Local Morning Show Kickstarting Positivity and Community Engagement
KICKSTART WITH GARDY AND CURT ON AIR MONDAY – FRIDAY FROM 9:00 TO 11:00 A.M. By Colleen Merritt, La Marque Public Relations
TUNE YOUR RADIO DIAL TO FM 99.5 FM and there’s a good chance you’ll be delighted by the shenanigans of Gardy Garcia and Curt Casper, local morning radio show hosts working to radiate positivity and support local businesses. In this Business Spotlight, discover the men and motivation behind this mission. According to Gardy, the dream has always been spreading positivity from their studio at 601 Delany Road in La Marque, Texas, and broadcasting it around the world. Gardy and Curt pride themselves on being a radio station for La Marque, but also for the entire Bay Area and beyond. Listen live on 99.5 FM, khearadio.com or the Tune-in app. They also stream on Facebook and YouTube. Q: WHAT MAKES THE MORNING SHOW SPECIAL? CURT: Spotlighting the community is an important part of our mission. There are four local TV stations in town, but they mostly cover Houston. We want to highlight organizations that are doing the right thing here in Galveston County and Bay Area Houston. We partner with organizations like the Khambrel Foundation, who are spreading a message of kindness. We look for businesses that are family owned and people who are doing great things in our community. We want to have them in the studio and give them the opportunity to tell their stories. GARDY: We especially want to support La Marque! That’s who we are. Our station is here. I grew up here. My parents still live in La Marque. My sister lives here. I live in League City now, but my son is spending time in the house I grew up in, right off Exit 10 in La Marque. We understand small businesses can’t always come to us, so we will come to you. Just call us!
Q: WHEN DID THE SHOW GO LIVE? GARDY: KHEA launched in 2014, we got the radio license in 2015 and in 2016 the format was all music. When Hurricane Harvey happened, Abundant Life became a distribution center for recovery. CURT: We had deliveries of baby diapers, Galveston Food Bank, Houston Food Bank, even a meat truck! We started telling people to dial in to 99.5 FM and listen for updates. It worked great and in November, we launched the show. GARDY: Sometimes people don’t realize we are a ministry of Abundant Life Christian Center. We are staff members of the church. We serve as community outreach. Abundant Life has been doing this for more than 30 years - feeding people who are hungry, helping recovering addicts, and leading to healing. Our goal is to spread positivity. If you listen to our station, you could potentially hear something that will change your life.
Q: WHAT IS YOUR INSPIRATION? CURT: We have one of the greatest jobs! We have fun. I’ve sat in a pregnancy simulator, I’ve gone skydiving and I eat at the best restaurants, all because of this opportunity. God has been really faithful to us. That’s where my passion is. I want to have fun and bring joy to everyone. GARDY: I get inspired by hearing stories. I want to know how people got started in business and how they’ve managed growth. Having the opportunity to grow with local businesses is inspiring. We were at a restaurant the other day and people recognized us. They decided to try it because of a video we made. To me, that creates success for the business and allows the station to grow as well.
Q: FAVORITE MEMORIES FROM 2018? GARDY: There are so many! It is really hard to choose. CURT: For me, it had to be when Wonder Woman came to talk with us about Keep La Marque Beautiful Commission. Kathy was awesome. The Birthday Joy Program show was the most significant for me personally. I had no idea they provide birthday parties for 1,500 local children residing in homeless shelters and group homes every year. GARDY: Partnering with local businesses for giveaways is one of my favorite things. Recently, we were able to give away a $500 Furniture Zone gift card. The money helped a lady from Santa Fe buy a bed and mattress for her daughter. It was special experience that I’ll never forget.
KHEARADIO.COM (346) 704-1806 601 DELANY ROAD, LA MARQUE TEXAS
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