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Charlie Edwards

Charlie completed a two-year program in 1974 to receive his FCC First Class license from Polk Vo-Tech (now Travis Technical Center) after studying under Dave Schick, former 20-year veteran chief engineer for Cypress Gardens daytimer WGTO. When the course was completed, Schick recommended him for an inside tech position with GTE and a part time job at WGTO’s transmitter site as weekend sign-on to sign-off engineer. In those days, directional AM’s had to have a "first phone" on duty at all times. Eventually, he did WGTO’s weekly studio maintenance and engineering work for other Polk County stations.
 
In 1978, he moved to Chattanooga to attend Tennessee Temple University (a preacher's college), where he landed the midnight shift at a gospel station. Within a few months the engineer moved from midnight to evenings, and eventually to afternoons. He also worked a year at a Chattanooga AM/FM as assistant chief engineer and evening FM announcer – all while maintaining engineering duties at the gospel station and carrying a full-time load in college.

The Plant City native graduated from Temple in 1982 and moved back to Florida to a job with Auburndale’s WTWB as mid-day announcer. It wasn't long before he was offered a ministry position in Madisonville, KY at a church-owned FM that needed a manager as well as an associate pastor. By this time, he was married, so he took it and managed the station and did morning drive for two years before moving back to Florida to do mornings and sales at WMFJ in Daytona Beach.

In 1985, a church member of Pastor Mickey Carter’s Landmark Baptist Church purchased Haines City’s old AM station, which had been silent for over a year, and turned it over to the church to run. Carter hired Charlie to get everything in order, including the hiring of several people to work on the air. The station signed on as WLVF in the spring of 1986.

About a year later, his father-in-law talked him into leaving radio and going into business with him. After that, his only foot in broadcasting was working as a master control engineer for Chattanooga’s Channel 45 from 2000 to 2003.

Today (2013), Charlie works on mobile and portable public safety radio equipment for the City of Chattanooga Radio Shop. He teaches a Sunday school class in his local church and, as licensed Christian counselors, both he and his wife have a counseling ministry.

Station History