Thursday, 10 December 2015 10:03

A Look Back at Sandra & TK

TK SANDRA BANNERTK SANDRA CIVICTK SANDRA STUDIO

2015 is drawing to a close and with it, WONE's 30th anniversary look back at some of the on air personalities who made it successful. All of the jocks we've revisited thus far have gone on to other jobs; some close to home ­some far away. Fortunately for us, the final two spotlighted here are still heard daily on 97.5 WONE. They are Sandra Miller and TK O'Grady.

Sandra joined the air staff when she was 21 . Her first day on the job, Labor Day 1998, came with some anxiety, arriving 45 minutes late to a Beach Dig in the Portage Lakes. A flat tire on the way there was to blame. "I was sure they'd fire me on the spot but everyone was cool about it so I breathed a huge sigh of relief."

In mid ­1999, Sandra became WONE's 7-­midnight jock, a post she held for twelve years until becoming our workday rocker in Summer of 2011. When speaking of her longevity in this crazy business, Sandra shared this nugget of sage advice given to her from a co­worker, "Tim Daugherty once told me 'it is always better to ask for forgiveness than permission."

TK O'Grady became a member of the WONE family just a few months before Sandra. He boasted an impressive resume of major market experience, having worked in Chicago, Miami, and Charleston. "In Charleston, from the beginning of May until the end of September, the heat index is oppressive, usually hovering around 110 degrees. When I arrived in Akron, it was overcast with temperatures was in the upper 60's. I thought to myself "YES!! I'm back in a place that has all four seasons."

His first year was spent as our Production Director, (the guy in charge of recording and getting commercials on the air). He also did some weekend air shifts. Within a year, he was elevated to Program Director. As the boss, he came up with some benchmark WONE events such as the Brews & Blues Oktoberfest and the Hog Report. He took over the WONE midday air shift and took the noontime Cafe Rock request hour to higher heights, busting it out of the four walls of the studio and taking it live on the road. These days, TK rides shotgun on your way home each day on the afternoon drive shift.

WONE has been rockin' Akron for over 30 years but the combined talents of Sandra Miller and TK O'Grady add up to almost 36 years. So here's to a job well done you two, and to those who came before us as well as those yet to make their mark on Akron's Home of Rock & Roll.