The Rutherford Group, Inc.
The Rutherford Group, Inc. is a Tennessee based corporation that holds the broadcast license of radio station WGNS in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Since WGNS signed on-the-air at 10:00PM on December 31, 1946 to ring-in The New Year of 1947, it has been owned by only four groups.
From the beginning to 1960 it was owned by the Elrod family. In 1960, Bill Vogel bought the station from the Elrod's and ownership was changed to Regional Broadcasting. He was joined in partnership by Monte Hale, who became one of the area's most beloved sportscasters. Both Vogel and Hale have died as a result of cancer. In 1971 Vogel sold the radio station to a group of investors from Nashville. The Davidson Group, Inc. had investors with ties to expelled Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton. In 1984, WGNS was purchased by the Rutherford Group, Inc. and ownership and all operations were done locally in Murfreesboro. In the late 1980's Rutherford Group purchased the building from the Elrod family. Nashville broadcaster Bart Walker and Weight Watcher's Ray Kalil equally owned the station until 1991 when Bart Walker purchased 100% of the STOCK. The Rutherford Group has now owned the radio station for considerably more years than any previous group.
The Rutherford Group has reborn Elrod's original slogan of the GOOD NEIGHBOR STATION. Bart Walker notes this is the principal on which all programs and everything done by the local radio station are based. In addition, since the beginning the G N S in the call signs have stood for GOOD NEIGHBOR STATION.
Under the Rutherford Group, Inc. WGNS has received the Tennessee Emergency Management Association "Station of the Year" Award two consecutive years. It also was honored with the prestigious Better Business Bureau "Torch Award" given in recognition of "business ethics and community service". Bart Walker said, "The station must be totally involved in the community." His actions support that: Walker serves as an Elder at Murfreesboro's First Presbyterian Church, is on the Board of Commissions at the St. Clair Street Senior Center, past chair of the Heart of Tennessee Chapter of the American Red Cross as well as CrimeStoppers of Rutherford County. Walker has also been chairman of the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters, and on the boards of the Murfreesboro Rotary Club, Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce, and Leadership Rutherford. Walker was also received the Tennessee Association of Broadcaster's "Distinguished Service Award" as the state's broadcaster of the year.
In addition to WGNS Talk Radio (AM 1450), WGNS was the first AM radio station in the United States to get an FM translator on the air. Translators on FM 100.5 and FM 101.9 both started rebroadcasting the AM signal on March 1, 2007. In addition, WETV-LP, a class A station transmitting on channel 11, is used for local programming. WGNS also has an interactive website for news and other community related events at www.WGNSradio.com. That website is receiving over 1.5-million hits each month.
The Rutherford Group, Inc. has its corporate headquarters on the entire second floor of Broadcast Plaza at 306 South Church Street in historic district of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.