Eugene Comer has spent the past quarter century listening to Christian pop station 104.7/The Fish. On his way to his bank teller job each morning, he said, the station “gets my spirit filled,” and when he returns home “it gets refilled.”
So Comer was devastated when he heard on New Year’s Eve that the station will shut down Friday. When he heard that the staff was holding a farewell party Saturday at Mt. Paran Church in Atlanta, he got there just after noon. He was surprised to see a lengthy line already there waiting to meet the morning show team of Kevin Avery and Taylor Scott, who have been with the station since it launched in 2000.
When Comer, a 68-year-old Stone Mountain resident, finally reached Avery and Scott, he asked to huddle with them and quietly sang a snippet of the Lauren Daigle song “Be Okay.”
“The Lord told me to do that,” Comer said moments later. “They helped me get through the passing of my wife six years ago after 19 happy years of marriage.”
Comer hopes they find a new home and said he believes they will “have more audience than they ever have before. Whoever takes them will be blessed.”
Credit: RODNEY HO
Credit: RODNEY HO
Fish’s parent company, Salem Media Group, is trying to reduce debt, so it sold its eight FM music stations to Educational Media Foundation, owner of K-LOVE and Air1, for $80 million. Whatever format lands on 104.7, it won’t be run with local staff, and the Fish name will be no more.
But Salem was kind enough to allow the Atlanta staff to hold a going-away party at one of its biggest supporters, Mt. Paran Church. Val Carolin, the station general manager, who will stay on to run Salem’s multiple AM talk stations in Atlanta, said several advertisers wanted to hold the party, but he thought turning it into a commercial endeavor would be wrong. He thought it made a lot more sense for a faith-based station such as Fish to hold the event at a church instead.
Employees emptied the station’s merchandise closet, taking anything connected to the Fish to the event and giving it all away: signage, tablecloths, T-shirts, Frisbees, lanyards, bumper stickers and even nail files embossed with the Fish logo.
Carolin has worked for different commercial station owners over the years, including CBS, Cumulus and Radio One. But “nobody treats their employees better than Salem,” he said. “The air talent is all about the listeners. They are so genuine. It blows me away. They live this. This is who they are. It permeates the organization.”
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Saturday’s event was scheduled for noon to 2 p.m., but so many people showed up, the staff accommodated everyone who wanted to meet the morning show team, so it didn’t end until 4 p.m. Over the hours, fans told Taylor and Avery stories about their lives and how the Fish influenced them in a positive way. They showed old pictures of them previously meeting the two of them. They gave them prayers and hugs and took numerous photos.
“I was overwhelmed by the turnout,” Avery said after the event. “I’m feeling very loved.”
Gianna Melizion, a 24-year-old Kennesaw State University student, said she burst into tears when she heard the news that the Fish was going away.
“I’ve been listening since I was a baby,” Melizion said. “Kevin and Taylor bring so much character to the station. It’s magical. I feel like I grew up with them, hearing about Kevin’s daughters growing up and Taylor’s family. What am I going to listen to now?”
Melizion grabbed poster board before the event and wrote, “Always remember: Keep the Faith,” then held her sign proudly when posing with the morning duo. She loved how the station’s Christmas Wish program has helped thousands of families provide gifts over the years, including her nephew Adrian, who has special needs and got a bike via the Fish this past Christmas.
Credit: RODNEY HO
Credit: RODNEY HO
Hosts Kim Fitz and Beth Bacall entertained the crowd while they waited. And the line enabled fans to bond over the loss of the station.
Fitz said two people told her they were intending to end their lives when the Fish reminded them that God loved them. She sang “Happy Birthday” to a boy in line named Joseph who had listened to the station all his life. She signed dozens of bags, signs and random Fish paraphernalia.
“The Fish wasn’t just an act of kindness,” Fitz said. “It was a ministry reminding thousands of the love of Jesus Christ and community. The Fish family reminded me that even though it’s ending, the ripples last forever for them and for us.”
Melizion, while in line, became friends with Suzanne Dowell of Lawrenceville, whose two adult children are about the same age as the Fish.
“This is my chance I won’t have again to tell them how much I appreciate them,” Dowell said. “They have been a great platform for new artists. I remember when they first supported For King and Country. They promoted MercyMe and Casting Crowns.”
Jeanette Mihoci drove 40 minutes from Lawrenceville with her twin sister, Janet, both of them loyal listeners for 20 years. They gave Avery and Scott going-away cards.
“We just want to thank you,” Jeanette told Avery. “We know God will make sure you do things bigger and better.”
When Jeanette asked what their post-Fish plans were, Avery said: “Everything is on the table. And I needed a break from her right now.”
Then, realizing a reporter was overhearing him, he added, “That’s a joke!”
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
Credit: RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com
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