The Summit Radio’s Brad Savage Wins Top Industry Award

AKRON – Brad Savage of The Summit radio was named program director of the year at the SummitFest Triple-A Radio Conference in Boulder, Colorado.

The event in the Rocky Mountain city is the nation’s largest annual gathering of radio station program directors. At the gathering, they explore best practices vital to the future and mission of the Adult Album Alternative music format – otherwise known as Triple A.

Savage faced nominees for the prestigious award from notable radio stations in New York City, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Los Angeles.

“Honestly, I just love seeing Akron, Ohio, right next to stations from much larger markets,” said Savage, program director of WAPS-FM. “Our region has a rich history of music discovery, and together we will continue to celebrate the past, present, and future of recorded music.”

The Summit is simulcast in the Mahoning Valley over WKTL 90.7 FM in Struthers.

Savage joined The Summit as program director in 2015. He succeeded Bill Gruber, who retired from The Summit after 30 years. Prior to moving to Akron, Savage served as program director with Saga Communications AAA 106.1 The Corner WCNR/Charlottesville, Virginia, and has previously programmed stations in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Madison, Wisconsin; and Columbia, Missouri. He and his wife, Rachel, live in the greater Akron area and are parents to two young children.

WAPS-FM General Manager Tommy Bruno said, “You simply can’t teach passion. The intangibles that Brad Savage brings to our station, and our community, are soaked in authenticity. He fell in love with radio as a kid, and his dreams are realized each day.”

The station attracts financial resources from the listeners and organizations that value the station’s unique commercial-free programming. In 2023, WAPS will celebrate 15 years of financial independence from its broadcast license holder, Akron Public Schools.

The Summit produces The 330 – the past, present and future of music in Northeast Ohio – in addition to Recovery Talks: The Podcast, Rock and Recovery, The Marilyn Stroud Music Alive Instrument Donation Program, and KIDJAM! Radio.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.