WLBE-AM 790
 Leesburg Eustis  

Original Call Letters: WEUS
Originally Licensed: Aug 1947                                
Call Letter Origin: (geographic) LeesBurg Eustis 
Original City of  License: Eustis
Original Power: 1,000 watts 
Original Format: Pop
Network Affiliations: NBC
                                Mutual Broadcasting System
                                CBS
                                FOX

Owner(s): 1947-Paul and Eleanor Hunter (Owners of Liberty Magazine)
                1951-Paul and Sally Husebo
   1965-Heard Broadcasting, Inc.
                1975-WLBE Radio, Inc. (H. James Sharp, President)                                       
                1978-Gene Smith  
                1983-WLBE 790, Inc.


History Of  Call Letters and Formats: WEUS-1947-Pop
                                                          WLBE-1949-Pop
                                                          WLBE-1980-Adult Contemporary
                                                          WLBE-1991-Big Band/Easy Listening
                                                          WLBE-      -News/Talk/Information  "All American Talk Radio"

          
                                                         
WLBE History
The Husebos came to Lake County from Minneapolis in 1951. Wendy had worked in a major station there as the program director and chief announcer. When his brother, Paul Husebo, called him to say he was moving to Central Florida from their native Minnesota, Wendy Husebo told him if he found a radio station for sale, he would move, too. While Paul Husebo was scouting around for the right town, he arrived in Leesburg on the day of the Watermelon Festival. He liked the friendliness and the activity in the town, spotted a radio tower and stopped in a gas station to call the station. "He asked if the station was for sale, and the voice said, `Yes.' " WLBE, had been purchased by the former publisher of Liberty Magazine, who died within six months,  Husebo said. The man's wife was stuck trying to keep the station running. From 1951 to 1962, WLBE was a major news source to people in Lake County. Husebo remembered the first remote broadcast of a Leesburg High School football game in Palatka and a 37-hour stretch at the microphone during Hurricane Donna in 1960. "People depended on radio for local news," he said. "We didn't have television, and most of the papers were weekly. So, we tried to cover everything."  Lacking also were the services of an advertising and public relations agency. When area businesses wanted to stage a grand opening or plan a promotion, they went to Wendy Husebo. So did civic leaders in Leesburg, when, in a twist of fate, they named him chairman of the festival that helped bring him to Leesburg. In the 1950s, the Leesburg Watermelon Festival was important to the city. To promote it, the mayor and prominent residents formed a 30-car motorcade with a P.A. system and part of the high-school band and visited all the other towns in the area. "Our mayor would pop out and present their mayor with a watermelon," Husebo said. "The people in the cars would jump out and put posters in all the windows..." By 1962, he was so involved in promotion outside the radio business that he sold WLBE and formed Husebo Advertising & Public Relations. His son, Lanny Husebo, worked with him in the mid-1970s. "He has become known for his sayings, `How may I brighten your day?' and `Consider it done.'
1992-WLBE drops NBC news for CBS, and in the process lost the right to broadcast popular talk show host Bruce Williams. The syndicator of Williams' show is an NBC company. In Williams' place, WLBE aired Gil Gross from 8 to 11 p.m. 
                                                                                                                           

    

WLBE studios on Radio Road in Leesburg  



WLBE  Personalities
Jack Wilson-1953-1993-play-by-play broadcasts of Leesburg High's football games
Charles (Charlie) Northrup-1966 
Dutch Edwards-1971
Wayne Coleman-1972-1974
Bob Andrews-1980 to present -mornings. Biography
''Big Red''-1994-host of "The Party Line" 
Chris Sawyer-1994-middays/program director
Victor Lent-1996-2-5PM and News 5-6PM weekdays. Leesburg Athletics Minor League Baseball Play-by-Play.
Peter Rocchio-1998-1PM-4PM- Mondays through Thursdays                              Bob Andrews at the WLBE studios in 2004 
Richard Ryan-2002-Host of "Comin' Home"                                                                       Photo courtesy of Bob Andrews
Fred Johnson-2008-Co-host "Lake County/Central Florida Roundtable" 
Ralph Smith-2008-Co-host "Lake County/Central Florida Roundtable" 
Lee Gillette-news director  
Alan B. Walts                                           
Michael Solt                                                                        
Bill Gephart-News director  In Memory
"Uncle Russie Ross"-Russ Ross-Sat 2PM-5PM  Biography
Chuck Stevens-Host of "Party Line"-callers buy, sell, and trade their items live on the air. 
Eve Martin-"Eve the Mystic"
Al Martin 
Dick Ravenhill-Program Director  In Memory
Dick Coleman-Program Director



Mark Logas Biography





Other Names in WLBE History   
Paul Hunter-1947-1951-Co-owner
Eleanor Hunter-1947-1951-Co-owner
Paul Husebo-1951-1977-Co-owner 
Sally Husebo-1951-1977-Co-owner 
Wendy Husebo-1951-1962-Co-owner 
Gene Smith-1977-1983-Owner  In Memory
Sally Husebo-1951-1962-"Mr. Sunshine"-Owner 
Paul Husebo-1951-1962-Owner
T. Hooke McCauley-1951-General Manager
H. James Sharp-1965-Vice President/General Manager-Heard Broadcasting, Inc.
Charles Grant-1965-Commercial Manager-Heard Broadcasting, Inc.
E. B. Meade-1965-Board Chairman-Heard Broadcasting, Inc
Ray Glover-1965-Program Director-Heard Broadcasting, Inc
Erik Miller-1965-Cheif Engineer-Heard Broadcasting, Inc
John Fennessy-General Manager
Eugene F. ''Gene'' Smith-General Manager 1970s, early 1980s, and again in the early 1990s. He died of cancer in August 1993. In Memory
H. James Sharp-1975-President-WLBE Radio, Inc.
Gene Smith-1978-Owner  In Memory



E.J. "Mac" McNair-1997-General Manager/partner



Merrill Isaacson-General manager 
Esther White-1952-1994-Hired as bookkeeper by the station's first general manager, T. Hooke McCauley, in 1951. She became office manager, with sales and public relations responsibilities and would even do an occasional commercial for Edenfield Jewelers and Grays' Orange Barn.
Ronald V. Regan-host of "Veterans Cafe"
Doug Hoy and Matt Turse-2000-"Wise Guys Sports Football Handicapping" 
Chuck Grant-sales 
Bill Reedy-sports
Bruce Williams-syndicated
Prior Smith-"Canada Calling"-syndicated
Bill Mays

                                   
 l to r  Frank Reed, Bob Andrews, Gabe Burton and Dave Edwards                        l to r  Frank Reed, Bob Andrews, Gabe Burton and Mac McNair
                                                                       (photos courtesy of Dave Edwards 2007)                                
                    
                                                                                                                 
                                                         
                                                                                          courtesy of Mark Logas
         

                    
                           1970's license plate     click photos for full sized view   courtesy of Mark Logas     1980's license plate

                     
                                                              click photos for full sized view   courtesy of Mark Logas

                                                                                                              click photo for full sized view   courtesy of Mark Logas
                                                       

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