James Thomas Whitaker

James Thomas Whitaker 08/28/1931 – 08/08/2024

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of the owner and president of radio stations WJSB & WAAZ.

James Thomas Whitaker of Crestview Fl passed away on Thursday, August 8^th at the age of 92 with friends by his side.

Mr. Whitaker was born on August 28, 1931, in Wicksburg, AL to Ella Casey Whitaker and William Shelly Whitaker.

At the age of 5, Jimmy, along with his mother and brother, Warren Shelly Whitaker Sr., moved to Crestview, FL for employment. Shortly thereafter, Jimmy’s mother met and eventually married Clandy Shelton Henderson. Shelton and Ella later had two sons, Costan Larry Henderson and Jerry Max Henderson.

Jimmy, along with his brother Warren, would spend the summer with their father in Panama City working on deep sea fishing boats.

While in grade school, he worked at his stepfather’s business, Radio Electric, located on S. Main Street which sparked an interest in electronics and radio.

While attending Crestview High School, Jimmy served in the Army National Guard. Upon graduation, he transferred to active duty in the US Army. While serving his country, he attended a radio electronics course at Camp Gordon, Georgia. Upon completion of the course and his active-duty requirement, he returned home to Crestview where he went to work as the chief engineer for the first radio station in Crestview, WCNU AM, in Radio Valley, which was then located where the intersection of S Ferdon Blvd and PJ Adams Pkwy is today. There he met and later married the love of his life, Betty Janette Kennedy who was the bookkeeper.

Seeing how easy it was to maintain and operate a radio station, at the age of 19, he partnered with his stepfather and started the process to build his own station.

On Wednesday, September 15, 1954, at 2:15 in the afternoon, Congressman Robert L. F. Sikes, the He Coon, threw the power switch and did the inaugural address for WJSB AM which stood for Jimmy, Shelton and Betty. At that time, WJSB was on frequency 1490 at 250 watts and played block programming which allowed the station to have a variety format which included live gospel singing, preaching, pop, country and gospel music. WJSB later changed frequencies in the late 1950’s to AM 1050 and increased power to 1,000 watts as a daytime only station. In the mid 70’s it again increased power to 5,000 watts.

In 1957, Jimmy sold the station to Everette McCrary but remained the chief engineer for the station. Under the ownership of McCrary and engineering of Jimmy, sister radio station WAAZ FM came on the air on July 15, 1965, on FM frequency 104.9.

During this time, Jimmy went to work with Byrd Maypoles and did the engineering work that brought radio stations WXBM 102.7 and WTKX TK 101.5 on the air as well as a third radio station in Milton that is now silent. Jimmy also pursued his other passion, the two-way radio business and created Whitaker Communications. Whitaker Communications had every law enforcement agency in the area as well as Okaloosa County School District, Okaloosa Gas District, and local businesses like Casey Electric as customers where he would install and maintain their two-way communication radios. When cell phones came on scene and gained in popularity, Jimmy added two additional communication towers and started leasing space for cellular companies.

In 1970, Jimmy partnered with W. C. Jones, who founded the convenience food store chain Tom Thumb, and bought the radio stations back from McCrary. Shortly thereafter, Crestview Broadcasting Company was formed as the parent company of the two radio stations. Mr. Whitaker along with his wife Betty, later bought W. C. Jones’ 50% of the Crestview Broadcasting Company, once again leaving him with sole ownership with his wife.

In April of 1994, WAAZ FM changed its frequency to 104.7 and increased power to 30,000 watts. In August of 2001, The Crestview Broadcast Company replaced its 230 ft tower with a 467 ft tower and increased the power of WAAZ to 100,000 watts, the maximum allowed.

With Jimmy’s aunt Nancy Jane being married to Pappy Neal McCormick, who had his own band called the Hawaiian Troubadours, Jimmy fell in love with music, especially country music at an early age. With Pappy Neal being an icon in country music, he introduced Jimmy to country music legends of the era while sitting backstage in the Ryman Auditorium at the Grand Ole Opry.

To say Jimmy Whitaker has lived a life that most people can only dream of is a gross understatement. When asked if he enjoyed his work, Jimmy would tell you he has never worked a day in his life. When you love what you do it is not work.

Shortly after WJSB went on the air, the Jaycee’s approached Mr. Whitaker requesting his help in promoting a new community project. Instead of airing public service announcements, Mr. Whitaker turned the radio station over to the Jaycees for a weekend. The Jaycee’s contacted area businesses, sold them advertising, wrote the commercials and voiced them on the air. The Jaycee’s kept 100% of the revenue they generated during the two-day weekend, and he did not charge them a dime for the use of the station. The community project turned out to be the Old Spanish Trail Festival.

When the City of Crestview first created the Main Street Crestview Association, Mr. Whitaker donated airtime to promote events the organization had. The radio station provided live remotes during the Crestview Christmas parades describing the floats and organizations in the parade for people who were unable to attend.

During the 70-year span in radio, Jimmy has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of airtime promoting the community he loved. The radio stations Jimmy built in Crestview were and always will be community-oriented stations.

Mr. Whitaker is preceded in death by his wife, Betty Janette Whitaker, his mother, father and stepfather as well as his three brothers.

He is survived by one brother-in-law, Delwin Fountain and wife Ina, along with multiple nieces, nephews, extended family members and friends that became family along the way.

A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, August 13^th, beginning at 4pm at the First Baptist Church of Crestview, with pastor Donnie Cadenhead officiating. The family will receive friends an hour prior to the service at the church.

A Masonic ceremony will be held at the conclusion of the funeral service honoring Mr. Whitaker as being master of Concord Lodge #50 on two separate occasions.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Shriners Hospitals for Children in Mr. Whitaker’s memory.

You can share memories and offer condolences at www.brackneyfuneralservice.com.

Brackney Funeral Service, Crestview, is entrusted with arrangements.