From Rock to Christian: radio Icon Ron Harrell

Being a radio guy myself, I always find it fun and enlightening to chat with those radio leaders who are making waves in the business. Ron Harrell is one of those guys. He's been responsible for programming some of the most successful Top 40, Adult Contemporary and Country radio stations around the country for the past 30 years. Now he jumps in with both feet to bring his radio experience to a very different format as the new brand and content manager for a 42 station Christian radio network WAY-FM. You'll find out about some of the challenges in making the leap, how Christian radio differs from other formats and how his faith brought him to this new frontier. If you are a Contemporary Christian radio listener or have never experienced it, you'll find out how this kind of radio is special and how Ron approaches this new chapter in his radio career. If you are in one of the cities where WAY FM is, great. If Not...just ask Alexa to play WAY-FM or find them online live at https://listen.wayfm.com/national/.

RON HARRELL AT A GLANCE

Radio broadcasting leader and Vice President of Branded Content at Way FM

Topics

Christian broadcasting · Radio career · Way FM · Faith & work · Leadership · Pastor’s kid · Radio ethics · Prayer · God’s guidance · Christian media

His Faith Journey

Pastor’s kid → early exposure to ministry and radio → secular radio career → faith and workplace challenges → leadership shaped by Christian values → Way FM and Christian media ministry.

This Episode Explores

• Ron Harrell’s decades-long radio career

• Growing up as a pastor’s kid

• How his father introduced him to radio

• Moving through major U.S. radio markets

• His transition from secular radio to Way FM

• What Way FM means by “uplifting, upbeat, and real”

• Making Christian radio relatable rather than preachy

• Ethical challenges in secular broadcasting

• Lynn Anderson’s influence on Ron’s leadership philosophy

• How Ron experienced God during career uncertainty

• Finding a personal “connection point” with God

• Ron’s vision for Christian media and ministry

Questions Answered

• Who is Ron Harrell?

• What is Ron Harrell’s role at Way FM?

• What is Way FM?

• How many stations does Way FM operate?

• What does “uplifting, upbeat, and real” mean?

• Why does Way FM emphasize relatable presenters?

• How did Ron Harrell get started in radio?

• How did being a pastor’s kid influence Ron?

• What ethical challenges did Ron face in secular radio?

• How did Ron’s faith influence his leadership?

• How did Ron end up at Way FM?

• How does Ron experience God in everyday life?

• What does Ron ask people to pray for at Way FM?

Core Story

Ron Harrell’s career has taken him through decades of secular radio and numerous U.S. markets before bringing him to Way FM in Nashville as Vice President of Branded Content. Growing up as a pastor’s kid, he developed an early fascination with radio while also developing a Christian faith that influenced how he viewed work, ethics and leadership. At Way FM, Ron sees Christian broadcasting as a ministry built around contemporary Christian music, relatable personalities and culturally relevant media. He describes prayer, nature and openness to God’s direction as important parts of his ongoing relationship with Jesus.

Ron Harrell: Radio, Faith, Leadership & Way FM

Amazing Greats with Ric Hansen

Opening

Speaker:Welcome to the Amazing Greats podcast, where we have a unique opportunity to talk with people you know from movies, music, sports, books, or politics. It's a real and raw conversation about their life, their career, and how faith has played a role in it. No preaching or teaching, and no church experience is required.

Today, join your host, a radio veteran for over 30 years from Seattle. Here's Ric Hansen.

Ric Hansen:Thank you, Joe Michaels, for that great introduction.

I am here today visiting with a guy that our paths have crossed a couple of times along the way in radio. My background is radio, and this guy is one of the leaders in broadcasting in the U.S. for the last couple of decades. His name's Ron Harrell.

Ron, I think we met up at maybe Denver. You were in Denver, you were in Dallas, you were in Detroit. Then you ran out of cities with the first initial D, so you moved to Seattle, which is where I live. And now you're in Nashville.

So, an incredible radio journey where you've seen a lot of the great United States of America and been at a lot of great radio stations along the way. So welcome to our podcast. Thank you for being here.

Ron Harrell:Thank you, Ric. When we were going from Denver, Detroit, Dallas, and then I told the kids, "Hey, we're moving again," and they said, "Well, which city with a D?"

I said, "I don't know. Des Moines, Dayton?"

"You don't want to go to Des Moines."

So I said, "No, no, no. We're gonna jump the alphabet this time and go to Seattle."

So we did have a D theme going there for a while.

Growing Up a Pastor's Kid

Ric Hansen:Yeah, but you're not unaccustomed to being a mover because you are what we call in the biz, you're a PK—pastor's kid, right?

Ron Harrell:Yes. Born in Canada because my dad was a missionary up there, getting the family ready to go to Southeast Asia. Then there was a change in plans, and we ended up back in the Deep South and the Mid-South, where my parents had grown up, and that became familiar territory.

But much like radio, a lot of times as a pastor, you find yourself moving often. Every once in a while there's the pastor that stays at a church for 30 years. And similar to radio, you'll find that morning-show host who's only worked in one market. But for the most part, you find them moving around quite a bit.

So it was part of me to be able to do that. And I chose a career that often can do the same thing—can pick you up and move you around a lot.

Ric Hansen:Yeah, yeah. And I'm an example of the other kind. I'm the guy that stayed in Seattle all my life.

But I have a cousin, the guy actually who mentored me, that much like you went to where the great jobs were. They just went to where they were needed and where they could make a mark.

In fact, you might have run across him as Chuck Buell, who worked at WLS in Chicago and KFRC in San Francisco, all of these great radio stations. Somewhere along the way, Chuck did some kind of voice demo for me at some station, probably in Denver at one time.

Ron Harrell:I had Chuck or something, but I didn't know the connection between you two. That's really cool.

Ric Hansen:Yeah, he lives in Denver now.

Ron Harrell:And you know, the other thing is, Ric, that we find ourselves admiring the other person.

I look at you staying in one town your entire career, and at this point I go, "Wow, man, wouldn't that be cool if I could have done that?"

And then there are times where you find people on the other side going, "Man, I wish I had moved like you had."

Ric Hansen:That's it. And I have the same feelings. I thought, "Well, what would have or could have happened if I explored a little more and went to different cities and had different experiences?"

So, yeah, you're right. It's whatever ends up happening, and you just gotta be happy with it.

A New Chapter at Way FM

Ric Hansen:So now, the big change in your career just happened, really, because all of this time you're in secular radio. You're doing Top 40, you're doing adult contemporary, you're doing country.

But this is a first for you. You're now—let me get the title straight—Vice President of Branded Content. And so what does that mean?

You're with Way FM. Let's start with that. Way FM is a Christian broadcast network of stations. Tell me, what is a brand and content manager, and tell us a little bit more about Way FM?

Ron Harrell:For years, our position has been called program director, director of programming, or vice president of programming.

I'd say in the last five or six years, you've seen companies moving to this brand-and-content title. It primarily came from the digital space, where you had digital people that we would get in front of and we would say what we do.

The program director—you and I being veterans of the business—we know what that means. You're responsible for everything that comes out of the speakers.

Whether it's a car speaker or a desktop radio, or today a smart device or smartphone, that's what that person does.

It didn't resonate that well, and so somebody had the genius idea to start calling us brand directors, content coordinators, content directors, that kind of thing.

And brand and content seems to be one that has really stuck here lately.

So, responsible for what comes out of the speakers and the devices and anything that has to do with our brand—that's what this office does here.

Ric Hansen:Yeah, and in essence, what you look like in the community, what the brand represents in the community.

So it's probably a lot more fitting to call it brand and content manager because it is all-encompassing at that point.

Ron Harrell:I think so. And it's more fitting for me when I say it out loud, or when you say it back to me, that I go, "Oh, right, right—everything that has to do with the brand."

But for years, this office would be responsible for street teams and promotions and maybe marketing. And if you were going to do television or direct mail or billboards or anything like that, it all somehow funneled through this office.

So I think it makes more sense that it's called branding and content now.

What Is Way FM?

Ric Hansen:So Way FM, living in Seattle, we don't have a Way FM station per se. But I've become very familiar with it because I'm a fan.

You're available anywhere on the internet. In fact, my little Alexa lady over here, all I have to do is say, "Alexa, play Way FM," and you're right there.

So tell us about the extent, the broad audience that Way FM has, and what Way FM is all about.

Ron Harrell:We're a contemporary Christian music radio station, with our facilities primarily here in Nashville, Franklin, Tennessee. Everything that broadcasting's created comes out of this facility here.

And then we have about 40 signals across the country, all the way from Portland to West Palm.

We're in Dallas, Louisville, Denver, Colorado Springs, Wichita. I don't have them all in front of me right now, but just spread out across the U.S.

And we have local facilities and local teams there because we do local underwriting. And then we are listener- and community-supported too.

So we have both of those going as a means to keep this ministry going. And that's exactly what it is. It's a ministry that we're trying to reach out to people and to an audience that needs contemporary Christian music and then needs announcers, co-hosts, jocks—whatever you want to call them.

I still call them DJs. They'll always be DJs.

Although, Ric, I have moved to the term "presenter" lately.

Ric Hansen:Have you?

Ron Harrell:Not because I'm British, but just because I tell our team, "You are presenting on so many different levels."

You're talking into this microphone that goes out into the speakers and the devices and everything, but you're also presenting to social media, you're helping the digital team create a video—all of these things that you are presenting of our product here.

So that's a term that I continue to use, but for the veterans, they're always disc jockeys.

Everything comes out of the Franklin studios here that then goes out to those other facilities.

Ric Hansen:So are all the stations owned by the company?

Ron Harrell:Yes. It's all part of Way FM Media.

And then on our digital front, we have something called Way Nation, and then we have Way Loud, and then we have Way Now—a couple of different music formats that we have there.

And all of those are extremely important to the whole ministry as we're trying to reach every different level of Christian music consumption and consumers that we can find.

"Uplifting, Upbeat, and Real"

Ric Hansen:The one thing I love about Way FM—and I do have a question about it too—is that when you're talking about the presenters or the DJs or their personalities, they all seem to be very approachable, very real, and not real preachy or teachy, but they have great senses of humor.

They relate in a real way.

Is that the strategy, or is it just that you happen to end up with people that were like that?

Ron Harrell:No, it's definitely part of the strategy.

Bob Osberg started this back in the late '80s in Fort Myers, and I think that was his approach at the time. His strategy was to create basically a Top 40 radio station.

It happened to play contemporary Christian music at the time, but had jocks who presented that in a way that sounded like the Top 40 disc jockeys down the dial.

So our slogan is "uplifting, upbeat, and real."

And the point that you have made there, Ric, about listening to this talent really fulfills that "real" part there.

We want people that just sound approachable, that are everyday people.

There's certainly people who believe, and there's certainly people who have a mission to communicate God, but it's not in a Bible-thumping way at all.

It's really in a relational way that they are communicating that all the time.

And so we're getting people who are either in the faith or people who are searching and coming in and out of that. Maybe they're looking and maybe they think they want to get there, but they're not quite sure.

And our people are just gonna be there to kind of walk them through that.

The music does so much of the talking on a format like this. What you need to do is be that companion, just like you would at any radio station, I think.

Whether it's country or hip-hop or bluegrass, you want to be that companion piece that kind of weaves all that stuff together.

Ric Hansen:Yeah. The Wally Show in the morning—very fun, very entertaining, very relatable.

The guy that I really was attracted to on air was Brant Hansen. Brant is just so dry. His humor is so dry.

He wrote a couple of books, one of which was called The Misfits, and he certainly considers himself a misfit. And so, coming from that perspective, anybody can relate to that because we're all misfits, right?

And then his sidekick, Sherry, is just a hoot. Her laughter is so contagious that even if it's not funny, I find myself laughing just because she is laughing, and it's so authentic.

So, anyway, big fan. I love that concept of this great music and relatable personality.

So congratulations on being there and starting a kind of a whole new career there.

Ron Harrell:Well, I'm glad. Thank you.

And I'm glad I've walked into something that is already identifying with you.

I'm six weeks into this job and walking into a radio station and a presentation piece that just has so much deep, deep, deep commitment to it.

And people who have gone way before me who have set this thing up for a time for me to walk in. It's pretty cool.

Growing Up in Radio

Ric Hansen:So let's kind of circle back to your Christian journey, if you will.

As a pastor's kid, there's kind of a double-edged sword. And I'm curious as to what did Dad think of his son going into this heathenist rock-and-roll radio business? How did all that work for you?

Ron Harrell:Well, he would tell you that it's on him that this happened.

When we lived in the New Orleans area when I was a kid, he would trade out time on some of the local radio stations with other pastors and priests and preachers and clergy members on Sunday morning to fill in that spot.

When it came around to his time, every two months, let's say, he'd get his little 30-minute show on one of the AM stations in downtown New Orleans.

And he challenged me one time. He said, "Hey, I want you to put together a little five-minute sermonette and be ready to deliver this live on the radio."

Ric Hansen:How old were you at that point?

Ron Harrell:Eight years old.

Ric Hansen:Eight?

Ron Harrell:Yeah. So, my goodness.

And he had started me even earlier than that. I mean, I had pulpit action when I was six years old, Ric. It's crazy. Think about it.

But anyway, he helped me put this thing together, and it's all typed out, and I rehearsed and practiced and practiced.

Then one Sunday morning we go down there early, and I can, in my mind, still see this radio station. It had glass on the outside looking out into downtown New Orleans.

I did my little five minutes, and then after that I just became interested in radio.

Kids in my neighborhood would come over, and my dad had reel-to-reels and cassette machines. We would turn on the two little Top 40 radio stations in the market at the time, and I'd have two radios set up in the garage.

We would just go back and forth, and my buddies and I would have stuff that was prepared, and we'd fake this jockey and stuff.

I have no tapes of those. What I would give for that audio right now.

But that's kind of how I got started.

Then we moved again, and we were in a small farm community in Missouri. When I was about 15, my dad had the conversation, "Well, what do you want to do with your life?"

What he wanted me to do was follow in his footsteps.

But there's two places you grow when you grow up a PK. You either go into it or you run far, far away from it. There's really no in-between there.

And I said, "No, I'm really interested in radio, Dad."

So he had a connection to the station, talked to the manager about it, and I started out board-opping St. Louis Cardinals baseball.

When the season was over, the station manager just said, "Hey, there's a library in there that dates back to the 1940s. Go play what you want. Just make sure you play the commercials."

So Memphis was the biggest closest big market. I would listen to Memphis radio and take notes, and then I would listen to WLS at night, like every other kid in the Midwest, and take notes on those radio stations.

That's just kind of how I learned.

From Abilene to Nashville

Ric Hansen:The other interesting thing about your career and how it circled around was that—and I do want to get back to your Christian story too—but I find out things about people in my research that I had never known.

I guess Nashville was kind of a starting place for you in broadcasting too, right? In secular radio, and now you're back to Nashville.

Ron Harrell:Yeah, well, it really wasn't the starting place. It's probably as far as my resume goes back. I wanted to save paper, I guess.

Before Nashville, I was in Jackson, Mississippi. Before that, I was in Mobile, Little Rock. Abilene, Texas, was a really important market for me as a young college student working at a local commercial station.

There was a consultancy by the name of Fair West that consulted that station. I learned so much working for those guys.

We talked over every record. We had no station imaging voice, no jingles, anything like that. And it was the tightest, brightest little radio station probably I have ever worked at.

When you got off the air after four hours, you were just absolutely worn out.

Ric Hansen:And that's where you went to college, right?

Ron Harrell:Abilene Christian College—Abilene Christian University.

Ric Hansen:Yep.

Ron Harrell:Met my wife there, and then I went into a newspaper shortly right after that.

Radio at the time was just kind of something that I enjoyed doing, but I didn't think I was gonna make a career out of it.

I went to work for a newspaper, a daily in Amarillo, for about a year. And then I just really missed the business.

So I got back into it, and I haven't stopped since.

Faith and Ethical Challenges in Secular Radio

Ric Hansen:So now, being in secular radio all the while, were there times when there were maybe ethical or moral challenges for you coming from a Christian background?

A song that had to be played or a commercial that was to be played, or any kind of things that came along that were a challenge for you?

Ron Harrell:Yeah. I remember working at a station one time where I was the copywriter. It was really my first full-time job in broadcasting.

There was a club that did wet T-shirt contests, and I thought, "Boy, my dad is not gonna like this."

At the same time, I needed to write the best commercial you could ever write because that was my job—to do that kind of stuff.

I remember when I left that station, I thought, "I don't think I'll ever work for this kind of a station again, if I can help with that type deal."

But I'll tell you the one thing that stood out to me.

There was a preacher when I was in college who came and talked to a group of media people, and he said something I haven't forgotten. His name is Lynn Anderson.

To this day, I still give him credit for this.

He said, "Put yourself in positions of leadership so that you are making decisions about the content and the brand."

He didn't use the term "brand" all those years ago, but that's basically what he was getting at.

Put yourself in a place of leadership that you can help change what that sounds like or looks like or whatever.

I've never forgotten that.

Ron Harrell:Of course, I got a ton of leadership skills like that from my dad as a young kid, but it wasn't until I got to college and all of that just kind of gelled and maybe resonated as to what it meant.

From that point on, I just kind of saw myself at some point being in a leadership position.

I didn't know what that looked like, but I wanted to be that person where I could say, "This is not right for us to do this, so let's not do that."

Faith Shining Through Your Life

Ric Hansen:And, you know, Jesus himself surrounded himself with misfits and broken people, with his disciples, and they became, because of his leadership, followers. So you had a good role model in that regard.

Ron Harrell:One thing that happened here, Ric, that I really noticed after a month or so was I was working with a group of people that had similar thoughts and beliefs.

That was the first time where I had been surrounded by so much of it.

But I'll tell you the one thing that really stood out to me, and it was maybe kind of a personal affirmation, was I didn't feel like I was having to change myself.

That I was who I was, no matter what environment I walked into.

I didn't have to say to myself when I walked in here, "Oh, I need to stop talking this way now that I'm at Way FM."

No. It's just me. This is who I am. And hopefully it works for you, no matter what situation I'm in.

And I think that's a testament to our belief system and our faith and letting it shine so that others see that in us.

Without me having to be different and having to thump it out and preach it like that.

No, no. Let your life be that example, and it'd be amazing what that will do for others.

Times When God Made His Presence Known

Ric Hansen:During your long career and your successful career, is there a specific time where God really showed his presence and spoke to you and made a difference for you along the way?

Is there anything that you recall in that regard?

Ron Harrell:Yeah. The ones that come to mind are probably the unemployment times, where I'm having to go out and, you know, they talk about "listen, listen, listen."

I'm not sure I know what that means, but I know that for me it meant walking and listening to myself and saying one thing over and over often.

And that was, "God, make this clear where it is I'm supposed to go, what we're supposed to do."

I know I have a lot of ideas, but what would help me a lot is if you can kind of narrow that down and make that so clear.

Because it's not just me we're talking about. It's family we're talking about. It's possible moves that we're talking about.

And I just need there to be clarity.

That was the one word that I would use over and over and over again.

Ric Hansen:And also, when you prayed for clarity in that regard, things became more crystal clear along the way?

Ron Harrell:Yeah. I don't know that there was a sudden explosion, and I certainly didn't see the waters part or the clouds suddenly separate or anything like that.

I think I just walked through that wilderness with confidence and knowing that no matter what happened, there was going to be something that was deeper and greater than any job I could ever have.

And that was a relational foundation I have with the Creator.

It's easy to say, especially when you're employed.

But it's real too when there are times where you're sitting there going, "Wow, what's next? What do we do next? Where do we go next?"

And having to listen for that.

When Faith Is Challenged

Ric Hansen:What's the flip side of that? Is there a place along the way where you really felt like your faith was being challenged and that there were prayers that were going unanswered?

And you got frustrated about that? Is anything come to mind regarding that?

Ron Harrell:I don't know that I was ever in a position where I was just feeling abandoned or feeling like, "God, you're not there."

Maybe one day he'll reveal that to me because it tells us in the end everything will be revealed. And he's gonna laugh and go, "Oh, I can think of about 800 times where you felt that way."

But from an early age—and I guess maybe it's just the type of personality I have—it was never a question mark that God was bigger and that there was something that was greater than what I was doing here.

I certainly went through my 20s, like most people, especially when you hit college, questioning everything and starting to really think differently than my parents maybe presented it to me.

But I think it happens to everybody, whether you have a faith or not.

For me, I am blessed that at times I would sit there and go, "Man, I'm not feeling this," but I never blamed that on God.

My go-to is to blame it on myself.

"Man, why did you do this? Why did that happen? Why did you mess that up?" kind of a thing.

I didn't point the finger the other way.

How Way FM Came Together

Ric Hansen:How did the Way FM thing come together?

Was that a kind of a calling, if you will, or was it like any other radio job where you applied and they hired you, kind of thing?

Ron Harrell:I'll give you two answers.

One is, when I go back to that radio job in high school, we played this little show called Power Line, hosted by a guy named Brother John Rivers.

We played it on a radio station, and then the general manager would check the religion box for the FCC to say, "Oh yeah, here's another 30 minutes of a program."

Power Line was the show put out by the Southern Baptist Convention, and the only reason you knew that was right at the end he would say something about it.

But the rest of it was John Rivers just being a Top 40 disc jockey, playing safe contemporary pop Top 40 music and throwing in some kind of life quotes and kind of easing up to the Bible, but really, as I recall, wouldn't really go in there.

And I remember thinking, "Man, wouldn't that be cool to have a radio station like that someday?"

Where you could just do that, but you would have believers presenting all of that stuff.

So that just kind of stuck with me forever.

Contemporary Christian music back in those days was extremely different than it is now.

I never thought about a contemporary Christian music station. I didn't know they existed. I only knew about Top 40 and country, and that was about it. News stations, maybe.

So, okay, that's one.

Number two, when I was in Nashville the first time, I get a call from a guy named Chuck Finney, who recruits me out of Nashville to go to Denver and work for a company called Secret Communications, which had 23 secular radio stations across the country, right after that telecom bill passed and the whole industry changed.

Then Chuck is out of my life as he goes away, as the company was sold. And I would just stay in touch with him over the years.

Years later, I go to Dallas. Chuck had already been at KLTY and then had opened up his own consultancy for contemporary Christian music.

I call him, and he said, "Hey, come be a part of my Saturday morning men's group. There's some guys in there I think you'll like, some people in the industry, some not."

And so I did.

There was a guy named Tim Dukes who had been working on the rock radio side for years. I didn't know Tim, but I knew his name.

At the time he was not in radio, so we just kind of got to know each other.

Five, seven, eight years later, whatever it's been, I let him know, "Hey, I'm in Seattle, but I'm looking for a job. If you know of anybody out there, I specifically wasn't looking for anything. It was just, I need you to know that I'm available. I know you know a lot of people out there," as I was networking during COVID.

And that's kind of how the discussion started that way.

And by the end of the year, here I am.

A New Position Focused on Ministry

Ric Hansen:So is this a new position at the station?

Ron Harrell:It is.

This vice president of branding, vice president of branded content, is a new position that they've created.

And then the brand and content director, this guy named Farron Dice, has moved over to a ministry-only position.

We have a thing called Prayer Wall on this radio station that talks and serves a lot of people. And we have huge goals to increase that Prayer Wall number.

So that's one of the things that Farron is going to be working on, along with a lot of other stuff that just takes his focus and makes it purely ministry, which is where his heart is for Way FM and Way Media right now.

Ron's Relationship With Jesus Today

Ric Hansen:So what does your relationship look like with Jesus these days?

Do you have a ritual? Do you pray? What does that look like these days?

Ron Harrell:I do. I have those rituals. I have prayer in my life.

But let me tell you, I'm the guy too that has to be reminded, "You know what? You need to pray. You need to seek out. You need to thank God."

And not just at times where things are not going well, but especially at times where everything is working together for good.

That's the time that we tend to kind of back away from that.

Ric Hansen:It's all about us. You tend to gravitate toward providing the success and forget about the fact that your Creator had a lot to do with that, right?

Ron Harrell:Yeah, yeah, it did.

And he would jump in right now if he could and say, "Oh, wait a second, dude. You're not perfect. You understand that, right?"

Yeah, I do understand that, absolutely.

But nature is a big deal for me, and getting out and seeing that, and that's where I see God a lot. And that kind of brings me back.

For other people, it's other things that they see or read or people or whatever that becomes that connection point.

And I think it's kind of maybe my one thing that I would give you and your viewers and listeners, if there's anything:

Ask God to help you find that connection point, because it's not the same for all of us.

If you don't like people, that's okay. You don't have to be around people to be connected to God.

Some of us would say, "Hey, it would probably help to have that connection," but it's not mandatory.

There are a lot of ways that you can find that connection.

And I just tell people, "Hey, find that connection point."

And also understand that that connection point at some point in your life is probably going to change.

It's not always going to be nature. It's not always going to be people. It's not always going to be a leadership position. It's not always going to be fill-in-the-blank of what that can be.

Be open. Be open to God saying, "You know what? We're going down this road now. I'm moving you over here."

Closing

Ric Hansen:Fantastic.

I'm gonna let you go. This has been a great conversation. So great to reconnect with you for one thing and to hear your background.

As much as I thought I knew who you were, I guess I didn't really know all about who you were. And now I have a much greater idea, and I really appreciate your time.

Thank you so much.

Ron Harrell:You're welcome, Ric. And I enjoy doing this only because I find out a little bit more about myself when people start asking questions.

So thank you for providing me that opportunity.

Ric Hansen:So is there any way we can support you other than to tune into Way FM and become fans of the radio station?

Is there any other way we can connect socially with the station? Share that with us.

Ron Harrell:Yeah, we have all the social connections, whether they're through our website or through WayNation.com, certainly through Facebook and Instagram and all of that.

And then we have an app on our phone that you can download, which has all of the cities where we broadcast from.

Or you can just find us on WayFM.com.

The way you can really help us is to pray for our ministry.

That God lifts us up, that God makes us servant leaders who are trying to create and grow a ministry that has the goal of presenting culturally relevant media to an audience that needs us.

And I have to—and of course, I'm brand new into this—but I have to keep saying that over and over and over again because that's really what we're trying to do.

Are we like anybody else where we have frustrations operating a business? You bet we do.

It is no different than any other radio station I've ever worked at, with the exception of what we're trying to do is really change people's lives with that content that comes out of the speakers and the devices and the video and all of that.

That's our goal.

So please pray for that.

I would give you a big virtual hug just for those prayers.

Ric Hansen:Ron, thank you so much for your time. Thank you for being a part of this great radio station.

I'm excited to kind of hear and see you coming through the speakers, as well as some of your ideas being transmitted through your work there.

Great to talk to you.

Thank you.

Ron Harrell:Thank you, Ric.