George Gatley has spent life on the radio

George Gatley made a choice 50 years ago between entering the medical field to become a doctor or going into radio.

"I had been a a corpsman in the Navy during the Korean war, working in the Marine Corps Hospital at Beaufort, S.C., and returned to the University of Wisconsin - changed my mind to major in civil engineering."

In 1955, Gatley was offered a job with the Boy Scouts of America. His father had been a BSA executive and George was in Scouts from a Cub to an Eagle. In the BSA position, Gatley had his first interview and delivered the Boy Scout Washington Report over the radio from Warrington, Va., about 60 miles from the nation's capital.

"By 1958 I was on station WEER, then a year later joined two other guys and created a radio station of our own. This was a challenge because I sold radio spots, was an announcer, disc jockey, program manager and janitor."

Gatley said he moved from the garage radio station in a backyard to WLEE in Richmond, Va., where "I learned all the tricks of the trade, which have helped me everywhere I've gone."

In his career, Gatley worked for station WFTL in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at Oakland Park, where he was an orderly in a hospital and worked with remotes, and a station that was 1600 on the dial.

Next was Eau Claire, Wis., for four years before before heading West.

"Working at Sky King, Wyo., was great because our station was at the foot of a ski mountain. So we'd finish our duties, grab our skis and go."

In 1970, he lived on a ranch in Jackson Hole, where there were horses and farming. "I did the cattle report on WSGT."

The station owner sold and moved to Arizona "I joined him at station KSTP in Douglas."

Bob Crites hired Gatley in 1977 to do agriculture news and interviews five days a week on KBLU radio.

"George had the idea for a Southwest agriculture news station, and I joined him," Crites said. "We had several stations involved and were bought out. George also was on our television station, doing the farm news. He later worked for KSWT."

Gatley said he worked at KSWT for 18 years, then his ag news was picked up by KYMA.

All through the years, Gatley has been a staunch supporter of agriculture. "Maybe it's because I was raised on a dairy farm back in Wisconsin."

He has earned award after award for the farming news and has written columns about agriculture, the crops and the crises farmers have faced against insects, the weather, water, blights and markets.

He's always been involved in communities, wherever he has lived. "I always want to give back to communities. And, I've always helped youth. I've trained several young people in radio. Larry Klein, now with CBS on the East Coast, is one of my former 'students' in Yuma."

In Yuma, among the many boards he has served on are the Airport Authority, the Salvation Army, Fort Yuma Rotary, Humane Society of Yuma, with 4-H and FFA and the Yuma Regional Medical Center hospital board.

Since 1979, Gatley and his wife, Chris, have owned the Western Agri-Radio Networks Inc., doing business for the California and the Southwest Agri-Radio networks. The 20 affiliates cover ag areas in California, western Arizona and central Texas.

Gatley is the president and director, while Chris is secretary and traffic director.

From the small office where the walls are covered with memorabilia, Gatley has farm news on station KBLU at 5:45 a.m. and tapes ag news covering ag events. His collection of caps should have one with a title of "Mr. Radio."

He reminisces that the radio world has evolved from telephone connections, wire recorders, reel- to-reel tapes; music from the 78 records, the 45s and long playing vinyls through the addition of FM (frequency modulation) and into digital.

After Gatley conquered an episode of having four stents put in after a heart scare and a bout with prostate cancer, he has watched a lot of television and plays golf.

"Retire? No, radio is my life and I'll probably drop dead at the mic. But in the meantime, I have more time to spend with family. I have 10 children, 15 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren."

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Pam M. Smith can be reached at psmith@yumasun.com or 539-6856.