WRDV FM, which includes 89.3 (Warminster/Hatboro), 97.1 (Bensalem), 91.7 (Bristol/Levittown) and 107.3 (Philadelphia), announced that two of its longtime staff members – Bill Hower and Bill Jacobs – are celebrating their 20th year at the station in February.
“In the radio business, five years is a lifetime – 20 years is a major accomplishment,” said Todd Allen, longtime station VP and general manager.
The radio station is currently celebrating 40 years on the air, and Jacobs and Hower have been on the staff for half of that time.
Jacobs grew up in East Oak Lane and now resides in Blue Bell with his wife Carol. He graduated from Temple University with a BA in computer science, and worked for ADP Brokerage Information Systems while attending Temple University School of Law’s evening division. He graduated in 1988 and passed the Pennsylvania and New Jersey bar exams that same year. Jacobs’ day job is as a commercial lawyer at Kaplin Stewart Meloff Reiter & Stein, P.C., in Blue Bell, from which he “mysteriously” disappears every Friday afternoon to host the “Express,” as he’s done for the past 20 years. In all of that time, he’s only missed a handful of shows due to court commitments, thus proving that “very little business is done on Friday afternoons.”
Jacobs has been the host of the “Weekend Express,” playing music from the Big Band era every Friday afternoon from 3 to 6 p.m., since joining the air staff. He is also the keeper of the station’s computers and maintains much of the broadcast equipment. The show was named by the late Karl Peckmann. The show’s theme music (“On the Atcheson, Topeka and the Santa Fe” by Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra”) has remained unchanged to honor Peckmann’s memory.
Hower has been a resident of Glenside for over 75 years and was a member of the first graduating class from what was the “new” Abington High School in 1957. After graduation, he worked at his family’s ice cream business in Flourtown, 29 years at Resco Electronics and then as an accounting clerk, retiring in 2001. At RDV, Hower does a “Beautiful Music” show on Friday nights, from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. His “Music Box” is a specialty show where he provides music from his own collection, which started small and has grown quite large over the years. It includes music known and unknown to many.
RDV-FM is a non-commercial radio station broadcasting 24/7 that plays Big Band during the weekdays, vintage Rock & Doo Wop on weekends, and Specialty shows during the evenings. Its programming is available worldwide thanks to its streaming service. It is staffed entirely by volunteers and is funded solely by donations.
Visit wrdv.org or call 215-674-8002 for more information.
