Jim Heavner
Jim Heavner is Chapel Hill-Carrboro’s first media mogul, parlaying our smalltown radio station into the flagship of a national sports broadcasting network, a cable TV company, an advertising circular, a university phone book publisher, and more. Chapel Hill was much smaller then and WCHL’s motto was “the sound of the village.” If CHL was the village’s sound, then Heavner was its voice. Heavner’s career in media began as a high school student in Kings Mountain, where he worked at the local radio station and as a reporter for the Charlotte
and Shelby papers. Upon coming to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he picked up jobs at WCHL, the Chapel Hill Weekly, WRAL and WTVD. He started running WCHL in 1961, and in the late 1960s, station owner Sandy McClamroch offered him the chance to
buy stock in the business. Heavner took it and became majority owner a decade later. He also provided commentary for Woody Durham for almost two decades.
His own distinctive baritone aside, Heavner valued local voices and involved the community in the station, inviting locals to host shows, appear as guests and share their views via the popular The Commentators. Careful to nurture the next generation of broadcasters, the
station aired Chapel Hill High School’s radio show, hosted at one time by Draggan Mihailovich, now a producer with CBS News. Sportscaster Jim Lampley also cut his teeth there. Under Heavner’s management, WCHL won more local news awards than any other radio station in North Carolina. Widely recognized as an innovator and optimizer, Heavner expanded beyond radio, taking the Village
Companies into printing and publishing, cable television, and eventually online content. He sold the station to childhood friend Don Curtis in 1997, but re-acquired sales and programming in 2002, just a few months shy of the station’s 50th anniversary. In 2004, VilCom bought WCHL back outright. In 2009, Heavner sold a minority stake to Barry Leffler, a former television executive. Heavner continues as
the station’s chairman.
Heavner is a devoted community supporter, following in the footsteps of his mentor McClamroch, Chapel Hill’s longest-serving mayor. Heavner and his various enterprises provide promotional and financial support to myriad local organizations. The station hosts a day-long community forum to discuss pressing issues affecting Chapel Hill, Carrboro, the University and Orange County. Its Village Pride Awards recognizes unheralded community heroes, bringing light to their important contributions to the Southern Part of Heaven.
For his long-standing promotion of and reporting on our community, we proudly induct Jim Heavner into the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Business Hall of Fame.
and Shelby papers. Upon coming to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he picked up jobs at WCHL, the Chapel Hill Weekly, WRAL and WTVD. He started running WCHL in 1961, and in the late 1960s, station owner Sandy McClamroch offered him the chance to
buy stock in the business. Heavner took it and became majority owner a decade later. He also provided commentary for Woody Durham for almost two decades.
His own distinctive baritone aside, Heavner valued local voices and involved the community in the station, inviting locals to host shows, appear as guests and share their views via the popular The Commentators. Careful to nurture the next generation of broadcasters, the
station aired Chapel Hill High School’s radio show, hosted at one time by Draggan Mihailovich, now a producer with CBS News. Sportscaster Jim Lampley also cut his teeth there. Under Heavner’s management, WCHL won more local news awards than any other radio station in North Carolina. Widely recognized as an innovator and optimizer, Heavner expanded beyond radio, taking the Village
Companies into printing and publishing, cable television, and eventually online content. He sold the station to childhood friend Don Curtis in 1997, but re-acquired sales and programming in 2002, just a few months shy of the station’s 50th anniversary. In 2004, VilCom bought WCHL back outright. In 2009, Heavner sold a minority stake to Barry Leffler, a former television executive. Heavner continues as
the station’s chairman.
Heavner is a devoted community supporter, following in the footsteps of his mentor McClamroch, Chapel Hill’s longest-serving mayor. Heavner and his various enterprises provide promotional and financial support to myriad local organizations. The station hosts a day-long community forum to discuss pressing issues affecting Chapel Hill, Carrboro, the University and Orange County. Its Village Pride Awards recognizes unheralded community heroes, bringing light to their important contributions to the Southern Part of Heaven.
For his long-standing promotion of and reporting on our community, we proudly induct Jim Heavner into the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Business Hall of Fame.