1420 WCRE, Cheraw and Chesterfield County's original radio station, celebrated it’s 50th Anniversary on July 17. WCRE signed on the air July 17, 1953 and has served Chesterfield County for the past 50 years. Programming consists of local news, weather, sports, public service announcements and Oldies music from the 50’s 60’s and 70’s. Mitch Johnson and Jane Pigg host the popular “Mitch and Jane Morning Show” which is a combination of weather, local events, “strange but true” news that you can’t make up, guests and other topics of local interest. News is #1 at WCRE. Comprehensive local news with News Director Susan Gilmour airs six times each morning on the hour and half hour. There is a 12 noon report and a 5:00 o’clock News Wrap-Up that includes a Stock Market Report with Larry Haynes. Any time major news breaks, 1420 WCRE is live with news updates. Local sports are a big feature. WCRE airs the complete schedule of home and away Cheraw Braves football games as well as playoffs. This fall will be the 24th year of ‘The Saturday Morning Quarterback’ hosted by George Adams. This popular high school football program features complete game coverage and weekly interviews with the coaches from Cheraw, Chesterfield, Pageland Central and Marlboro County high schools. This fall will being the addition of Coastal Carolina football to the WCRE sports line-up. The games should be very popular since former Cheraw Brave David Bennett is head coach and there are several local players on the team. Sunday mornings feature gospel music and inspiration with Jerry Hardison. The First Baptist Church morning worship service is carried live at 11:00 a.m. According to Mitch Johnson, “We’re proud to serve Cheraw and the Pee Dee. It is both an honor and a great responsibility to turn our microphone on each morning. We know the majority of Cheraw residents are listening to us and we want to keep them informed and entertained. This is especially during severe weather. We average over 150 calls every morning when there’s even a chance of snow or ice.” Jane Pigg added, “We try to give our community what it wants to hear. We appreciate our listeners because without them, we don’t have a product to sell. Our advertisers get great results from their commercials and the events we promote are successful. We try to serve our community as much as any radio station in America.” The South Carolina Broadcasters Association recently named 1420 WCRE as one of two finalists for South Carolina Radio Station of the Year by the SC Broadcasters Association. While many towns and cities are losing local radio stations to consolidation and clustering, Cheraw’s local radio, 1420 WCRE, is thriving.