LENOIR, NC (November 8, 2019) — Foothills Radio Group is pleased to welcome Todd & Whitney in the Morning to Kicks 103.3 FM that began on November 11 and to announce Todd Baldwin as its operations manager.
Todd Baldwin has been a professional broadcaster for more than three decades, having started his career in radio in 1987. A native of Ellenboro, Baldwin began as a broadcaster at WBBO-AM in Forest City while still attending Chase High School. A year later he accepted an additional air shift at Forest City’s WAGY-AM where he eventually joined the full-time staff.
“My first full-time broadcasting opportunity was in the evenings,” Baldwin said. “After a few years I began reporting news and sports and then started hosting the morning show. By the time I left the station, I’d served four years as general manager.”
During the 1990s Baldwin studied radio at Isothermal Community College and graduated from its Broadcast Technology program before serving as a reporter, anchor and videographer at Northland Cable News in Forest City where he eventually served as news director. Later his broadcast journey led him to accept a position as an anchor and reporter at Charter News in Hickory. Most recently Baldwin served as a photojournalist with Spectrum News/News 14 in Charlotte for thirteen years.
Though he enjoyed his time in cable television, it’s radio that lives in Baldwin’s blood. “I always loved being an announcer,” he said. “What attracts me most to broadcast radio is just entertaining people and making them happy.” Baldwin added, “Music can help us with problems and also lift us up when we are feeling down.”
Like Kicks’s 103.3’s midday host Rachael, Baldwin enjoys singing karaoke. “I also enjoy fishing, just relaxing and playing with my cat named Cat, buying and selling on eBay, going to concerts and spending time with my family,” he said.
Whitney Stroup was born in Valdese, the Waldensian town. Her great-grandmother’s family came over on the boat from Northern Italy to help found the town. An active participant in missions since her youth, Whitney began serving on mission trips at 8 years old. It was during those trips that she fell in love with music and dance, using it to create a bridge of vulnerability and to break communication barriers within the various regions of the USA where she served.
At Gardner-Webb University Whitney won Most Talented for Miss GWU and was a finalist for the NBA Dance Your Way to Orlando, where she performed for Mia Michaels at halftime. She studied art, music, religion and philosophy in Italy before graduating from Gardner-Webb University with a Communications degree including a focus in broadcasting and public relations.
Whitney has worked for ten years in sports and entertainment learning the business side from The Carolina Opry, training in Los Angeles and working as a media and event coordinator in Charlotte. She has performed for The Smoky Mountain Opry and danced two years for the NHL Nashville Predators, performing at the NHL All-Stars both seasons and at the Stanley Cup Finals. She taught broadcasting at HHS in Nashville and interned with 102.5 The Game, ESPN Radio. She was Miss TN United States Miss Congeniality in 2017 and part of the opening of the Teen Dream Center in Nashville. In Atlanta Whitney was exposed to different sides of the industry and continued to fall deeper in love with music – working with CMT, bouncing with hydraulics on cars in “Tempo” by Lizzo and Missy Elliot, and having been seen on Dynasty and Star.
“As a co-manager for XCEL Studios, Atlanta gave me the opportunity to learn from some of the best in the business and to see how a studio and agency are run,” Stroup said. “After fulfilling those dreams, I knew that I wanted to come home to my roots and have a presence where I grew up.” She added, “My work and service may have given me a well-rounded – maybe even worldly – perspective, but it is the opportunity to be of service to my community that drives me.” Stroup’s heart for people and our community plus her passion for music and culture make her the ideal morning show co-host for Kicks 103.3.
Outside of her career, Stroup enjoys writing music, performance gigs, and spending time with her family which includes her two large rescue dogs, Lincoln James and Carter Grant.
“The launch of Todd & Whitney in the Morning represents Kicks 103.3’s commitment to a live and local morning show team,” said Kimberly Edmisten, general manager for Foothills Radio Group which includes Kicks 103.3 WKVS; Classic Hits 104.5/99.5/1080 WKGX and 1340/100.5 WJRI.
Todd & Whitney in the Morning is part of the station’s “It’s a Brand New Moo!” line-up that launched Rachael in the Midday in August and remains anchored by the area’s beloved Ride Home with Wild Bill in the Afternoon hosted by twenty-six year Kicks’ veteran Wild Bill.
Todd & Whitney in the Morning debuted at 6:00 am on Monday, November 11 on WKVS Kicks 103.3 FM.