John Best became General Manager for KACU and KUF-TV Channel 7 in 2001. He holds a bachelor's degree in classical music from Hardin Simmons University, and a masters degree in digital media from ACU.
KACU-FM's fall pledge drive begins Monday, October 1 and finishes on Friday afternoon, October 5. This intensive one-week drive will provide operating funds for Abilene's only public radio station. The station has two drives each year, fall and spring, that provide operational funding for national and international programs such as Morning Edition and All Things Considered, Performance Today, the BBC World Service as well as many other programs.
Additionally, funds provide employment for professional staff and student announcer staff. The station is part of the Journalism and Mass Communication Department at Abilene Christian University. KACU has been supported by member donations from its beginning in 1986. This fall, the station is providing "thank you coffee mugs" sponsored by the ACU College of Arts and Sciences and native Texas tree seedlings ready for planting for windbreaks or other uses.
Finally, as an incentive for all the supporters of KACU pledging this fall, we are putting your name in a drawing for a new iPad 3 provided by Pura Vida Salon and Spa. Everyone is eligible except KACU and ACU employees and their families (see rules below). Please renew your membership or become a new member during this fall pledge drive.
After suffering a NE Abilene lighting strike and the resulting EMP ( electro-magnetic pulse) that damaged KACU's digital STL (station transmitter link) this past Sunday night, KACU returned to the braodcast airwaves about 12:30 PM Tuesday afternoon. KACU was able to replace the STL with a loaner unit from the manufacturer by overnight shipping. During the time the station has had this broadcast outage, it has continued to provide all of its broadcast content through the internet stream on www.kacu.org.
Dr. Thomas K. Kim, longtime supporter and fundraiser for KACU-FM, AbilenePublicRadio passed away Monday, March 12, 2012 at the age of 83. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 17th at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 525 Beech St. in Abilene.
A luncheon for the community marks a historic landmark in KACU history; a celebration of 25 years of public radio in Abilene and the Big Country of West Texas. KACU serves one of the smallest markets in the U.S. and it has been said the area population is too small to support a public radio station. But, with typical West Texas style, the community defied the odds and has maintained 89.7 KACU, AbilenePublicRadio, for 25 years.
