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Fred was in electronics in the service until 1984, when they bought the KCOG radio station and then bought KMGO in 1985. KMGO had went to a country format prior to them buying it in 1980.
"KMGO services a large area," Carolyn said. "But, the AM station mainly serves Appanoose County."
Fred is more of the electronics guru, while Carolyn handles the business end of things.
"I like the sales end of it," Carolyn said. "Meeting with clients and seeing what I can do for their business and seeing their business grow."
She has been doing sales for over 20 years.
"You have to like what you do," said Carolyn. "We want to help the communities we serve."
They have 12 employees who work for them including part time workers.
"We have a close connection with our staff," Fred said. "I'm proud to say that we have kept most of our staff for a long period."
One thing that has changed is the system they use.
"When we started the station, we were still playing records," Fred said. "And we kept all of our logs with typewriters."
The commercials at that time were all on carts, which they had to hand pick and put into the players, like a reel.
They have also gained more listeners and expanded to other events over the years.
In 1985, the stations' popularity grew when the Jenkinses were asked to sponsor the country concert at the Wapello County Fair. They have done a concert each year since then. In 2000,
Fred joined the Wapello County Regional Fair Board and has been the president for the past two years.
As president, he said there is a lot of responsibility to the event.
"I help with marketing and bringing in revenue to the fair," he said. "We work mostly with volunteers for that."
He said that over the years they have been doing the concerts, the attendance has steadily grown.
"It has been fun working with the fair board," he said.
The couple also has worked with other events such as: Main Street (in several counties), the Wapello County Trails and Great Places (in different counties).
Fred is also the treasurer of the Wapello County Trails committee. In 2006, they managed to help raise $40,000, and in 2005, they raised $44,700.
"This was through our Mediathon," he said. "It really has made a difference."
They are a unique station, too.
They are the only 100,000 watt station in this part of the state. They are working on a 1,500-foot satellite tower out of Monroe County for another broadcast site.
"This would improve our coverage and broaden it all the way to Des Moines," Fred said.
"There is a lot of financial work behind operating your own business."
But, Fred and Carolyn both said it is something they will never give up.
"We love it too much," they both said.
Scott Niles can be reached at (641) 683-5360 or via e-mail at sjniles@mchsi.com.
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