October 9, 2024 • 29 mins
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Michael Barry Show. I want to take a break
from all the negative news for a moment, and I
want to I want to highlight something positive, and people
responding to adversity inspires me. It makes me want to
be better. I saw things during Hurricane Harvey in Houston
at our at our flagship station k t r H.
(00:22):
I saw reporters who did not leave the station for weeks.
I saw people who they got their families placed and
they stayed there because it is a ministry, it is
a duty, it's a responsibility. And I really saw in
I saw the Cajun Navy, my my kuon as friends
(00:43):
come in to save us, and then we help them
after that. These moments inspire me and we we shouldn't
let this moment pass. For all the sadness we see
in North Carolina and now with what's going on in Florida,
we should take a moment when we see real heroism.
This is why you build monuments, because then people want
to do the things that person did that the monument
(01:04):
is built for. I'd like to build a monument right here,
right now to w w n C in Asheville, North Carolina.
We have Mark Starling who is the grand Puba of
all programming there. There's a wonderful story in the Citizen Times.
I've posted it to Facebook and to our page about
these guys. They they got shut in at the station.
(01:25):
They didn't complain. They said, we got a job to do,
we gotta we got to help the people. We got
to connect the people, we got to comfort the people.
And they did it. Mark Starling, do you have a
sounder you can use for Mark Starley, a propers Hold on, Mark,
we've got it. We've got to do this properly. Maybe
a walk up song, something to pay tribute to this
man and his team and what they've done. It really
(01:47):
is incredible. We're working on your walk up song. We
didn't think about this ahead of time. You got it
all right? Go here we go, Mark, Really what I
was thinking? Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. Hold on, folks,
(02:08):
get yourselves ready. Let me start yet, Mark, let this build.
Probably first time this dude's laughed in three weeks. You
realize that, right, he probably does smell. He hadn't bathed
in three weeks. He's been They've literally lived, they've been
shut into the station. Here we go and where all
(02:33):
where rep.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Right she's asking where the White Knights are. They're on
right here at w w n C, Mark starting hold on.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
The night, Bring that down. This is This is the
article in the Citizen Times in Asheville, North Carolina, where
they broadcast Trapped in the station by falling trees, offline,
no power, no water, negligible cell phone reception. A team
of local broadcasters stayed on air as tropical Storm Helene
(03:21):
brought flooding and devastation to western North Carolina. A week
and a half later, they're still there, fielding NonStop phone
calls from community members and trying to connect those with
needs to those with the skills and resources to fill them.
It began September twenty seventh, as news director and morning
show host Mark Starling rode out tropical Storm Helene in
(03:43):
iHeartRadio's West Asheville studio miles away. His wife, Brandy, was
braced in an suv with their son and four dogs
at the Sitgo station in Black Mountain, watching waves come
over the top of the I forty five overpass. She'd
been trying to get to the studio. Man, I'm sorry,
(04:04):
I get choked up because my wife and kids. I
was given a speech in Baton Ruge when Harvey hit
and I couldn't get back into town and they had
to walk through the water chest high and dangerous. Oh
my goodness, Mark Starling, I thought that if I made
enough jokes at the beginning, I'd keep from crying. Brother,
I'm not even kidding. You are a badass. You guys
(04:27):
on behalf of all the people of Asheville, North Carolina.
Thank you for what you guys have done. This really
is amazing. This really is amazing. I had radio people
from across the country reaching out to me with this story.
Have you seen these guys and see what they did?
I mean, not every hero wears capes. I hope you will.
I'm going to send you this audio. I want you
to share this conversation with everybody at your station and
(04:49):
tell them that this is truly inspirational.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
I really appreciate you seeing that. Mike. It's h It's
been a hell of a time, but you know, Western
North Carolina is one of the most determined places I
have ever lived. These people here in the mountains are amazing,
and as much as I wish I could say that
(05:16):
it was me, I have a team that is the
most top notch radio professionals I have ever been blessed
to work with. And they're all music people. They're all
music radio people, and they stepped into a role that
was one of the most difficult, heart wrenching stories to cover,
and they did it like total pros. They are simply amazing.
(05:42):
It's you know, fourteen days living in a conference room
has has taught me an awful lot. I'll be honest
with you. Number one, make sure that you have more
to eat than just chili. If a hurricane is coming
in radio stations, before you lock the two guys in
the station with nothing to eat but chili. That seemed
like a cool, cruel trick from God. But you know,
(06:04):
we moved a hunt and we conquered that one. You know,
the way this took place was just really amazing. You know,
we had no water, no power, no cell phone, no internet,
and a buddy of mine had heard he was listening
when we actually we were on the air when when
the internet went out. It was I can tell you
it was two thirty nine and thirty six seconds when
the internet went out, and he heard me say that
(06:27):
over the air, and he immediately jumped into action. He
grabbed his hand rate handheld Ham radio. He got it
to the radio station. Somehow or another handed me that
Ham radio and said, Mark, the Ham Radio Operators Network
is up and running. They're waiting for you. They're at
your disposal. They've got everything you need. And so from
(06:48):
that point on, my producer, Tank Spencer.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Who is yeah, Window Tank.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
He's amazing. He's absolutely amazing. He is one of the
most incredible people I have ever met and been blessed
to work with. We sat and we listened to the
Ham radio. We drotted down the information that we were getting.
We would we were in regular programming that we would
not regular programming off and we would go back and
do two or three hours of just the information that
we had gotten, live rescues that were happening. You know,
(07:16):
where was you know, where did you need to stay
away from? Where was the who was at next risk
for being wiped out by a flood? That type of thing.
Once that, once we got through that, we spent about
twelve to fourteen hours that way kind of getting information
out to the people. That was until our fantastic engineering
team at the iHeartRadio Emergency Engineering Crew out of Atlanta,
(07:37):
we saw them appear like apparitions in the hallway with
a Starlink satellite dish strapped to their back, and I
knew we were going to be okay. They had us
back on the air, Amen, brother, Amen, like we were
on the air the whole time. The only thing, the
only medium that people could rely on in this store
(08:00):
was AM and FM radio. And if there was ever
a story that could light a fire under the butts
of Congress and get them to sign this AM bill
AM radio in cars, this should be the story right here.
It was. Once we were back online, everything took a turn, Michael.
Everything changed because we had made it through the storm
(08:23):
and now it was time to survive. And that's exactly
what we helped our listeners do, not necessarily survival life
and death, surviving by sanity. We gave people a place
to call in and tell us they were scared, to
tell us that they had lost everything, to tell us
that they didn't know what they were going to do,
and we were able to be a calming voice for
(08:45):
them to tell them, Look, we are going to get
through this together.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Mark, for just a moment, can you spare just a
few more moments. I want to talk to you about
what's going on in your community. The station is WWNC.
His name is Mark Starling. He is the program director there.
They got they got flooded in, they couldn't get out
of the studio. They made the most of it. I
love these stories, incredibly inspirational. More with him coming up.
We're talking to Mark Starling. He is the program director.
(09:12):
That means he runs. A program director is the person
who decides who goes on the air and the news that.
It's a news talk station there in Asheville, North Carolina.
It's called w w n C. And with everything you've seen,
body bags, a loss of life, devastation, homes just being
(09:35):
knocked down. Look, there are a lot of heroes in
the middle of all this. Elon Musk is one of them,
and Starlink and bringing it in the folks who who've
you know, from kid Rock to the folks who've donated.
So many of you who may not be famous, have driven,
have donated, have have sent It's incredible what you've done.
(09:57):
And it's at moments like this that you see the
best of the human spirit. Mark Startling is our guest. Mark.
Let's talk about exactly where is your community in understand
I mean, I hate to ask this question, but we've
had a significant loss of life and we've had a
significant recovery effort. I wouldn't wish this on the worst
(10:20):
places in the world. Talk a little bit about put
your journalism hat on and tell us where we are.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
So obviously, the recovery operation is ongoing and it will
probably be one going for the better part of a year,
if not longer. There is power back in a lot
of places. There are still a lot of places that
do not have power. All of the city of Ashville
is out of Our water system was destroyed by eighty
five percent, so essentially it was demolished. The cell service
(10:54):
is back. It still remains spotty in some places. But
folks are getting right folks. Folks are are rallying together
and they're taking care of each other. And you know,
one of the things that I've when I've been talking
to people, they've said to me, they said, you know,
I've been I've never checked on my neighbors as much
as I've checked on my neighbors now. And the first
(11:15):
time I did it, I didn't even bother to ask
who they voted for before I cared if they were
all right, And I thought that was kind of funny
because when you look at pre storm and poststorm, none
of that stuff that was ongoing pre storm matters. Nothing
outside of western North Carolina matters right now to us. Now.
We are very much worried about our friends in Florida
(11:35):
with the hurricane that's coming in down there, but we
are concentrated here on really getting the infrastructure back online,
getting our people taken care of, getting them sheltered, getting
them fed, getting making sure they've got the supplies that
they need, and most importantly, you know, getting our kids
back in school. We can't afford another COVID type situation
where our kids are out of school for this law
(11:58):
is the Has the federal sponse been lackluster? I would
say it has. As someone who would consider themselves a
victim of this storm, I can't be in my house
right now. A matter of fact, I'm I was on
my way to my house when I got the call
that to come on the show. And look, FEMA doesn't
necessarily do things easily, but it's the federal government, and
(12:20):
I don't know why anybody would expect the federal government
to make anything easy or uncomplicated, you know, we are.
Of course, we have the stories of people not getting
you know, their aid or getting denied. And what we
are finding is is that if people are using the
telephones who apply for FEMA disaster assistance, or they're using
the app, they're almost getting denied immediately every time. And
(12:40):
so we have said go to the tent in person,
take your paperwork with you, and talk to a person.
Nine times out of ten, Michael, that decision is reversed
and those people are approved to get their disaster assistance
so that they can go on to the next step
of applying for a FEMA load. There is a lot
of misinformation out there. There is a lot of half
(13:01):
information out there. I would ask that people just question
everything they read when it comes down to the response
in western North Carolina, again, do I think they relate
to the game. Considering the fact that we had eighty
five to ninety private helicopter pilots in the air before
FEMA could even blink their eyes and rescuing people and
(13:25):
delivering Starlink units. Greg Biffle, Nascar driver, he picked somehow
he got a load of Starlink unit and started flying
around in his own helicopter giving them to people so
that they could be connected again and they could get information.
The response from the private sector is what we'll save
Western North Carolina. It will have nothing to do with FEMA. Now,
(13:47):
I don't want to knock the people with FEMA on
the ground. These are not the bureaucrats that make this
system so damn confusing and so ridiculous to try to navigate.
Some of these people actually lost homes and lost, you know,
lost family, lost, They were victims of this storm as well.
You know, so I've been asking people please try to
(14:09):
walk with some grace through this. I know it's difficult,
and I'll tell you, Michael, I've had several phone calls
from people that said, Mark, I took your advice and
I just tried to take my grace with me and
really keep a stiff upper lip and just deal with
this at a at a as rationally as I could.
And you know, it worked out for them. Again, do
(14:29):
I think the federal response has been lackluster? I do,
But we are getting our people taken care of, and
I do believe that it will be the private sector
that rebuilds Western North Carolina and turns this place into
the crown jewel of the Blue Ridge Mountains as it
once was. A laugh.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Man, I'm not gonna lie to you. This, uh, this
chokes me up. Mark You're you're I can tell you're
so tired. You've got the sand in the back of
your eyes, kind of tired. You've got the grit in
your throat, you've got the kind of foggy brain. But
(15:12):
you also know that this is a moment that you've
been called to and and that you've got You've got
to do what you've got to do. This is when
a man becomes a man. This is when you put
away your childish things and do what your duty is
to do. And it's a it's a beautiful thing to hear.
(15:32):
I'm gonna put you on the spot. And this is
why at awards ceremonies you never thank one person because
you'll forget someone. But I want you to tell me
some of the folks just just give their names so
they get a national audience. At ww NC radio that
got flooded in, stayed there, stayed on the air, served
the community despite it all. In the in the radio world, folks,
(15:55):
I'll tell y'all, in our industry, the people who do
what we do, these guys are the heroes of the
moment because of what they've done. We're all talking about it.
Mention some of those names so that their families get
to hear them bragged on.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
So first and foremost, I have to say Tank Spencer.
Tank Spencer and I were at the station starting on Thursday,
and we kind of rode this. We had asked our
other air staff and our sales staff, you know, the
best thing that you can do for us during the
storm is you can be at home, because we're going
to need to reach out to you to find out
(16:29):
what's going on in your section of town. Tell me
what's happening in your section of town. So Tank and
I were there through the duration of the storm at
the radio station, trapped in there by trees that had fallen.
As soon as those trees got out, as soon as
they got those trees moved, our team came in like
the cavalry. Eddie Fox, Amanda Fox, Jeremy Green, Josh Michael,
(16:52):
ariel Rymer, Brian Hall, I mean, John hewittt our engineer.
You know the names are. It's just these folks here.
This air staff has been incredible. They were given the
impossible task of keeping people calm and being a gentle
(17:15):
voice when people were at their worst. When when when
the when the worst time in a person's life. They
could have lost loved ones, they could have lost their homes,
and they were on edge. That staff, our staff was
able to provide these people with comfort. We've cried with
them on the air, We've laughed with them on the air.
(17:38):
We've we've met them in the front parking lot of
the radio station when they came by and they just
needed a hug, and they came by with cookies, or
they came by with a cast role because in the
South need to feel better. Everybody bringing a cast role
like cast roles, or they answer to anything. These people
are just amazing, Michael. I mean, they just I can't
(18:00):
say enough good things about them. They they have changed
by view of humanity.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Mark Starling, Hank tight right there, Program director ww NC Asheville,
North Carolina, hits so hard by this storm. We are
out of time for this segment. What we're gonna do
is we're gonna keep talking off air and that will
be posted to our podcast shortly. If you're not a listener,
then subscribe or at least go to this podcast. If
you are. It will be part of this podcast, and
(18:29):
you'll hear the end of our conversation because we've got
lots more to talk about. I'm sorry Mark say that again.
You were saying that your your faith in humanity has
been renewed.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
Because of the selflessness that they have put themselves through.
They have fourteen days, we've been fielding phone calls twenty
four hours a day, seven days a week. We've set
up a relief network. We have our own wellness and
location checks team. They have reunited one hundred and twenty
families with their ones. We have two chainsaw crews. These
(19:04):
guys aren't getting paid anything. They go out and they've
taken sixty to seventy trees off of houses and all
they're asking for is a hug afterwards. This is the
kind of humanity that encompasses western North Carolina. It has
just been in just overwhelming to see this happen, and
(19:25):
to know that to know that I was able to
play just even the smallest part in this has just
it has been such an honor to serve these people,
and to serve alongside these people what we are doing
here at WWNC. I don't know if this would happen
in other parts of the country. The people of this
(19:48):
area are so resilient and so tough, and they are
so loving and so caring. I just over the last
ten years I've been here in western North Carolina, there
have been times that I question why am I here?
Why did I end up here? And I do believe
it was for this moment that I ended up here.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
You know, Mark, five ten years from now, you will
be at a music festival that one of your other
stations is hosting, or you'll be at some public event,
or you'll be emceeing a political debate. You'll be doing
something where someone knows who you are, and they'll say,
there's Mark Sterling with WWNC. And someone will walk up
(20:34):
and tell a story, and they will tell a story
about cowering in their house as the waters rose and
scared to death, and your voice was the only thing.
And you know, when it's all gone, when the electricity's
gone and the web is gone, and all the things
that we cling to are gone, and the disaster is
(20:58):
in full swing, and Mother Nate's wrath is upon us.
And to know that they've got that little handheld radio
they forgot they had that AM radio and they got
that to their ear and they're huddled around like a
fireside speech in nineteen thirty two. And to know that
you were what was keeping them saying because you were
finding in the pit of your gut in a place
(21:19):
you did not recess, you didn't know existed, a positivity
that you didn't even believe that got them through. Oh boy,
that's going to hit you. That's going to hit you hard.
That is going to make you realize why, as you said,
this is why you are where you are where you
are supposed to be, in the right place at the
(21:41):
right time. And wow, did you guys ever rise to
the occasion. I hope you will give all of your
team a group hug for me. We're going to send
you all some can y'all receive packages to the station now?
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Yes? Yeah, Mail service is a matter of fact. Day
of the storm, I got a call from a mail
guy that said they want us to deliver the mail.
Those guys are heroes. Those guys are heroes.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
What ww NC delivers as well? You do. You said
you were on your way when we reached out to you.
Funny story, small small world tank spencer who we first
talked to at your station. First thing he asked me
was do you still work with Ramone? Robless And I said, oh,
my goodness, he's listening in right now, is Ramone. And
(22:33):
this is going to blow up his massive ego for
him to hear his name mentioned in North Carolina where
we're not currently on. And he said, oh, I know, Ramone.
We're in a fantasy football league together. And Keith Mollenax,
who was Pat and Ray's producer, and Ramone told me
I didn't know this. Ramone was the program director for
(22:53):
Keith when Pat Gray was in Houston, and when Keith
went to Nebraska guest, Ramon rode with him to help
him relocate his apartment. So, you know, it's one of
those good deeds you do and you never think about,
and here, fifteen years later it comes back. It's I
feel like we're sending out a very positive vibe into
(23:16):
the universe from this conversation.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
Mark.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
I'm also a very devout Christian. I believe that God's
hand has been on you and this station and this
state and your people. I think a lot of character
has been revealed through all of this. I know that
you had people waiting for you that we're trying to
get to the station to you, and that they have
made a lot of sacrifices so that you could do
(23:41):
what you've done. And I won't hold you any longer
so that you can go to be with them, Brandy
and everyone you love. But please thank them for the
rest of us for sharing you with the rest of us.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
As as soon as I can get them back to
western North Carolina, so we do that. They are currently
with my brother and his wife in Atlanta. They rode
the storm out in a gas station parking lot for
about seven hours. We lost touch for We lost touch
for roughly thirty six to forty eight hours, and as
(24:16):
Tank Spencer and I were on the air on Sunday,
he was putting the caller's names up on the computer
screen so I could see them. And I looked over
at the screen and I saw my wife's name, and
she's the only Brandy I know. This spells her name
with two ease at the end.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
I saw that.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
I looked at him and I said, I said, are
you Is this who I think it is? And he
said yes, And that was the first time I'd heard
her voice. And once the waterworks stopped, I asked her
how she was, and she was just leaving a town
meeting at Black Mountain, and she proceeded to peel into
a TV news style report that was better than any
(24:54):
national reporter I have ever seen do the job. And
she's a mental health counselor. I still haven't seen her
since this. I haven't seen her since the Thursday or
the Wednesday night before the storm. I'm hoping that they
get home sometime maybe this weekend, if not sometime into
next week. We've we did incur some damage at our
(25:15):
home and I'm trying to get that mitigated and get
that taken care of before before they come back, so
that they can come back to a home that is
safe and that is comfortable. And that is that is
that is theirs, you know it. Uh, we just got
married back in April. My son Eli, who's my stepson,
(25:36):
but he's my son. I claim him as mine. And
she she wrote it out, she wrote that storm out
with our son. We have two eighty five pound golden doodles,
one hundred pound redbone coonhound, and a six pound Shihuahua
and they were all crammed in a four runner together.
And uh, I don't know how she did it, man.
But she is the toughest, toughest little cookie I know.
(25:58):
And I've never been more blad to realize that I
can call her my wife, and I just can't wait
to see her.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Just promise me that when you took a knee and
took her hand, you said, Brandy, you're a fine girl.
What a good wife you would be.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Oh, you know, we play that song every morning during
the during the morning show since this broadcast has kind
of started, because Brandy is now calling in every morning
as and offering her free mental health counseling services to
anybody that's listening. They can email her and they and
she will counsel them for free for as long as
(26:32):
they need. But this was her way. She feels so
disconnected from the community because she's in Atlanta and she's
she's safe and comfortable, and that is fantastic, but she
just wanted to be able to do something, and so
she has offered her counseling services to all of the
folks of western North Carolina to reach out and if they,
you know, if they if they feel like they need
(26:53):
to talk to somebody, She's there for me. I'm telling you,
Michael We've got a new version outkicked my courage.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
We're gonna put the Michael Berry Show singers on this
and the new version is going to be with with
with apologies to looking Glass, It's going to be Brandy.
You're a fine girl. What a good wife. You could
be my time, I rob it is my job. I
gotta be at ww NC. Okay, it's a little long, Okay,
(27:21):
Marmone says the lyrics are too long. Okay, it's too wordy.
But we're gonna we're gonna work on Mark. I know
you got to get We appreciate you. So proud of you. You.
You have made all of us in radio so incredibly
proud you and Tank Spencer, the whole team w w
n C in Asheville, North Carolina the pride of the
nation right now.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
Thank you, sir, Thank you so much, Michael, and thank
you for keeping attention on Western North Carolina. It's a
it's an honor to talk to you, an honor be
on your show. You have a you have been a
longtime unknown mentor and I really appreciate everything.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Thank you, buddy. If you like the Michael Berry Show
and podcast, please tell one friend and if you're so
inclined write a nice review of our podcast. Comments, suggestions, questions,
and interest in being a corporate sponsor and partner can
be communicated directly to the show at our email address,
(28:17):
Michael at Michael Berryshow dot com, or simply by clicking
on our website, Michael Berryshow dot com. The Michael Berry
Show and Podcast is produced by Ramon Roebliss, the King
of Ding. Executive producer is Chad Nakanishi. Jim Mudd is
(28:41):
the creative director. Voices Jingles, Tomfoolery and Shenanigans are provided
by Chance McLain. Director of Research is Sandy Peterson. Emily
Bull is our assistant listener and superfan. Contributions are appreciated
and often incorporated into our production. Where possible, we give credit,
(29:05):
where not, we take all the credit for ourselves. God
bless the memory of Rush Limbaugh. Long live Elvis, be
a simple man like Leonard Skinnard told you, and God
bless America. Finally, if you know a veteran suffering from PTSD,
call Camp Hope at eight seven seven seven one seven
(29:30):
PTSD and a combat veteran will answer the phone to
provide free counseling.
The Michael Barry Show. I want to take a break
from all the negative news for a moment, and I
want to I want to highlight something positive, and people
responding to adversity inspires me. It makes me want to
be better. I saw things during Hurricane Harvey in Houston
at our at our flagship station k t r H.
(00:22):
I saw reporters who did not leave the station for weeks.
I saw people who they got their families placed and
they stayed there because it is a ministry, it is
a duty, it's a responsibility. And I really saw in
I saw the Cajun Navy, my my kuon as friends
(00:43):
come in to save us, and then we help them
after that. These moments inspire me and we we shouldn't
let this moment pass. For all the sadness we see
in North Carolina and now with what's going on in Florida,
we should take a moment when we see real heroism.
This is why you build monuments, because then people want
to do the things that person did that the monument
(01:04):
is built for. I'd like to build a monument right here,
right now to w w n C in Asheville, North Carolina.
We have Mark Starling who is the grand Puba of
all programming there. There's a wonderful story in the Citizen Times.
I've posted it to Facebook and to our page about
these guys. They they got shut in at the station.
(01:25):
They didn't complain. They said, we got a job to do,
we gotta we got to help the people. We got
to connect the people, we got to comfort the people.
And they did it. Mark Starling, do you have a
sounder you can use for Mark Starley, a propers Hold on, Mark,
we've got it. We've got to do this properly. Maybe
a walk up song, something to pay tribute to this
man and his team and what they've done. It really
(01:47):
is incredible. We're working on your walk up song. We
didn't think about this ahead of time. You got it
all right? Go here we go, Mark, Really what I
was thinking? Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. Hold on, folks,
(02:08):
get yourselves ready. Let me start yet, Mark, let this build.
Probably first time this dude's laughed in three weeks. You
realize that, right, he probably does smell. He hadn't bathed
in three weeks. He's been They've literally lived, they've been
shut into the station. Here we go and where all
(02:33):
where rep.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Right she's asking where the White Knights are. They're on
right here at w w n C, Mark starting hold on.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
The night, Bring that down. This is This is the
article in the Citizen Times in Asheville, North Carolina, where
they broadcast Trapped in the station by falling trees, offline,
no power, no water, negligible cell phone reception. A team
of local broadcasters stayed on air as tropical Storm Helene
(03:21):
brought flooding and devastation to western North Carolina. A week
and a half later, they're still there, fielding NonStop phone
calls from community members and trying to connect those with
needs to those with the skills and resources to fill them.
It began September twenty seventh, as news director and morning
show host Mark Starling rode out tropical Storm Helene in
(03:43):
iHeartRadio's West Asheville studio miles away. His wife, Brandy, was
braced in an suv with their son and four dogs
at the Sitgo station in Black Mountain, watching waves come
over the top of the I forty five overpass. She'd
been trying to get to the studio. Man, I'm sorry,
(04:04):
I get choked up because my wife and kids. I
was given a speech in Baton Ruge when Harvey hit
and I couldn't get back into town and they had
to walk through the water chest high and dangerous. Oh
my goodness, Mark Starling, I thought that if I made
enough jokes at the beginning, I'd keep from crying. Brother,
I'm not even kidding. You are a badass. You guys
(04:27):
on behalf of all the people of Asheville, North Carolina.
Thank you for what you guys have done. This really
is amazing. This really is amazing. I had radio people
from across the country reaching out to me with this story.
Have you seen these guys and see what they did?
I mean, not every hero wears capes. I hope you will.
I'm going to send you this audio. I want you
to share this conversation with everybody at your station and
(04:49):
tell them that this is truly inspirational.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
I really appreciate you seeing that. Mike. It's h It's
been a hell of a time, but you know, Western
North Carolina is one of the most determined places I
have ever lived. These people here in the mountains are amazing,
and as much as I wish I could say that
(05:16):
it was me, I have a team that is the
most top notch radio professionals I have ever been blessed
to work with. And they're all music people. They're all
music radio people, and they stepped into a role that
was one of the most difficult, heart wrenching stories to cover,
and they did it like total pros. They are simply amazing.
(05:42):
It's you know, fourteen days living in a conference room
has has taught me an awful lot. I'll be honest
with you. Number one, make sure that you have more
to eat than just chili. If a hurricane is coming
in radio stations, before you lock the two guys in
the station with nothing to eat but chili. That seemed
like a cool, cruel trick from God. But you know,
(06:04):
we moved a hunt and we conquered that one. You know,
the way this took place was just really amazing. You know,
we had no water, no power, no cell phone, no internet,
and a buddy of mine had heard he was listening
when we actually we were on the air when when
the internet went out. It was I can tell you
it was two thirty nine and thirty six seconds when
the internet went out, and he heard me say that
(06:27):
over the air, and he immediately jumped into action. He
grabbed his hand rate handheld Ham radio. He got it
to the radio station. Somehow or another handed me that
Ham radio and said, Mark, the Ham Radio Operators Network
is up and running. They're waiting for you. They're at
your disposal. They've got everything you need. And so from
(06:48):
that point on, my producer, Tank Spencer.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Who is yeah, Window Tank.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
He's amazing. He's absolutely amazing. He is one of the
most incredible people I have ever met and been blessed
to work with. We sat and we listened to the
Ham radio. We drotted down the information that we were getting.
We would we were in regular programming that we would
not regular programming off and we would go back and
do two or three hours of just the information that
we had gotten, live rescues that were happening. You know,
(07:16):
where was you know, where did you need to stay
away from? Where was the who was at next risk
for being wiped out by a flood? That type of thing.
Once that, once we got through that, we spent about
twelve to fourteen hours that way kind of getting information
out to the people. That was until our fantastic engineering
team at the iHeartRadio Emergency Engineering Crew out of Atlanta,
(07:37):
we saw them appear like apparitions in the hallway with
a Starlink satellite dish strapped to their back, and I
knew we were going to be okay. They had us
back on the air, Amen, brother, Amen, like we were
on the air the whole time. The only thing, the
only medium that people could rely on in this store
(08:00):
was AM and FM radio. And if there was ever
a story that could light a fire under the butts
of Congress and get them to sign this AM bill
AM radio in cars, this should be the story right here.
It was. Once we were back online, everything took a turn, Michael.
Everything changed because we had made it through the storm
(08:23):
and now it was time to survive. And that's exactly
what we helped our listeners do, not necessarily survival life
and death, surviving by sanity. We gave people a place
to call in and tell us they were scared, to
tell us that they had lost everything, to tell us
that they didn't know what they were going to do,
and we were able to be a calming voice for
(08:45):
them to tell them, Look, we are going to get
through this together.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Mark, for just a moment, can you spare just a
few more moments. I want to talk to you about
what's going on in your community. The station is WWNC.
His name is Mark Starling. He is the program director there.
They got they got flooded in, they couldn't get out
of the studio. They made the most of it. I
love these stories, incredibly inspirational. More with him coming up.
We're talking to Mark Starling. He is the program director.
(09:12):
That means he runs. A program director is the person
who decides who goes on the air and the news that.
It's a news talk station there in Asheville, North Carolina.
It's called w w n C. And with everything you've seen,
body bags, a loss of life, devastation, homes just being
(09:35):
knocked down. Look, there are a lot of heroes in
the middle of all this. Elon Musk is one of them,
and Starlink and bringing it in the folks who who've
you know, from kid Rock to the folks who've donated.
So many of you who may not be famous, have driven,
have donated, have have sent It's incredible what you've done.
(09:57):
And it's at moments like this that you see the
best of the human spirit. Mark Startling is our guest. Mark.
Let's talk about exactly where is your community in understand
I mean, I hate to ask this question, but we've
had a significant loss of life and we've had a
significant recovery effort. I wouldn't wish this on the worst
(10:20):
places in the world. Talk a little bit about put
your journalism hat on and tell us where we are.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
So obviously, the recovery operation is ongoing and it will
probably be one going for the better part of a year,
if not longer. There is power back in a lot
of places. There are still a lot of places that
do not have power. All of the city of Ashville
is out of Our water system was destroyed by eighty
five percent, so essentially it was demolished. The cell service
(10:54):
is back. It still remains spotty in some places. But
folks are getting right folks. Folks are are rallying together
and they're taking care of each other. And you know,
one of the things that I've when I've been talking
to people, they've said to me, they said, you know,
I've been I've never checked on my neighbors as much
as I've checked on my neighbors now. And the first
(11:15):
time I did it, I didn't even bother to ask
who they voted for before I cared if they were
all right, And I thought that was kind of funny
because when you look at pre storm and poststorm, none
of that stuff that was ongoing pre storm matters. Nothing
outside of western North Carolina matters right now to us. Now.
We are very much worried about our friends in Florida
(11:35):
with the hurricane that's coming in down there, but we
are concentrated here on really getting the infrastructure back online,
getting our people taken care of, getting them sheltered, getting
them fed, getting making sure they've got the supplies that
they need, and most importantly, you know, getting our kids
back in school. We can't afford another COVID type situation
where our kids are out of school for this law
(11:58):
is the Has the federal sponse been lackluster? I would
say it has. As someone who would consider themselves a
victim of this storm, I can't be in my house
right now. A matter of fact, I'm I was on
my way to my house when I got the call
that to come on the show. And look, FEMA doesn't
necessarily do things easily, but it's the federal government, and
(12:20):
I don't know why anybody would expect the federal government
to make anything easy or uncomplicated, you know, we are.
Of course, we have the stories of people not getting
you know, their aid or getting denied. And what we
are finding is is that if people are using the
telephones who apply for FEMA disaster assistance, or they're using
the app, they're almost getting denied immediately every time. And
(12:40):
so we have said go to the tent in person,
take your paperwork with you, and talk to a person.
Nine times out of ten, Michael, that decision is reversed
and those people are approved to get their disaster assistance
so that they can go on to the next step
of applying for a FEMA load. There is a lot
of misinformation out there. There is a lot of half
(13:01):
information out there. I would ask that people just question
everything they read when it comes down to the response
in western North Carolina, again, do I think they relate
to the game. Considering the fact that we had eighty
five to ninety private helicopter pilots in the air before
FEMA could even blink their eyes and rescuing people and
(13:25):
delivering Starlink units. Greg Biffle, Nascar driver, he picked somehow
he got a load of Starlink unit and started flying
around in his own helicopter giving them to people so
that they could be connected again and they could get information.
The response from the private sector is what we'll save
Western North Carolina. It will have nothing to do with FEMA. Now,
(13:47):
I don't want to knock the people with FEMA on
the ground. These are not the bureaucrats that make this
system so damn confusing and so ridiculous to try to navigate.
Some of these people actually lost homes and lost, you know,
lost family, lost, They were victims of this storm as well.
You know, so I've been asking people please try to
(14:09):
walk with some grace through this. I know it's difficult,
and I'll tell you, Michael, I've had several phone calls
from people that said, Mark, I took your advice and
I just tried to take my grace with me and
really keep a stiff upper lip and just deal with
this at a at a as rationally as I could.
And you know, it worked out for them. Again, do
(14:29):
I think the federal response has been lackluster? I do,
But we are getting our people taken care of, and
I do believe that it will be the private sector
that rebuilds Western North Carolina and turns this place into
the crown jewel of the Blue Ridge Mountains as it
once was. A laugh.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Man, I'm not gonna lie to you. This, uh, this
chokes me up. Mark You're you're I can tell you're
so tired. You've got the sand in the back of
your eyes, kind of tired. You've got the grit in
your throat, you've got the kind of foggy brain. But
(15:12):
you also know that this is a moment that you've
been called to and and that you've got You've got
to do what you've got to do. This is when
a man becomes a man. This is when you put
away your childish things and do what your duty is
to do. And it's a it's a beautiful thing to hear.
(15:32):
I'm gonna put you on the spot. And this is
why at awards ceremonies you never thank one person because
you'll forget someone. But I want you to tell me
some of the folks just just give their names so
they get a national audience. At ww NC radio that
got flooded in, stayed there, stayed on the air, served
the community despite it all. In the in the radio world, folks,
(15:55):
I'll tell y'all, in our industry, the people who do
what we do, these guys are the heroes of the
moment because of what they've done. We're all talking about it.
Mention some of those names so that their families get
to hear them bragged on.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
So first and foremost, I have to say Tank Spencer.
Tank Spencer and I were at the station starting on Thursday,
and we kind of rode this. We had asked our
other air staff and our sales staff, you know, the
best thing that you can do for us during the
storm is you can be at home, because we're going
to need to reach out to you to find out
(16:29):
what's going on in your section of town. Tell me
what's happening in your section of town. So Tank and
I were there through the duration of the storm at
the radio station, trapped in there by trees that had fallen.
As soon as those trees got out, as soon as
they got those trees moved, our team came in like
the cavalry. Eddie Fox, Amanda Fox, Jeremy Green, Josh Michael,
(16:52):
ariel Rymer, Brian Hall, I mean, John hewittt our engineer.
You know the names are. It's just these folks here.
This air staff has been incredible. They were given the
impossible task of keeping people calm and being a gentle
(17:15):
voice when people were at their worst. When when when
the when the worst time in a person's life. They
could have lost loved ones, they could have lost their homes,
and they were on edge. That staff, our staff was
able to provide these people with comfort. We've cried with
them on the air, We've laughed with them on the air.
(17:38):
We've we've met them in the front parking lot of
the radio station when they came by and they just
needed a hug, and they came by with cookies, or
they came by with a cast role because in the
South need to feel better. Everybody bringing a cast role
like cast roles, or they answer to anything. These people
are just amazing, Michael. I mean, they just I can't
(18:00):
say enough good things about them. They they have changed
by view of humanity.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
Mark Starling, Hank tight right there, Program director ww NC Asheville,
North Carolina, hits so hard by this storm. We are
out of time for this segment. What we're gonna do
is we're gonna keep talking off air and that will
be posted to our podcast shortly. If you're not a listener,
then subscribe or at least go to this podcast. If
you are. It will be part of this podcast, and
(18:29):
you'll hear the end of our conversation because we've got
lots more to talk about. I'm sorry Mark say that again.
You were saying that your your faith in humanity has
been renewed.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
Because of the selflessness that they have put themselves through.
They have fourteen days, we've been fielding phone calls twenty
four hours a day, seven days a week. We've set
up a relief network. We have our own wellness and
location checks team. They have reunited one hundred and twenty
families with their ones. We have two chainsaw crews. These
(19:04):
guys aren't getting paid anything. They go out and they've
taken sixty to seventy trees off of houses and all
they're asking for is a hug afterwards. This is the
kind of humanity that encompasses western North Carolina. It has
just been in just overwhelming to see this happen, and
(19:25):
to know that to know that I was able to
play just even the smallest part in this has just
it has been such an honor to serve these people,
and to serve alongside these people what we are doing
here at WWNC. I don't know if this would happen
in other parts of the country. The people of this
(19:48):
area are so resilient and so tough, and they are
so loving and so caring. I just over the last
ten years I've been here in western North Carolina, there
have been times that I question why am I here?
Why did I end up here? And I do believe
it was for this moment that I ended up here.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
You know, Mark, five ten years from now, you will
be at a music festival that one of your other
stations is hosting, or you'll be at some public event,
or you'll be emceeing a political debate. You'll be doing
something where someone knows who you are, and they'll say,
there's Mark Sterling with WWNC. And someone will walk up
(20:34):
and tell a story, and they will tell a story
about cowering in their house as the waters rose and
scared to death, and your voice was the only thing.
And you know, when it's all gone, when the electricity's
gone and the web is gone, and all the things
that we cling to are gone, and the disaster is
(20:58):
in full swing, and Mother Nate's wrath is upon us.
And to know that they've got that little handheld radio
they forgot they had that AM radio and they got
that to their ear and they're huddled around like a
fireside speech in nineteen thirty two. And to know that
you were what was keeping them saying because you were
finding in the pit of your gut in a place
(21:19):
you did not recess, you didn't know existed, a positivity
that you didn't even believe that got them through. Oh boy,
that's going to hit you. That's going to hit you hard.
That is going to make you realize why, as you said,
this is why you are where you are where you
are supposed to be, in the right place at the
(21:41):
right time. And wow, did you guys ever rise to
the occasion. I hope you will give all of your
team a group hug for me. We're going to send
you all some can y'all receive packages to the station now?
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Yes? Yeah, Mail service is a matter of fact. Day
of the storm, I got a call from a mail
guy that said they want us to deliver the mail.
Those guys are heroes. Those guys are heroes.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
What ww NC delivers as well? You do. You said
you were on your way when we reached out to you.
Funny story, small small world tank spencer who we first
talked to at your station. First thing he asked me
was do you still work with Ramone? Robless And I said, oh,
my goodness, he's listening in right now, is Ramone. And
(22:33):
this is going to blow up his massive ego for
him to hear his name mentioned in North Carolina where
we're not currently on. And he said, oh, I know, Ramone.
We're in a fantasy football league together. And Keith Mollenax,
who was Pat and Ray's producer, and Ramone told me
I didn't know this. Ramone was the program director for
(22:53):
Keith when Pat Gray was in Houston, and when Keith
went to Nebraska guest, Ramon rode with him to help
him relocate his apartment. So, you know, it's one of
those good deeds you do and you never think about,
and here, fifteen years later it comes back. It's I
feel like we're sending out a very positive vibe into
(23:16):
the universe from this conversation.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
Mark.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
I'm also a very devout Christian. I believe that God's
hand has been on you and this station and this
state and your people. I think a lot of character
has been revealed through all of this. I know that
you had people waiting for you that we're trying to
get to the station to you, and that they have
made a lot of sacrifices so that you could do
(23:41):
what you've done. And I won't hold you any longer
so that you can go to be with them, Brandy
and everyone you love. But please thank them for the
rest of us for sharing you with the rest of us.
Speaker 3 (23:55):
As as soon as I can get them back to
western North Carolina, so we do that. They are currently
with my brother and his wife in Atlanta. They rode
the storm out in a gas station parking lot for
about seven hours. We lost touch for We lost touch
for roughly thirty six to forty eight hours, and as
(24:16):
Tank Spencer and I were on the air on Sunday,
he was putting the caller's names up on the computer
screen so I could see them. And I looked over
at the screen and I saw my wife's name, and
she's the only Brandy I know. This spells her name
with two ease at the end.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
I saw that.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
I looked at him and I said, I said, are
you Is this who I think it is? And he
said yes, And that was the first time I'd heard
her voice. And once the waterworks stopped, I asked her
how she was, and she was just leaving a town
meeting at Black Mountain, and she proceeded to peel into
a TV news style report that was better than any
(24:54):
national reporter I have ever seen do the job. And
she's a mental health counselor. I still haven't seen her
since this. I haven't seen her since the Thursday or
the Wednesday night before the storm. I'm hoping that they
get home sometime maybe this weekend, if not sometime into
next week. We've we did incur some damage at our
(25:15):
home and I'm trying to get that mitigated and get
that taken care of before before they come back, so
that they can come back to a home that is
safe and that is comfortable. And that is that is
that is theirs, you know it. Uh, we just got
married back in April. My son Eli, who's my stepson,
(25:36):
but he's my son. I claim him as mine. And
she she wrote it out, she wrote that storm out
with our son. We have two eighty five pound golden doodles,
one hundred pound redbone coonhound, and a six pound Shihuahua
and they were all crammed in a four runner together.
And uh, I don't know how she did it, man.
But she is the toughest, toughest little cookie I know.
(25:58):
And I've never been more blad to realize that I
can call her my wife, and I just can't wait
to see her.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Just promise me that when you took a knee and
took her hand, you said, Brandy, you're a fine girl.
What a good wife you would be.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Oh, you know, we play that song every morning during
the during the morning show since this broadcast has kind
of started, because Brandy is now calling in every morning
as and offering her free mental health counseling services to
anybody that's listening. They can email her and they and
she will counsel them for free for as long as
(26:32):
they need. But this was her way. She feels so
disconnected from the community because she's in Atlanta and she's
she's safe and comfortable, and that is fantastic, but she
just wanted to be able to do something, and so
she has offered her counseling services to all of the
folks of western North Carolina to reach out and if they,
you know, if they if they feel like they need
(26:53):
to talk to somebody, She's there for me. I'm telling you,
Michael We've got a new version outkicked my courage.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
We're gonna put the Michael Berry Show singers on this
and the new version is going to be with with
with apologies to looking Glass, It's going to be Brandy.
You're a fine girl. What a good wife. You could
be my time, I rob it is my job. I
gotta be at ww NC. Okay, it's a little long, Okay,
(27:21):
Marmone says the lyrics are too long. Okay, it's too wordy.
But we're gonna we're gonna work on Mark. I know
you got to get We appreciate you. So proud of you. You.
You have made all of us in radio so incredibly
proud you and Tank Spencer, the whole team w w
n C in Asheville, North Carolina the pride of the
nation right now.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
Thank you, sir, Thank you so much, Michael, and thank
you for keeping attention on Western North Carolina. It's a
it's an honor to talk to you, an honor be
on your show. You have a you have been a
longtime unknown mentor and I really appreciate everything.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Thank you, buddy. If you like the Michael Berry Show
and podcast, please tell one friend and if you're so
inclined write a nice review of our podcast. Comments, suggestions, questions,
and interest in being a corporate sponsor and partner can
be communicated directly to the show at our email address,
(28:17):
Michael at Michael Berryshow dot com, or simply by clicking
on our website, Michael Berryshow dot com. The Michael Berry
Show and Podcast is produced by Ramon Roebliss, the King
of Ding. Executive producer is Chad Nakanishi. Jim Mudd is
(28:41):
the creative director. Voices Jingles, Tomfoolery and Shenanigans are provided
by Chance McLain. Director of Research is Sandy Peterson. Emily
Bull is our assistant listener and superfan. Contributions are appreciated
and often incorporated into our production. Where possible, we give credit,
(29:05):
where not, we take all the credit for ourselves. God
bless the memory of Rush Limbaugh. Long live Elvis, be
a simple man like Leonard Skinnard told you, and God
bless America. Finally, if you know a veteran suffering from PTSD,
call Camp Hope at eight seven seven seven one seven
(29:30):
PTSD and a combat veteran will answer the phone to
provide free counseling.
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