The year is 1986. Movie-goers flock to theaters to see “Top Gun.” Children play the very first “Legend of Zelda” video game. Warren County hears the voice of Mike Thomas on the air for the first time.

Thomas, the program and music director at the Warrenton-based KWRE/KFAV radio station, has been delivering local news and playing country tunes for 35 years, with over two decades as the voice of the radio station’s morning broadcast and KWRE’s Livewire talk show. Whether highlighting local news stories or looking for the next country music hit, Thomas is the guiding hand and voice for what goes on the air at Warren County’s hometown station. 

Starting each day at 2:30 a.m., Thomas gets news together and prepares for the morning broadcast. From 6-9 a.m. he hosts KFAV’s morning show, then switches to KWRE to host the Livewire talk show until 10 a.m. Despite being featured on the air for so many years, Thomas said he tries to never make any of the programs about himself.

“I want to be informative, but I also know that people turn on a country radio station to hear country music. So many radio stations gets so wrapped up in themselves ... that they forget that people would like to hear a song now and then,” Thomas commented.

Ironically, Thomas actually started at the station with a sales job, having nothing to do with the broadcast. But the week he started, Thomas was asked to fill in for a part-time radio host who quit. He likes to joke that he’s been filling in ever since, and he’s never stopped loving what he does.

“There’s always something different going on. You know every week you’re going to have something different to talk about. That’s what’s neat here,” Thomas explained. “You don’t do it for the money. You do it for the love of the job. As long as I keep The year is 1986. Movie-goers flock to theaters to see “Top Gun.” Children play the very first “Legend of Zelda” video game. Warren County hears the voice of Mike Thomas on the air for the first time.

Thomas, the program and music director at the Warrenton-based KWRE/KFAV radio station, has been delivering local news and playing country tunes for 35 years, with over two decades as the voice of the radio station’s morning broadcast and KWRE’s Livewire talk show. Whether highlighting local news stories or looking for the next country music hit, Thomas is the guiding hand and voice for what goes on the air at Warren County’s hometown station. 

Starting each day at 2:30 a.m., Thomas gets news together and prepares for the morning broadcast. From 6-9 a.m. he hosts KFAV’s morning show, then switches to KWRE to host the Livewire talk show until 10 a.m. Despite being featured on the air for so many years, Thomas said he tries to never make any of the programs about himself.

“I want to be informative, but I also know that people turn on a country radio station to hear country music. So many radio stations gets so wrapped up in themselves ... that they forget that people would like to hear a song now and then,” Thomas commented.

Ironically, Thomas actually started at the station with a sales job, having nothing to do with the broadcast. But the week he started, Thomas was asked to fill in for a part-time radio host who quit. He likes to joke that he’s been filling in ever since, and he’s never stopped loving what he does.

“There’s always something different going on. You know every week you’re going to have something different to talk about. That’s what’s neat here,” Thomas explained. “You don’t do it for the money. You do it for the love of the job. As long as I keep loving it, I’ll keep coming in. And honestly, it does take a lot of support from family.”

Over the last three decades, Thomas has become steeped in country music culture, regularly interacting with music promoters and often getting chances to interview performers who are up and coming in the music world. Setting an early  goal of being “known in Nashville,” Thomas has since won multiple music industry awards and been nominated to the Country Radio Hall of Fame.

Thomas said the biggest performer he’s gotten to interview is Garth Brooks — three times.

“The first time was pretty amazing. He had just become the Garth Brooks, just broken out, and he had a line of (disc jockeys) waiting to talk,” Thomas recalled. “He had just had a daughter, and I had two girls, and I said ‘How’s your daughter doing?’ We sat there for an hour talking about kids – we didn’t even talk about music!”

Interacting with many other musicians over the years, the “star struck” feeling fades and you realize they’re normal people, said Thomas. He loves that his station can help give new songs and unknown musicians their start, with claims to being one of the first stations to play hit songs like “I Loved Her First” and “Achy Breaky Heart.”

Being engrossed with everything going on in the music world can be overwhelming, Thomas said,  but he finds balance in the more grounded reality of local news. He uses his Livewire talk show to interview local personalities, community leaders, and elected officials, engaging them in a way that’s approachable and respectful.

“I don’t believe in ‘gotcha’ questions,” Thomas said. “I want to know what’s current, I want to know where they truly stand on issues. I don’t want soundbites. ... I want to show the community that these are real, accessible people.”

But what’s most fulfilling for Thomas in his 35 years in radio is the relationship he has with the other staff at the station, some of whom have worked there as long as he has.

“There’s a lot of longevity here, and that’s unheard of in radio,” Thomas said. “I can’t tell you why, other than we have a big family atmosphere here and everybody watches out for everyone else. ... It’s nice that we’re small enough that we can care about each other like a family.”