WHIL Board Welcomes New Members and Officers

May 4th, 2005

Mobile, Ala. — Gulf Coast Broadcasting Inc. announced this week it has elected Mary Mervin "Merv" White-Spunner, vice president of Regions Bank's corporate division, to serve as president of the board for the coming year. In addition, the organization elected five new members and announced a new slate of officers at its April meeting. Gulf Coast Broadcasting Inc. is the non-profit community board that oversees operations of WHIL 91.3 FM, Mobile's public radio station licensed to Spring Hill College.

New members for the board are Irving Silver, partner in the firm Silver, Voit & Thompson; John Lewis, owner of Lewis Communications; Mike Marshall, editor of the Mobile Register; Sarah Damson, owner of Longs Human Resources; and Ken McElhaney, Jr., local State Farm insurance agent. Joining White-Spunner as officers will be Marshall as vice president for corporate affairs; Bruce Knodel, owner of Knodel Associates Architects, as vice president for development, and David Hannan, a partner with Johnstone, Adams, Bailey, Gordon & Harris attorneys, as secretary. Outgoing president Michael Johnson, executive vice president and chief financial officer for BancTrust Financial, will serve as treasurer for the coming year.

In addition to announcing its newest members, Gulf Coast Broadcasting Inc. announced that WHIL's studio and administrative offices will be relocating this fall to a renovated space on the east end of the second floor of the College's Administration Building. Necessitated by the planned demolition of Murray Hall by Spring Hill in January 2006, the relocation creates the opportunity for WHIL to upgrade to new digital equipment throughout the station, White-Spunner said. It also offers the chance to enhance relations between the station and Spring Hill, she noted, in that four of the five new board members are trustees of the College.

"With a new location, new equipment and a board committed to improved quality and improved fundraising efforts, I am confident WHIL will once again become the station of choice for public radio listeners along the Gulf Coast," White-Spunner said. "I am very excited about what these new members bring to our board, and I am very appreciative of Spring Hill's desire to remain a part of bringing arts and culture to our audiences."

For more information on Gulf Coast Broadcasting, Inc. or WHIL, contact 251-380-4685 or visit www.whil.org. For more on Spring Hill College, call the Office of the President at 251-380-3866 or visit www.shc.edu.