For the second time in three years, WGRR-FM (103.5) has been honored with a prestigious National Association of Broadcasters' Marconi Radio Award, while the new morning team at country WUBE-FM has won a Country Music Association award.
WGRR-FM was named “classic hits station of the year” at the National Association of Broadcasters meeting in New York Wednesday.
WUBE-FM’s Jessie Tack and Anna Marie learned Wednesday that they won the CMA Broadcast large market “personality of the year” award. It will be presented during the 58th Annual CMA Awards broadcast live from Nashville, Tenn., on ABC at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20.
The Marconi Award is the second one in 34 years for WGRR-FM, which switched from WBLZ-FM to “Oldies 103.5” in 1990. Former “Married with Microphones” morning team Chris O’Brien and Janeen Coyle won a Marconi Award for best large market radio personality of the year in 2022, a year before they retired.
“What an honor to have WGRR-FM recognized nationally," says Keith Mitchel, WGRR-FM program director and operations manager for Cumulus’ Cincinnati stations. "We have a terrific team that puts in the work to make WGRR-FM a ratings success and are now earning this accolade for a job well done. And thanks to the WGRR listeners who have supported the station for so many years."
The CMA award for Jesse and Anna Marie comes five weeks after they moved from afternoons to mornings on B105 in a rare radio swap. Longtime morning hosts “Big Dave” Chandler and Jason “Stattman” Statt switched to afternoon drive.
Tack said the CMA award was "a massive honor and surprise” in his Facebook post. “Anna and I have worked together for just over 2 years and we hustle hard every day! To be able to go to the CMA awards in November to collect these trophies to bring back to Cincinnati will be a great experience!”
It’s the second CMA award for Tack, who came to Cincinnati in 2005 and joined WUBE-FM in 2008. Tack and Amanda Valentine were honored as best large-market personality in the year in 2017 as B105’s afternoon hosts.
Tack’s twin brother Joey Tack was not as lucky. His “Joey & Nancy” team from WIVK-FM in Knoxville lost in the medium market personality of the year award to a morning team in Omaha-Council Bluffs. Also nominated in that category were Nancy Wilson and Aaron “Woody” Woods from WHKO-FM in Dayton, Ohio, and the morning team at WQMX-FM in Akron.
No other Greater Cincinnati stations won a NAB Marconi Award. WLW-AM was nominated twice, for legendary station of the year and news/talk station of the year. See the full list of winners here.
