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WMUK's General Manager To Retire

Rebecca Thiele, WMUK

WMUK General Manager Gordon Bolar is set to retire on June 30th of this year. Bolar has been the station's general manager for more than five years. Before that he served five years as development director.

Bolar has more than 21 years of experience in public radio and public television. He's worked with KAKM and KSKA in Anchorage, Alaska and with WGVU in Grand Rapids.

He has an extensive background in not-for-profit management - having worked with Alaska Arts Southeast in Sitka as their executive director and as a program officer for the Louisiana State Arts Council in Baton Rouge.

Bolar received a Ph.D. in Theatre from Louisiana State University, and M.F.A. in theatre directing from Ohio University and a B.A. from Hendrix College. He also taught speech and theatre at several colleges and universities.

He says one of the highlights of his career was hosting three StoryCorps residencies at WMUK, including the Military Voices and OutLoud initiatives. Bolar also managed station staff as they took home eight Michigan Association of Broadcasters Broadcast Excellence Awards last year. He helped input new station technologies such as WMUK's HD transmitter and WMUK's Lifeboat Studio - an emergency broadcasting capability expected to come online sometime this year. 

Under his direction, Bolar saw several local programs come to life including WestSouthwest, Arts & More, Between the Lines and Jazz Currents. He also kept locally-produced music shows like Grassroots and Alma Latina running for more than 38 years.

After his retirement, Bolar hopes to pursue some writing projects and volunteer opportunities, as well as fishing and kayaking with his wife, Elly, at their cottage south of Baldwin. To learn more about WMUK's General Manager Gordon Bolar, follow his station blog From Where I Sit.

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