Inviting WHFR alumni to 40th Birthday Alumni Reunion and Live Broadcast
HFC Media Communication Arts Chairperson and WHFR General Manager Susan McGraw is formally inviting everyone who’s ever been affiliated with WHFR-FM to the WHFR 40th Birthday Alumni Reunion and Live Broadcast on Friday, November 14, from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the WHFR studios in the John McDonald Student and Culinary Arts Center (Building M on the main campus). Dinner, along with a short program, will begin at 6:00 p.m. at Fifty-One O One restaurant, also in the McDonald Center.
The live reunion will re-air all day on WHFR’s official birthday on Saturday, December 20. There will also be other special archival moments and tributes from the radio station’s 40-year history.
“Reaching 40 years is a testament to Henry Ford College’s steadfast support of hands-on media education and community service,” said McGraw. “We’re deeply grateful to our Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, staff, students, and the many community partners and listeners who have championed WHFR’s mission to amplify local voices and independent music. We’re excited to invite all WHFR DJs, staff, and volunteers from the past four decades to join us for an evening of music, memories, and on-air magic with stories from their time at WHFR, and even a few favorite tracks from their show days to spin live on the air!”
A brief history of WHFR
WHFR began as a student radio club at HFC (then Henry Ford Community College) in 1962. It operated on a public address system inside a very small room in the Student Center. The radio club’s mission from the beginning was to start a live broadcast radio station, serving the unique music and information needs of the community, as well as the students at HFC.
By 1978, the College’s top administrators recognized the spirit, passion, and dedication of the radio club members. They applied for an FM broadcast license from the Federal Communications Commission. In 1979, the College was granted the license, but the necessary preparations to start broadcasting, including construction, equipment, staffing, budget, and other requirements, took a few years to procure and complete.
In 1985, the radio station officially went on the air as WHFR (previously, it was called WHFC). At first, it broadcast six hours a day, six days a week with prerecorded shows. WHFR began broadcasting live for the first time in 1987 – for three hours per week.
In 1988, with a schedule of 12 hours a day, the WHFR staff was stretched too thin to continue its PA operation, so it moved all of its equipment and music library out of the Student Center into what is now the MacKenzie Fine Arts Center (Building F on the main campus). Since 1997, WHFR has achieved a 24/7 broadcasting schedule and internet streaming, thanks to the efforts of more than 50 volunteers – students, alumni, and community members alike.
In 2002, with the completion of the renovation of what is now the McDonald Center, WHFR-FM 89.3 made its homecoming. This location has been WHFR’s home ever since, highlighting new releases, independent labels, and local artists. WHFR also features local news, views, public affairs programming, classic radio drama, and more.
RSVP by Nov. 5
“We’d love to have every generation of WHFR represented on this milestone night as we celebrate our history and look forward to the next 40 years,” said McGraw.
The WHFR 40th Birthday Alumni Reunion and Live Broadcast is free and open to WHFR alumni. All WHFR alumni are asked to RSVP by Wednesday, November 5, to secure your on-air time and dinner reservation. For updates and more information, visit whfr.fm or WHFR’s Facebook page. To RSVP, contact McGraw at scmcgraw@hfcc.edu.
