I took my first breath of air in the delivery room of the old St. Anthony hospital in Terre Haute. I am proud to be from West T. We still live in the country in western Vigo County. My School years began at Consolidated Elementary in 1956 from there I moved to the old South School in West Terre Haute going through Jr. High school at Concannon during Jr. High years I was a paperboy for the Terre Haute Tribune. In 1965 I attended West Vigo High School where I played in the Band and had a lot of fun and even learned a little before graduating in 1969. All through High School I worked at various service stations. That was when they really were service stations. We pumped the gas for you, checked the oil, air and washed your windshield and gas was 28 cents a gallon. I grew up in the south end of West Terre Haute where one of my fondest memories was building a go cart with Soap Box Derby wheels and a lawn mower motor. We had to steer it with our feet and the police were always chasing us off the streets. My first car was a 1955 Chevy that I paid $75.00 for. My next car was a 1960 chevy convertible…boy it was cool.

I first got interested in radio in the early 60’s. I remember playing DJ when I was in grade school. Friends and Relatives all knew I was interested in radio so they always gave me old radios. Some worked others didn’t. I would fool with them until I got them to work. In the mid 70’s I attended Ivy Tech for electronics and Federal Communications License preparation. I earned the FCC First Class Radio License. I started listening to some of Americas top DJ’s late at night, on those old floor model radios I had repaired. The glow of the tubes was a great night light. I hardly ever missed the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday nights. WLS in Chicago was my favorite place to hear the Beatles, Beach Boys and all the 60’s Top 40. Radio has been part of my life since I was a teenager. My first radio job was at WWVR in West Terre Haute in 1969. After that I worked at WPFR in it’s early days when it was Country. In 1970 I got my first full time Radio job at the old WBOW 1230 AM where I was known as “Rockin’ Barry Kent”. I was instrumental in convincing the owners to put Country Music on WBOQ-FM which later became WZZQ and is no longer on the air. I have been here at HI-99/WTHI since January 1983. Besides being part of the Waking Crew, I am also the Operations Manager for WTHI and WWVR overseeing the on air operations and the programming of HI-99.

 

I have been married since 1974 to Kelly and we have 2 boys Barry and Brent. We are members of Crossroads Baptist Church for which I also run the sound for.

In my spare time I enjoy Ham Radio and working on my 1944 Ford tractor and 1950 Willys 4X4 Pickup Truck that I am restoring.

bkent@wthi.emmis.com