Some broadcasters have a job. Some broadcasters have a career. Every now and then you find someone for whom broadcasting is more than either a job or a career; it’s their life’s work. And no one exemplifies that idea more than the owner/operator of WWIC-AM in Scottsboro… which is why the Alabama Broadcasters Association is more than honored to name Greg Bell “Broadcaster of the Year”.

“Everybody loves Greg. He is very involved and always has been in the community,” says his wife, Angie.  “He’s a very hard worker and very dedicated to his job. He gets up every morning at four o’clock – he’s out the door and at the radio by five just about every day.”

Bell’s morning show, “Party Line”, has been on the air for fifty years. The buy, sell and trade program isn’t as popular as it once was; younger audiences gravitate more to online resources these days, but Bell keeps the program going anyway because it provides an important connection.

“A lot of people in Jackson County, in Scottsboro, a lot of your elderly ones, still listen,” explains Angie. “They might not call in, but they’re listening. They love the show, so Greg keeps it going.”

Bell has had an impact on many a young person in the community, too, especially young athletes. While still in high school he started working for Kerry Jackson at WGSV calling in Friday night scores and game rundowns. In 1986, Bell moved to WWIC in Scottsboro where he announces football, softball, baseball, and boys’ and girls’ basketball.

“I really love being around the kids and watching them succeed and compete,” Bell tells The Advertiser-Gleam in a 2020 interview. “I’ve watched a lot of these kids’ parents play and grow up to be adults. I am so blessed to have been around Scottsboro athletics and high school athletics in general for so many years.”

“Greg recently had his consecutive broadcast streak of well over 100 Scottsboro Wildcat football games broken only because he got Covid-19 and had to quarantine,” says Ron Ricker, a former WWIC employee who nominated Bell for this honor.  “This past basketball season he broadcasted sixty plus games, covering both city and county schools.”

Bell soaked up all the knowledge he could from Bill Yancy, the former voice of the Wildcats. Yancy told him to always be prepared for a game; advice Bell took to heart. “He researches and maintains the most incredible record of local sports statistics. All on his own,” says Ricker. “Big city stations- both AM and FM – would need a team of people to do what Greg does for our area.”

Angie agrees that Bell is pretty much a one-man band. “We have a few part-timers,” says Angie, “but Greg does it all.”

Bell’s love for his community was especially apparent after tornados ripped through the area in April 2011. Power was off everywhere, but using a generator, he got his station back on the air. He and Angie passed on everything they knew about what was happening, becoming an invaluable resource during a very had time.

“Greg’s only regret is that he wished we would’ve stayed on the air longer instead of signing off and going to ‘dead air’ because it was such an awful time,” says Angie. “But people will tell you today that they remember him being on the air all day trying to help.”

The more you learn about the impact Bell has had on the community, the more you realize that it’s not overreaching to say that the town of Scottsboro is what it is today thanks to the way Bell continues to use radio to serve.

“He simply lives to broadcast and serve his community. It’s his life,” says Ricker. “No one in the broadcasting world deserves Hall of Fame recognition more than Scottsboro’s Greg Bell!”