For 65 years, WGFA has been broadcasting in east central Illinois and west central Indiana. From their studios located in Watseka, Illinois, they’ve shared local news, agriculture, sports and community programming — all while remaining in the family that first put the station on the air.
WGFA began broadcasting in September 1961, when the father of current Iroquois County Broadcasting Company president and general manager Stacey Smith launched WGFA-AM 1360. The station added 94.1 FM a year later.
Even the station's call letters reflect its agricultural roots.
“WGFA stands for the world's greatest farming area,” Smith said. “He was very excited when he was able to get those call letters because that truly is where our station is located.”
Based in Watseka, Illinois, WGFA serves an area Smith described as the “buckle of the Corn Belt.” From its earliest days, the station built its programming around news, agriculture and local sports.
Sports became an especially significant part of WGFA's history. Smith's father, Dick Martin, helped form a corporation in the 1970s that developed an early University of Illinois sports network. He served as the play-by-play voice for Illini football and worked on television broadcasts for basketball. Decades later, WGFA remains an Illini affiliate and continues its commitment to local athletics, broadcasting approximately 85 high school football, volleyball and basketball games each season.
Agriculture remains central to the station as well. NAFB farm broadcaster and local producer John Gooding provides agricultural programming for WGFA.
The family legacy continued when Smith's mother, Maggie Martin, joined the business in 1989. She oversaw significant improvements, including taking 94.1 FM to its full licensed 50,000 watts.
“She was always a very forward-thinking businesswoman, and she really took the station to the level that it was and is today,” Smith said.
Today, Smith and her four siblings own the stations, with Smith carrying on the family's day-to-day involvement in the business.
While broadcasting technology has changed dramatically over 65 years, Smith said WGFA has evolved with it. Listeners can now access the station through its apps, website streaming and smart speakers in addition to traditional radio.
What hasn't changed is its commitment to being local. WGFA continues to provide airtime for nonprofit organizations, cover community events and even air its longtime Trading Post program, where listeners can call in to buy, sell and trade personal items.
For Smith, reaching 65 years is ultimately a testament to everyone who has supported the station.
“If it weren't for our employees, advertisers and listeners, we would not be here,” Smith said.
As WGFA celebrates the milestone, Smith said her family remains grateful for the generations who have made the station part of their lives.
“We've been very blessed, and we're extremely happy to still be here,” she said. “We're very, very grateful.”
