When Gene Moore, 48, retired from the Navy and moved to Valrico with his wife, Ginny, 49, in 1995, he still wanted to give back to the community. He found what he was looking for as a volunteer at WMNF-FM 88.5, the community radio station.
Now Moore is the paid WMNF volunteer/membership coordinator and oversees more than 250 volunteers. How does a Navy veteran mesh with the flower power station? Over sandwiches at Nicko's Diner near the WMNF studios in Seminole Heights, Moore explained that "retired military" isn't synonymous with "right wing," and "WMNF listener" doesn't necessarily mean "liberal."
Pull up a chair and join us.
ERNEST: I think of retired military as right-wingers and WMNF as being left of left. How did you end up working at the flower power station?
GENE: There are a lot of people in the military, both active duty and retired, that are not that way. They serve because that's their job. When I went in, my parents couldn't afford to send me to college and that was the initial thing I wanted to do. As I got in the service, I advanced very quickly, but my politics sort of interfered with what I was doing. I didn't agree with everything we did. So, I did my job, but a lot of things that I saw, I spoke up against.
After retiring from the Navy and a duty station in upstate New York, you moved to Valrico looking for a warm weather climate. But there are a lot of warm places. Why here?
For my wife, more so than me, is the idea Florida is a big dichotomy of different people. We're very interested in people. Some people think Brandon is this big white area, but if you look deep in there, it's pretty diverse, like our own community (Valrico Vista). There is a big mix of different people, and all age groups and all political beliefs and ethnicities and religious beliefs in the area. You put all that stuff together and it makes for a nice little neighborhood. When something happens and something needs to be done, we can all work together. So you're creating that neighborhood that used to happen 40 or 50 years ago when people lived in urban environments.
It sounds like you and your wife, Ginny, are pretty outgoing?
We try to be friendly and know our neighbors. We had a situation a little over a year ago, a neighbor right next door to us was murdered in a murder-suicide situation. It really affected us deeply because we were so hurt by the idea that something would happen like that. What my wife said was you have to know your neighbors and now when something happens, everyone is out trying to help. When you don't know what's going to happen in this world, we need to know them so we can go to them and help or they can help us.
You started as a WMNF volunteer and ended up helping with some major events like the Heatwave concert in Ybor City.
Yes, and then they restructured the staff at the station (in 2000) and they were looking for someone who had experience in database management. That's sort of the thing I did in the military and I was a perfect match for it. I was known at the station and they knew my dedication and what I had done and what I could do. It was just a natural fit. It's the best job I've ever had. I tell people they're going to have to roll me out on a gurney.
What inspires you to be so devoted to the station?
There's not many jobs where you have a positive effect on the community. It's a very important part of the community both socially and politically. It provides so many things to the community. It's not going to happen at other places. Why it's not happening other places is the dollar, but the thing is we're not going to sell ourselves out.
You're not driven by profit, right?
We're here to help provide a service to the community. I think that as a staff member and a former volunteer, that's the most important thing we can do, providing that information, that music and whatever else we can do for the community so they can be informed and make the right decision. Educating our community on what they don't hear in the mainstream is very important. We work really hard to try and keep people listening.
What kind of things do the volunteers want to do?
Years ago they would always come in and say, "I want to be a DJ," but now when they come in they say "I want to work in the news department." You get people who are music lovers and you get people who are newshounds. These people know that it's important to get information out and they want to be a part of it.
Are people in the Brandon area listening to WMNF?
We do get a lot of Brandon listeners, but I think it's a very niche listener. I've got bumper stickers on the back of my truck, including a WMNF sticker. I was at Regency Square one day and somebody said, "What's WMNF? I've lived here 10 years and I don't know anything about it." That's the education part of it. We're working on it. I think the big thing is finding a venue that will allow us to do a show. If we could get out there and put our face on something, that's a big thing. That's how you get people to listen, but there's no venue in Brandon where you could have a decent show.
What are you looking for in a venue?
We're looking for a club or a hall that will hold at least 500 people. I was talking to someone in Clayton Plaza; that old Publix store. I thought that would convert into a good size club.
I think of WMNF listeners as being very liberal. Do you have conservative listeners?
Not just listeners, but we have a wide range of volunteers. We have volunteers who are very right-wing, very pro administration. And some of our volunteers don't think we're radical enough. It's the truth. They think you need to be hard core. I think the important things is we reach a wide audience. What I tell people about the station, if they don't know about it, is you don't have to listen to everything, but if you listen long enough you will find something you really like.
Overall, it sounds like your life is pretty good.
Pretty good, if we could only get that guy out of the White House. I know some people feel bad when a soldier dies, but for me and a lot of veterans it hits home because we've been there and we know what it's like and we know what they're going though.
DESSERT: A postscript from Ernest
Moore said his biggest challenge is finding work for volunteers who work 9-to-5 jobs, but WMNF is building a new facility that should create more opportunities. WMNF broke ground on the building Sept. 13. Among the more recent gifts Moore purchased for his wife were a 3-inch belt sander and a 10-inch table saw. Those don't sound ideal, but he says his wife loves power tools and could get a job as an interior decorator if she hadn't already retired.
