Beasley Media Group‘s radio stations serving the Fort Myers-Naples-Cape Coral market — the company’s home market, as it is headquartered in downtown Naples — have launched a company-wide Radiothon in support of the American Red Cross and its Southwest Florida recovery efforts.
Beasley CEO Caroline Beasley tells Radio Ink that she conducted interviews with air personalities at radio stations across every Beasley radio market this morning to officially launch the efforts to bring a sense of comfort to those impacted by Hurricane Ian.
The storm directly impacted Ms. Beasley, who resides close to the company’s headquarters and popular Fifth Street, home to stores and restaurants thousands frequent across the winter months. Meryl Streep was seen staying at the Inn on Fifth over one recent summer, proving the destination to be attractive year-round.
On September 28, Fifth Street “was basically like a river,” she said, with several business flooded out. However, by Friday clean-up efforts were underway. Electricity was restored to Caroline’s home this morning; businesses are starting to re-open in downtown Naples. “Naples was just really devastated,” Caroline Beasley said. “There are beachfront houses that just look like an extension of the beach.”
Beasley’s corporate headquarters “fared really well, with no water damager,” Ms. Beasley says. “We had just renovated the building in 2020, during COVID. We put in hurricane-proof windows and doors in, and a massive generator … We really lucked out.”
At the Beasley Media Group stations serving Southwest Florida, housed in an Estero facility, all but WRXK “96 KRock” are back to regular programming. WRXK is being used as a news and information center, with local talent including afternoon hosts Stan and Haney continuing to offer information and news pertaining to hurricane relief efforts.
On Friday, an engineering team went to the transmitter site the stations use to get all of the Beasley stations serving Southwest Florida back on the air, knocked off by Ian. Caroline Beasley saluted them, as they waded through knee-deep water at the site and successfully got the silenced stations to resume broadcasting.
“Our team in Fort Myers and Naples just did an amazing job,” she says. “Tough times like this bring out the best in people.”
They’re doing a great job. I’m at a home with no power and have my portable radio on the stations. I remember the days when we spent hours at my stations during emergencies working as a team.