air – they’re every bit as nice as the others).
I got to participate in the planning and building of WDAV’s new headquarters. If you’ve seen the results, you know how that turned out. If you haven’t, you should drop by. I love the building, and the opportunities it affords for staff to do their creative best.
However, the most gratifying part of the whole job has been knowing just how much WDAV means to our listeners. To get a sense of what I mean, look at the comments on our website from people who completed the sentence, “WDAV is my source for…” Many people talk about how soothing or calming the music can be; others talk about the excitement, the joy, the urge to dance, and the pure pleasure of it all. Over the years I’ve heard countless stories: some poignant, some inspiring, some touching, and all indicative of the tremendous impact this station, and this music, has had on countless lives.
I’ve done many things, radio-wise, over the past 40+ years. I’ve been a reporter, a writer, an editor, a voice, an actor, a recording technician, a producer, a programmer and a manager. I’ve dealt with varying content: news, feature stories, lectures, drama, kids’ shows, and music – all kinds of music. I’ve taken part in programs broadcast in English, in Spanish, in Siswati (the native tongue of Swaziland), and in Navajo. This journey concludes now at a station whose format evokes unequivocally positive feelings from nearly all of its listeners. Given the alternatives, that’s not at all a bad way to have spent my last years as a full time radio person.
Thanks for letting – and helping – me do what I do. It’s been a real pleasure. I look forward to joining your ranks as an enthusiastic WDAV listener, over the air or online, wherever I may be.