The husband-and-wife radio team of Jeremy and Amanda Henry joined the staff of Zeeland-based stations WJQK (Joy 99) and WPNW last fall. They are on the air from 2 to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The couple had previously been the morning show hosts on WCSG in Grand Rapids for 10 years.
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
For 10 years, Jeremy and Amanda Henry had one of the top-rated morning radio shows in West Michigan.
Then in a span of 30 days last year, Amanda stepped away from the morning show at WCSG-FM to take a position with the mentoring organization Kids Hope USA, and Jeremy was let go by station management.
“June 2 was my last day. I finished up the show and was told I was done,” Jeremy said.
Jeremy’s unemployment only lasted two days. He was quickly hired by Zeeland-based radio stations WJQK (Joy 99/99.3 FM) and WPNW (1260 AM/96.5 FM/98.9 FM). Several months later, Amanda was hired as well.
In November, the couple returned to the airwaves, and now hold down the 2-to-6 p.m. airtime slot on Joy 99 Monday through Saturday.
“This opportunity wasn’t even on our radar,” Jeremy said in an interview with the Zeeland Record last week. “We had no idea this was where we going to end up.”
“My thought (was) when I said goodbye to WCSG, I was saying goodbye to full-time radio, for good,” Amanda added. “We weren’t wanting to move to a different market or anything like that. It was definitely not on the radar, but the Lord knew.”
For Jeremy, it was a return to his roots as a broadcaster. He began his radio career in 2004 at WJQK, shortly after graduating from Grand Valley State University. He began as an in-studio producer on remote broadcasts, then began working on air on weekends and overnights. He also worked on the station’s website design and social media presence. He eventually became the station’s music director before leaving in 2014 to go to WCSG.
“A number of years ago, I went back and got my master’s degree in organizational leadership (from Cornerstone University) and as I concluded that, I really wanted to bring in somebody into my life that I could have a mentor/mentee relationship with regarding radio leadership,” Jeremy said.
Jeremy began meeting regularly with Brad Lanser, president of Lanser Broadcasting, which owns WJQK and WPNW, “just to talk shop about leading organizations and such.”
As discussions with Lanser continued, Jeremy sensed that his time at WCSG was going to end soon. Nothing was immediately available yet at WJQK in the way of job opportunities. But right about the time Jeremy was let go, an opening came up at the station.
“We got serious about a role, and they were trying to flesh that out, and that role ended up becoming listener engagement, digital (creation) and then also part-time/fill-in on air,” he said. “The week that I was going to come in and solidify that, was my last week on CSG.”
“I was grateful, quite honestly, to God for orchestrating all that. I don’t think my hands had anything to do with it, aside from being faithful and my talents and abilities and being consistent,” he added.
Then in October, an opening came up in the Joy 99 on-air lineup when longtime host Ceci LaBarge resigned to pursue a new ministry opportunity.
“That’s when wheels starting turning very rapidly here,” Amanda said. “(The management), I think, (thought) ‘hey, should we put Jeremy in that spot, but would Amanda also be interested in coming and joining the team?’”
Amanda received a text message, asking if she had an interest in rejoining her husband on air. Two days later, she accepted the station’s offer, but it meant saying goodbye to the position she had quickly grown to love at Kids Hope USA.
“They were cool and kind and gracious and (said), ‘we totally understand, because these opportunities don’t come along a lot,’” Amanda said.
While Amanda left Kids Hope USA to go back into radio, both she and Jeremy are both involved as Kids Hope mentors, as Joy 99 has begun a partnership with the organization, working with students from Roosevelt Elementary School and Z-Quest.
On Nov. 10, Jeremy and Amanda did their first show together since Amanda resigned from WCSG. They almost immediately began attracting listeners that had listened to their show for years.
“One of the most interesting things that happened between June and October was just the sheer number of people who would just find us out in public,” Jeremy said. “I’ve never considered us to be anything remotely close to being a celebrity … It was like our absence all of a sudden gave them some sort of permission to say ‘hey, there you are and we miss you.’ It was really kind, and I was really grateful that happened. It was almost like little reminders from God (saying) ‘hey, I see you.’”
Amanda’s career began at WCSG in 1999 while she was a student at Cornerstone. She worked in promotions for the station at first, then eventually worked her way into an on-air spot on Saturday mornings and overnights. For seven years, she played a significant role in a WCSG program service called His Kids Radio, a fixed-tune Christian radio station targeted toward kids that would get the station through specially-programmed receivers that would only receive that station.
In 2012, Amanda became co-host of the WCSG morning show, with a different partner. Two years later, that partner left, and Amanda interviewed Jeremy to possibly be her replacement. He initially turned down the offer, but later changed his mind.
In their new role at Joy 99, the Henrys have renewed emphasis on connecting with their listeners on a personal level, a trait that made them so popular when they were at WCSG. They’ve been visible at live broadcasts, parades and community events. They’ve also been able to open up more about their personal lives than in the past.
“It’s been fun to kind of pull the curtain back a little bit and share about married life and living together and having all these kids,” Amanda said. “It’s been freeing and fun.”
Jeremy and Amanda’s blended family includes six children, four of whom now attend Zeeland Public Schools.
Two months into the new gig, Jeremy and Amanda couldn’t be more thrilled than being part of Joy 99, doing their show and sharing themselves with listeners.
“It is a really great team of people who not only care about each other, but care about the listeners, care about the product. They have welcomed us in incredible ways. I’m really grateful for that,” Amanda said.
Zeeland Record
For 10 years, Jeremy and Amanda Henry had one of the top-rated morning radio shows in West Michigan.
Then in a span of 30 days last year, Amanda stepped away from the morning show at WCSG-FM to take a position with the mentoring organization Kids Hope USA, and Jeremy was let go by station management.
“June 2 was my last day. I finished up the show and was told I was done,” Jeremy said.
Jeremy’s unemployment only lasted two days. He was quickly hired by Zeeland-based radio stations WJQK (Joy 99/99.3 FM) and WPNW (1260 AM/96.5 FM/98.9 FM). Several months later, Amanda was hired as well.
In November, the couple returned to the airwaves, and now hold down the 2-to-6 p.m. airtime slot on Joy 99 Monday through Saturday.
“This opportunity wasn’t even on our radar,” Jeremy said in an interview with the Zeeland Record last week. “We had no idea this was where we going to end up.”
“My thought (was) when I said goodbye to WCSG, I was saying goodbye to full-time radio, for good,” Amanda added. “We weren’t wanting to move to a different market or anything like that. It was definitely not on the radar, but the Lord knew.”
For Jeremy, it was a return to his roots as a broadcaster. He began his radio career in 2004 at WJQK, shortly after graduating from Grand Valley State University. He began as an in-studio producer on remote broadcasts, then began working on air on weekends and overnights. He also worked on the station’s website design and social media presence. He eventually became the station’s music director before leaving in 2014 to go to WCSG.
“A number of years ago, I went back and got my master’s degree in organizational leadership (from Cornerstone University) and as I concluded that, I really wanted to bring in somebody into my life that I could have a mentor/mentee relationship with regarding radio leadership,” Jeremy said.
Jeremy began meeting regularly with Brad Lanser, president of Lanser Broadcasting, which owns WJQK and WPNW, “just to talk shop about leading organizations and such.”
As discussions with Lanser continued, Jeremy sensed that his time at WCSG was going to end soon. Nothing was immediately available yet at WJQK in the way of job opportunities. But right about the time Jeremy was let go, an opening came up at the station.
“We got serious about a role, and they were trying to flesh that out, and that role ended up becoming listener engagement, digital (creation) and then also part-time/fill-in on air,” he said. “The week that I was going to come in and solidify that, was my last week on CSG.”
“I was grateful, quite honestly, to God for orchestrating all that. I don’t think my hands had anything to do with it, aside from being faithful and my talents and abilities and being consistent,” he added.
Then in October, an opening came up in the Joy 99 on-air lineup when longtime host Ceci LaBarge resigned to pursue a new ministry opportunity.
“That’s when wheels starting turning very rapidly here,” Amanda said. “(The management), I think, (thought) ‘hey, should we put Jeremy in that spot, but would Amanda also be interested in coming and joining the team?’”
Amanda received a text message, asking if she had an interest in rejoining her husband on air. Two days later, she accepted the station’s offer, but it meant saying goodbye to the position she had quickly grown to love at Kids Hope USA.
“They were cool and kind and gracious and (said), ‘we totally understand, because these opportunities don’t come along a lot,’” Amanda said.
While Amanda left Kids Hope USA to go back into radio, both she and Jeremy are both involved as Kids Hope mentors, as Joy 99 has begun a partnership with the organization, working with students from Roosevelt Elementary School and Z-Quest.
On Nov. 10, Jeremy and Amanda did their first show together since Amanda resigned from WCSG. They almost immediately began attracting listeners that had listened to their show for years.
“One of the most interesting things that happened between June and October was just the sheer number of people who would just find us out in public,” Jeremy said. “I’ve never considered us to be anything remotely close to being a celebrity … It was like our absence all of a sudden gave them some sort of permission to say ‘hey, there you are and we miss you.’ It was really kind, and I was really grateful that happened. It was almost like little reminders from God (saying) ‘hey, I see you.’”
Amanda’s career began at WCSG in 1999 while she was a student at Cornerstone. She worked in promotions for the station at first, then eventually worked her way into an on-air spot on Saturday mornings and overnights. For seven years, she played a significant role in a WCSG program service called His Kids Radio, a fixed-tune Christian radio station targeted toward kids that would get the station through specially-programmed receivers that would only receive that station.
In 2012, Amanda became co-host of the WCSG morning show, with a different partner. Two years later, that partner left, and Amanda interviewed Jeremy to possibly be her replacement. He initially turned down the offer, but later changed his mind.
In their new role at Joy 99, the Henrys have renewed emphasis on connecting with their listeners on a personal level, a trait that made them so popular when they were at WCSG. They’ve been visible at live broadcasts, parades and community events. They’ve also been able to open up more about their personal lives than in the past.
“It’s been fun to kind of pull the curtain back a little bit and share about married life and living together and having all these kids,” Amanda said. “It’s been freeing and fun.”
Jeremy and Amanda’s blended family includes six children, four of whom now attend Zeeland Public Schools.
Two months into the new gig, Jeremy and Amanda couldn’t be more thrilled than being part of Joy 99, doing their show and sharing themselves with listeners.
“It is a really great team of people who not only care about each other, but care about the listeners, care about the product. They have welcomed us in incredible ways. I’m really grateful for that,” Amanda said.
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