After cashing in all of his savings bonds for college (like Pink Floyd -- we don't need no education), he put the studio and transmitter equipment together, purchased a country music library from a bankrupt and dark AM station in the Gulf, and then on a oddly cool July morning in 1995 it happened.....

Tiger Country 96.1 hit the airwaves with signal so weak you had to have a bigger tower than the transmitter had to receive it! Tiger Country only lived for about 2 months before it was deemed a flop by the station's creator, this is when he repositioned the station as Mixx 96, playing "Today's Hits & Yesterday's Favorites!"

The new format was HotAC, and it seemed to work pretty well for the time. The power was increased somewhere along the way, as well as some equipment updates, and at this point the station was running 24/7 with live shows from 5am-7:30am, and then from 3pm-10pm... The other hours were automated by the most horrible creation the broadcast world has ever seen -- a cart carousel system with reel-to-reel interfaces!!! This was later done with prehistoric (crappy sound quality) computer software... 

Friends of the kid who started the station were soon recruited to do shows or help setup remote broadcasts, etc. In Winter of 1997, the station owner joined forces with his best friend, with the intentions to make the station more powerful, and more professional than ever before! The new partnership took the station to the next level with a live Morning Show, Afternoon Drive, and Evenings... 

Also with this new partnership came a new frequency, a MAJOR power boost, complete transmitter/antenna rebuild and relocation, and the birth of an ALL NEW station from the ashes of Mixx 96 came......... Z100 - Today's Best Music! 

The format was CHR/Top40, and played a variety that was not offered by any other stations serving nearby Chattanooga, TN! For a low power station, run by two kids ages 14 and 9, on a budget of no more than $200 per month -- the station ROCKED! 

Z100 built a dedicated listenership among the area's 12+ audience, and gained the attention of local television and newspapers... In 1998, the station's founder accepted a position at a WEPG-AM in nearby So.Pittsburg, TN, and eventually moved up the ranks there! 

In 1999 the station founder's family moved 10 miles South of where the station was originally located, and due to the HIGH financial costs that would've been involved in a studio build-out on commercial property, and lack of space at the new house...

Z100 was forced to move its' equipment into a closet in a spare bedroom at another house in Whitwell... In February 2000, Z100 signed off the Whitwell airwaves due to lack of listeners when the live programming was reduced, and new responsibilities and lifestyles of the owners were also a key item that helped this decision along. 

The station founder moved on in his radio career and is still active in broadcasting today, now at a 100,000 watt station (unlike Z100's 10watts or the original .25watts), and he's the brainchild behind this endeavor of Z100 online! The other partner is continuing with her education at this time! The two remain friends to this day, and relive the memories often!

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