Toying around

[OldSkool]

Article on Jason Toy from The Parthenon:

Graduate follows passion in radio career with 97.9
By: Ryan Bloomfield
Posted: 4/29/09
For some people, radio is used to fill silence on the way to and from work, but for one local radio personality, it is a passion that has been building for many years.

Jason Toy, 35, has been filling that silence throughout the Mountain State for more than 10 years. He is a morning host and the assistant program director for WMGA-FM, Magic 97.9, a radio station serving the Tri-State area. He has been there for almost a year. Toy said he loves the radio business and working in it has been a dream come true.

"I have always had a passion for radio," Toy said. "I love the business and the opportunities that have come with it. This has definitely been a learning experience."

That experience dates back to Toy's college years at Marshall. Toy worked for WMUL-FM 88.1 throughout his college career. He covered sports and was a color commentator for men's and women's sports.

Toy grew up in Valrico, Fla., and graduated from Bloomingdale High School in 1991. After graduation he walked on to Marshall's football team as a tight end and was a member of the 1992 Division I-AA National Championship team. Toy said he came to Marshall because of its strong football tradition and had family living in the state.

"My dad's family is from Bluefield, West Virginia," Toy said. "I came up here as a kid and fell in love with the area. I watched Marshall play in the 1987 playoff championship game and I knew I wanted to go there."

Toy graduated from Marshall in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Toward the end of his college career, he worked for WMUL 88.1, WKEE-FM 100.5 and covered regional games for ESPN. He also worked for the Thundering Herd Sports Network, a radio network that covers Marshall's sports. This experience helped lead Toy into broadcasting for his other passion - NASCAR.

While growing up in Florida, Toy developed a strong love for NASCAR and went to many races with his father.

"I grew up around dirt track racing," Toy said. "My dad and I would always listen to races on the radio and I loved the broadcasting part of it," Toy said. "I knew it was something I wanted to get into."

Toy contacted Motor Racing Network (MRN Radio), a radio broadcasting operation of NASCAR in Daytona Beach, Fla., in hopes of getting a job. MRN Radio sent Toy to Bristol Raceway in Bristol, Tenn., so he could get his feet wet. After that, they sent him to Ona Speedway in Ona, W.Va., and told him to sit in the stands and practice. Toy took a recorder to the races and taped himself for each race.

After months of practice, Toy then talked to owners at Ona Speedway and they hired him as a public-address announcer for their races and events. Toy did that for about a year and then contacted MRN Radio again. In March of 1998, they sent him to Martinsville, Va., for an audition. He did his audition with the NASCAR Sprint Cup practice, a practice round for the top racing series of NASCAR. In August of 1998, MRN Radio let Toy announce his first race at Bristol Speedway and the rest was history.

Toy has been a part of the MRN Radio broadcasting team for more than 11 years. Today, he covers 31 events for MRN Radio in 23 weekends throughout the year. He travels to Tennessee, Missouri, Arizona and many other states to cover races and events.

In 2001, Toy left the Thundering Herd Sports Network so he could work for MRN Radio full time. Toy said it was a tough decision but he had to do it.

"I didn't want to leave, but NASCAR wanted a lot more of my time," Toy said. "I had to leave in order to keep up with racing."

In 2002, Toy began working for Metro News Radio Network, a statewide radio news network for West Virginia. He covered sports and worked in sales for five years.

In 2007, Toy left Metro News and began working in sales for Kindred Communications, a locally owned media group in Huntington. Toy was given the opportunity to get back on local radio as a morning host at WMGA-FM, Magic 97.9. It was also a chance for him to work with good friend and former colleague, J.B. Miller.

Miller, program director and morning host of "Miller in the Morning," said working with Toy has been a great experience.

"Jason and I worked at WKEE-FM for many years, and it's nice to be able to work with him again," Miller said. "He is one of the best out there and I knew he would come to Magic and make an immediate impact."

Toy is also the program director at 101.5 Bob FM, Magic's sister station.

In addition to his responsibilities in radio, Toy said his most important responsibility is being a dad. Toy has two children, ages six and eight. He said spending time with them means everything to him.

"I travel a lot broadcasting for NASCAR, so I try to spend as much time with them as I can," Toy said. "I always make time for my kids no matter how busy I get. We like doing things outdoors and Huntington is a great place for that."

[Big Media]

Chewey is one of the greats and has never met a stranger. Good guy.