Chester A. LaPrice

  • Operations Manager
    WERG
  • Adjunct Lecturer
    Health Communications
  • Adjunct Lecturer
    Communication and The Arts

I am the Operations Manager for one of the best college radio stations in America! 90.5 WERG, at Gannon University in Erie, PA.

We play Alternative Rock during the week with Super Soul Saturday and community programming to round-out the weekend. Gannon students are placed in charge of day-to-day operations: such as executing airshifts, scheduling program logs, compiling and reading newscasts, maintaining the station website, planning and running promotions, recording promos and PSA's, and all the other duties that make-up a successful broadcast operation.

On the administrative side, my responsibilities include developing and executing successful budget plans each fiscal year; integrating station operations and programming with a marketing focus on the university and the community at-large, while also teaching and delegating responsibilities to this end; accruing supplementary funding through contributions and grant applications; attending and speaking at broadcasting conferences; and the myriad other legal and institutional duties that crop-up daily.

In 2005 I implemented our move up the dial to 90.5-FM, culminating a decade-long capital improvement effort. The new antenna location effectively quadrupled station reception in the tri-state region.

In 2008 and 2009 I secured the necessary funding to augment two major technical improvements to WERG: the purchase of a WheatStone D7512 studio audio console, and the transition to Google Radio Automation Systems (now WideOrbit) master control system. These enhancements have significantly increased the quality of our technical sound and continue to enable our students to gain practical experience with industry-standard equipment.

90.5 WERG moved into our new home in the Center for Communication and the Arts in 2014, the same time the station and our students were becoming nationally-known for content creation.

Affiliations with Erie News Now and NBC NewsRadio, starting in 2019, have augmented the journalism component of our program as students now have access to the resources of bona fide news operations.

In 2022, $30,000 in gifts and grants were utilized to enhance 90.5 WERG's technical infrastructure: new computer control systems from Wide Orbit, a GatesAir studio-transmitter link, and an Omnia Volt audio processor.

Specialties:
• Planning, executing, and achieving strategic and tactical budgetary goals;
• Digital editing (proficient in SoundForge and Adobe Audition);
• Utilization of scheduling software (Selector and PowerGold);
• Programming and maintenance of studio computer systems (DigiLink, AudioVault and Google Air/WideOrbit Automation);
• Fluency with FCC broadcast law and procedures;
• Leading a student and volunteer airstaff of approximately sixty (60) individuals

In 2014, 90.5 WERG was named Best College Station in the Nation, and presented with the Abraham & Borst Award from the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System.

WERG's two-fold mission has always been to 1) serve the Gannon and Erie communities with diverse alternative programming choices; and 2) serve as a learning laboratory with station structure and operation as consistent as possible to the operation of a professional radio station.

I met my wife, Elisa, at the Gannon Christmas party in 2006; she is a professor in Gannon's biology department.  We enjoy traveling, science fiction, and baseball.

ONLINE PORTFOLIO

I lead a talented group of writers, performers, and producers at 90.5 WERG: Gannon University's nationally-acclaimed, award-winning radio station.
  • 2014 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Abraham & Borst Award: "Best College Radio Station in the Nation"
  • Best College Station in America (University under 10,000 enrollment): 2014, 2021
  • 2024 Intercollegiate Broascasting System national winner: "Best Sports Play-by-Play" for Erie Otters Hockey
  • 2023 Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters: History of WERG Radio - The Seventies
  • 2023 Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters best-in-state: play-by-play of Erie Otters Hockey
  • 2022 Phillips Trust $15,000 grant for capital improvements in station infrastructure
  • 2021 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System national winner: "Best Celebrity Interview"
  • 2021 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System national winner: "Best Show Promo"
  • 2021 Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters best-in-state: "Outstanding Radio Promotional Announcement"
  • 2020 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System national winner: "Best Radio Drama"
  • 2019 College Radio Spirit Award from the College Radio Foundation
  • 2019 Gannon University Outstanding Club/Organization Award
  • 2019 College Broadcasters, Inc. national winner: "Best Event Promotion"
  • 2018 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System national winner: "Best Use of Sound Effects in Audio Production"
  • 2017 College Broadcasters, Inc. national winner: "Best Audio Public Service Announcement"
  • 2017 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System national winner: "Best Event Promotion"
  • 2017 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System national winner: "Best Station Imaging"
  • 2016 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System national winner: "Best Sports Update"
  • 2016 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System national wInner: "Best Event Promo"
  • 2015 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System national winner: "Best Station Imaging"
  • 2014 College Radio Spirit Award from the College Radio Foundation
  • 2014 Erie Reader "Best in Erie" award for Erie's Favorite Radio Station
  • 2014 Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters $5000 Educational Grant
  • 2014 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System national winner: "Best Contest/Promotional Event"

 

  • Intro to Electronic Media (COMM-111)
  • Leadership Seminar (COMM-240)
  • Strategic Communication in Ethics and Law (GCOMM-590)
  • Gannon University, Doctor of Philosophy, 2023
  • Gannon University, Master of Business Administration, 2011
  • Gannon University, Bachelor of Arts, 1992
  • Cathedral Preparatory School, Class of 1988
  • WXTA Country 98 - WinCapp Broadcasting (10 years, 1991-2001): Midday personality for seven years; also did Evenings, Overnights, PM Drive, and AM Drive fill-in.  Production Director for three years. Developed and produced "The Weekend Countdown" show which was hosted by our Morning Drive personality.  Music Director for six (6) years crafting a signature sound and demographic market-specific appeal.  Part of a team that took WXTA to No.1 in Erie radio during the 1990's.
  • WRPL "Planet Radio" - NextMedia Broadcasting (1 year, 2002): I also had production duties that involved recording and mixing spots for all six stations in the cluster: Rocket 101, Star 104, Froggy 94.7, The Planet, 1330 The Fan, and 1400 WJET.
  • WCCK/WEYZ - Burbach Broadcasting (1 year, 1991): Live shows on weekend overnights and fill-ins on WCCK (K104-FM); operator and production duties during sports broadcasts on sister station WEYZ (AM).
  • WLKK "NewsRadio 1400" - KDC, Inc. (2 years, 1989-1990): News gathering, editing, and delivery; live airshifts; production, call-screening and engineering for talk shows.  Maintained station automation procedures and policies.
  • Vice-President; Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (serving as a National Board Member, 2015- )
  • Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters
  • College Broadcasters, Inc.
  • Country Music Association, voting member (1998-2002)
Chester         A. LaPrice

+1 8148715841
Office: CCA 201A

Contact Chester LaPrice