KTBB radio personality at the Rotary Club
By GREG COLLINS for the News Herald

Bill Coates, left, with David Castles, president of Kilgore Rotary Club. Coates spoke to the Rotarians here Wednesday.

KTBB radio personality Bill Coates was the guest speaker for the Kilgore Rotary Club on Wednesday.

The on-air announcer and advertising rep for the station has done work for the Dallas Mavericks, the SMU and TCU college programs as well as for TJC and other East Texas area high school sports teams. He has been in the radio business for more than 30 years and is an award winner on numerous levels.

Coates gave a history of radio for his program and also talked about sports. The first radio broadcast of magnitude, according to the speaker, was David Sarnoff 's hearing of the distress call from the Titanic in 1912. He was working at a wireless station on Cape Cod and heard the distress signal. At that time, ships had wireless but the range was not great so passing ships would hear messages from each other and pass them along.

Sarnoff later formed the NBC radio network and became a broadcasting legend. His NBC group began with 19 affiliated stations and was started in 1926.

CBS radio was formed in 1929, and the FCC started regulating the radio industry in 1934 as a result of the Communications Act of 1934.

The first FM stations were licensed in 1947, and TOP 40 radio was begun in 1954 as a man from Dallas and a man in Omaha, Nebraska started charting music.

Since then, FM radio has grown, AM radio has seen a decline and then a rebirth with Talk Radio and Satellite Radio and IPOD's have caused great competition for the listening audience.

Coates said radio is "extremely competitive" and is getting more competitive by the day.

During his question and answer session, he mostly talked sports, including the Dallas Cowboys, TJCAA, East Texas high school sports and the baseball steroid scandal.

In other Rotary news, the Scholar Athlete Banquet is one month away. It will be held Thursday, April 24 at Meadowbrook Country Club. Two students each from KHS, Sabine and KC will be recognized.

The Rotary Golf Tournament is scheduled for Monday, May 5 at Meadowbrook Country Club. The two-man potpourri tournament has lunch at 11 and tee off at noon. Cost is $75 per player.

Sammy York, president-elect, heads to PETS this next week to study for his year as leader.

The club will be entertained with classification talks this week.

The Kilgore Rotary Club meets each Wednesday at noon in the Meadowbrook Country Club. Guests are always welcome.