Meet Ryan Greig of KFXY-FM

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Greig.

Ryan, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I got my start in radio back in 2008 in Arkansas with Cumulus broadcasting who I was with for 4 years. After 4 years, I decided to take on another opportunity and I worked for a mom and pop group of stations where the owner was in the building working everyday alongside everyone else. After that, I started working weekends for Hot 97.5 here in Phoenix and then after the merger with 103.9, I was no longer needed and I moved to the radio station, where I am the President of today which is owned by San Tan Educational Media (a non-profit 501c3).

I was volunteering this station in 2015, doing some on air work. In 2016, the previous President got relocated with his job, so that is when I became President. We changed the format to Alternative Rock in 2016 but after lack of donations and sponsorships, we decided to go with Classic Country as the format was not being done anywhere in the valley, we named ourselves Coyote Country 99.1. Our main focus was Country music from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s with a few select tunes before and after.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Things were going good until we started getting attacked by other radio stations who wanted our frequency, we are still fighting with one of them today. We also lost our tower site after a dispute with the land owner, who was also a volunteer for the station. We were forced off the air after the dispute and we have been off the air since late November. We hope to get back on the air soon, we have until this coming November or we will lose our license. The biggest challenge is not only trying to protect ourselves from an incoming translator (a translator relays an existing radio station signal and a separate frequency), but also finding the funds for the new tower site which will cost around $10,000. We are still going to push forward though and do all we can do get Classic Country back on the airwaves for the East Valley.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about KFXY-FM – what should we know?
Coyote Country 99.1 is a non-profit 501(c)(3) Classic Country radio station located in Mesa, Arizona owned by San Tan Educational Media. We are proud that our organization has an educational mission to give people a chance to get on the airwaves and a place to enhance their skills with no experience required. Getting into radio is not an easy thing to do, so our organization gives them a place to gain some experience so that maybe they can get their foot in the door somewhere else. All of our staff are volunteers and they work hard to bring you content everyday on our station. We are supported through sponsorships and donations.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
At this point, perseverance. With all of our challenges and obstacles, perseverance is the only way this station will make it back on the air and continue to operate on the FM dial.

Contact Info:

• Address: San Tan Educational Media
  550 W Baseline Rd 102-116
  Mesa, AZ 85210
• Website: coyotecountry991.com
• Phone: 520-485-9910
• Email: info@coyotecountry991.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoyoteCountry99.1
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/KFXYFM

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