Local radio station gets new producer

WFOY President Kris Phillips, in an interview with Historic City News editor Michael Gold at the radio station this morning, announced that she has grown her staff by one — creating a new position of “Producer”.

“Derek Boyd Hankerson, our Producer, will enhance what we already have established at WFOY over the past 75 years,” Phillips told Historic City News. “He will be addressing the programming interests of our loyal base of listeners and tap a vast array of state and national guests with whom he is in contact.”

Hankerson and his wife have lived in St. Johns County, full time, for the past ten years; however, he traveled and vacationed here with his family from Virginia as a young boy. During his college years, the 47 year-old Hankerson worked at various jobs “inside the beltway” as has served as an advance representative to the President of the United States.

Phillips said that she sees her “news talk” format a little differently than other stations in the region; most, she says, are “all political talk”. Although Hankerson has been involved directly and indirectly in politics during much of his career, he says that he will be able produce guests for WFOY that “can not only tell the story, but expand the story”.

Hankerson previously was “on air” at WFOY as a member of The Riggsby Report but tells us that he will not be producing his own live program. “I am getting back to basics,” Hankerson said. “I’ve wanted to produce for a few years now and I think that is where I can be the strongest contributor to the station.”

He also said that this is a path set out for him by a higher power. Hankerson is a strong conservative, believes the family values instilled in him by his parents can still guide him as an adult, and is a Christian; which he says, to him, means that he will be fair and honest in his business dealings, respectful and humble for his successes and thankful to God for his many blessings.

“I’ve worked with the National Park Service on two St. Augustine projects,” Hankerson said. “I am working to connect the Underground Railroad story south to St. Johns County and working on the expansion of the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor and I’m making some progress.”

Hankerson says that in his new role, he will be able to better inform and educate the community on the value of these national resources. When Hankerson first arrived, he worked for the County and was instrumental in establishing the Weed and Seed program. Hankerson continues to volunteer on the board of the Boys and Girls Club and with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Fort Mose Historic State Park — which interprets the story of Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose; the first legally sanctioned, free African settlement in what is now the United States.

Phillips says that one of the most exciting things Hankerson brings to the station is his familiarity with new technologies. “We want our listeners to be able to follow us on the Internet and interact with us on their smartphones,” Phillips said. Pointing to both Hankerson’s Blackberry and his PDA phones on the desk, she added, “You see … that is the way of the future for us. Derek can be a big help to me in moving us in that direction.”

Photo credits: © 2011 Historic City News archive photograph