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WTBQ hosts grand opening for new studio in Warwick

| 02 Oct 2012 | 03:13
    Photo by Roger Gavan On Sept. 28, WTBQ Sales and Marketing Director Souzie Miller and WTBQ Radio owner Frank Truatt (center), surrounded by federal, state and local officials, WTBQ personnel, members of the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce, advertisers and other guests, cut the ribbon outside the stationís new studio facility on Sanfordville Road.
    Photo by Roger Gavan On Sept. 28, WTBQ Sales and Marketing Director Souzie Miller and WTBQ Radio owner Frank Truatt (center), surrounded by federal, state and local officials, WTBQ personnel, members of the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce, advertisers and other guests, cut the ribbon outside the stationís new studio facility on Sanfordville Road.

WARWICK — Orange County’s WTBQ Radio (93.5 FM and 1110 AM) held its official ribbon cutting ceremony at the station’s new studio facility on Sanfordville Road on Friday, Sept. 28.
An overflowing crowd of attendees including federal, state and local officials, WTBQ personnel, members of the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce, advertisers and other guests were on hand for the celebration.
Station owner Frank Truatt, a long-time Hudson Valley radio presence, rebuilt the empty barn just off of Route 94 into a state-of-the-art radio studio after moving from his previous space on Ronald Reagan Boulevard. He spent days transforming the building, starting with a makeshift booth and building a full-fledged broadcast facility, production studio and offices.
“It was an incredible transformation,” said Souzie Miller, WTBQ’s Sales and marketing director. “Frank took what was an empty barn, built the walls, the rooms, set up the equipment and turned it into something special.”
WTBQ first hit the airwaves in 1969 as a small station created by entrepreneur Ed Klein.
After a series of ownership changes and the frequency going dark for a short time, Truatt bought the station and re-opened it in 1994.
Since then, he has greatly upgraded its broadcast quality, doubled the AM station’s power, was one of the first stations in the region to broadcast on the Internet and added an FM frequency.
WTBQ’s programming lineup includes the popular locally-produced programs “The Frank Truatt Show,” “The WTBQ Roundtable,” “Mellow Brick Road” and several others.