WITZ/WQKZ/Juan General Manager Gene Kuntz to Retire in 2022

Jasper/Huntingburg - Today, WITZ/WQKZ/Juan General Manager Gene Kuntz has publicly announced that he will be stepping down from his role in 2022.

Kuntz began his WITZ career January 3rd, 1977 as a night time announcer and has been with the radio station for the following 45 years. Kuntz went on to become Program Director then Sales and Operations Manager. In September of 2011 he became General Manager.

Kuntz said that, for him, the timing feels right.

"It's been a process that I've been thinking about for some time and I felt that the time was right to do this," Kuntz said. "I've spent 45 years here at the radio station and I have grandchildren and things that I'd like to spend more time with, do more travelling and things like that."

Though he may be leaving, Kuntz says that he's working to find a seamless transition for the station and its listeners.

"I think that what everybody needs to think about is the fact that even though I'm retiring, I'm not going anywhere, I'm staying here in Jasper," Kuntz said. "My goal is to hire someone to take over my position, I will be here in training and transition into new management. But, above and beyond all, I want to find somebody that can come into this radio station, understand who we are, what we do, and why we do what we do - and not make a lot of changes." 

"We've been on the air since 1948, we're very successful, we take a lot of pride in taking care of our clients and serving our listeners' needs," Kuntz added. "I think those are the things that we will continue to do in the future."

Kuntz stated that while people may come and go, the station will continue to stay strong.

"We're strong, we've always been strong, we will continue to be strong and I think that is the main thing that people need to remember," Kuntz said. "It's difficult sometimes to program to every single different demographic in the community but we do out best - we've got Larry Kieffner on Sunday afternoons, we have Sunday morning musicale, we have the mid-day cruise request show. A lot of local news, sports, and weather information - that's what people depend on us for. "That's what's going to continue here at WITZ, none of that is going to change."

In his earlier days with WITZ, words of advice from his former boss have helped shape his experience in Dubois County.

"When I came here, my boss Earl Metzger told me 'If you sit back and wait for the community to come to you, that's not going to happen - you have to go out and get involved in the community,'" Kuntz said. "I've been involved in a lot of non-profit organizations here in Dubois County and I think that's important to give back to the community that's been so good to me and my family over the course of the last 45 years."

Among many awards and recognitions over his 45 years with WITZ, Kuntz has been awarded a Key to the City of Jasper, the Distinguished Service Award from the Jasper Jaycees, and Billboard Magazine's "Program Director of the Year" for radio markets under 100,000 population.

In October 2021, The Boy Scouts of America Buffalo Trace Council honored Kuntz with the Distinguished Citizen Award.

The story as it ran on WITZ is available here: