Office Staff

News Department

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Sam Marsh

News Director

I was born in Eugene, but I have spent most of my life here in Grants Pass. In fact, my great-grandparents and grandmother first moved here in 1911 and my children will be 4th-generation graduates of Grants Pass High School -- I graduated from GPHS in 1981. I graduated from the University of Oregon in 1986 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, which paved the way for my first stint at KAJO/KLDR from 1996-2004. After temporarily leaving this job, I earned a Master's Degree in Teaching from Southern Oregon University in 2006. I taught elementary school locally for several years, but returned to the radio business in 2012. In July of 2015, I was offered the opportunity to return to KAJO/KLDR/KRRM as News Director and I quickly accepted. I have a wonderful wife, Shelly, and three great kids - Jane, Jackson and Louisa - plus many family members and friends in Southern Oregon. I feel blessed for many reasons and I'm extremely happy to play an important role in this community with the Grants Pass Broadcasting Corporation.

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Chuck Benson

News Reporter / Sports Director

I was born in Kansas and raised in Nebraska. In 1966, I enlisted in the Army. During the first year I traveled coast to coast and border to border. Then I was banished (reassigned) to Alaska. I couldn't sleep because the sun refused to set, it rained for forty days and nights, there were earthquakes, and mosquitos. I came to love it so much, after the first year, that I stayed for eighteen more. While there I married and soon had a newborn daughter. We brought her closer to her grandparents by moving to Grants Pass in 1986; I also found gainful employment. I quit that job to join the KAJO staff and take advantage of my twenty years of broadcast experience. I am still here.

Account Representatives

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Brian Diatte

General Manager

I was born and raised in Santa Clara, California. I moved to Southern Oregon in 2001, where I met my beautiful wife Shanna. We have four boys (Jacob, Ethan, Ryne and Nevin). When I'm not spending time interacting with our staff or one of our clients, you'll most likely find me with my pride and joy, MY BOYS!

I am avid sports fan. I enjoy watching and studying how the games are played. I love coaching my boy’s baseball teams and spending time with family and friends.

I have worn a couple different hats here at the station. I started as an Advertising Consultant, then became the Sales Manager, dabbled as the Promotions Director, and am now the General Manager. I have loved building relationships with people and businesses in our community. I really have enjoyed leading our team/family here at the station. We take pride in finding ways to be more involved with our community on a daily basis.

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Cassie Callas

Advertising Consultant

I wasn't born in Grants Pass, but I might as well have been. My family moved to Grants Pass when I was three months old. I graduated from Grants Pass High School and am still here (and going strong) with my husband and three daughters.

I love to go camping, fishing, and entertaining friends with my amazing barbecue. And you will never find me without at least one Pearl Jam album in my car. My life never lends itself to a dull moment-you know what they say, “No rest for the wicked!”

I do a few different things here at the station. In addition to my time on the air at KLDR, I also lend my voice to many of the commercials you hear. Air time is always fun, but my favorite thing I do is being your friendly radio sales consultant who loves to put more money in the pockets of our local businesses. I feel working with our great list of advertisers and bringing new ones to the air waves is one of the most rewarding things I do. I am the daughter of local business owners, as well as the wife of a business owner. I have great empathy towards the struggles that face employers these days. This lends me to be a great advocate of your business and the creative ways we can use radio to have steady and strong growth.

I love my family, my community, and the Lord. I can truly say I enjoy my job!

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Jason Allen

Advertising Consultant

I graduated from Glendale High School, Class of ’98 – Go Pirates! I am married to the love of my life, Kimberly, and I'm a father of five.

As an avid Oregon Ducks fan, I loves Saturdays at Autzen Stadium and I enjoy country music festivals up and down the west coast.

I am a veteran broadcaster and first went on-the-air in 1998.

I'm exceptionally passionate about supporting St Jude Children’s Research Hospital and I have a podcast called "Garage Talk" with Jason Allen... check it out sometime!

Support Team

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Carl Wilson

Framer

Since my father, Jim Wilson, founded KAJO in 1957, you could say I was "raised on radio" and helped form the framework of what our stations became. My first memories are of going to visit my dad when he was behind the mic at KLAD in Klamath Falls, OR. We moved to Grants Pass when I was five and shortly thereafter, dad founded the venerable `ol AM 1270. My heroes have always been DJ's... and I am fortunate to have known every announcer who has ever been on KAJO in its entire history, dating from the summer of `57. It is an honor to be counted in that crew... and, have we ever seen some interesting guys and gals during that time! I made my on-air debut in the summer of `68. For the most part, I've been on the air continually since that time... with a couple of partial detours. I joined the navy right after high school and spent two years active duty and a bunch of years in reserve. Another very interesting detour was an appointment to the Oregon State Legislature in 1998 and two subsequent reelections. I took a hiatus at the end of 2002 and returned to the family business. Radio is SO much fun... One highlight of my career was going through the process of adding KLDR to the fold back in 1991 and getting an opportunity to do contemporary radio on FM as a morning jock. Those were heady years indeed! In 2014 I again felt the call to return to the State Legislature and have been serving proudly as a right minded voice for Southern Oregon ever since.

I am married to Malinda and have been since summer of `72, and we have two adult children, J.L. and Lora. J.L. is the owner of a longtime lobbying and public affairs firm in Salem, Public Affairs Counsel. Lora is a marriage and family therapist with a practice in Salem. They are both married to great people... J.L.'s wife is Heather... and Lora's husband, Greg. We also have grandchildren Abigail, Ruby, and Ava Wilson, Tyler Johns, Ashlynn and Johnny Withers and Samson Goodenough.

My hobby is motorcycles. I don't know how many hundreds of thousands of miles I have ridden since the summer of `68, but it has been too many to count. My old Harley and I are slowing down and I am happy to be getting interested in travel trailers. Malinda and I have really enjoyed this hobby over the last several years and there is more to come, I trust! Malinda and I are very active in the ministry at River Valley Church and enjoy having our bibles close at hand. We don't just carry them, we believe them. Life without Jesus Christ would be useless to me.

Again, thank you for your interest in our stations. Our desire is to be a "city on a hill" in our community.

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Aaron Stone

Music Director / Production Manager / Program Director (KAJO & KLDR)

I grew up in Eugene, where I developed a real passion for music and radio at a very young age. By the time I was 10, I was listening mostly to stations from Portland, and was inspired by some great talents. I wanted to learn everything I could about the radio business, knowing this was what I wanted to spend my life doing.

In high school, I was a student announcer at KRVM, and received my first paycheck from KDUK at age 17. I then spent 14 years working for KKNU/KMGE, and later, KEUG. As a side project, through the internet, I programmed the high school radio station in Oakridge from 1999 to 2010.

Over the years, I had an interest in KLDR, as I would always listen while traveling through Southern Oregon. I thought this would be the perfect station for me to get involved with. I made the move to Grants Pass in September 2011, to join the awesome KLDR team. It was the best move I could have made! In addition to my time on the air, I'm honored to manage the production and music programming department for the company.

In 2018, I finally met and married the love of my life; the beautiful Nikko. Together, we enjoy the laid-back Southern Oregon lifestyle. I certainly have been blessed, and am very grateful!

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Jill Hamm

Traffic Manager / Office Manager / Advertising Consultant

I was born in LaJolla, California. My dad retired from the Navy after twenty-two years of service. My mom worked outside the home while raising three girls. I am very proud of my parents. They raised my sisters (Janice and Judy) and me to be good people, to treat others with respect, and to be productive citizens. While my dad was in the Navy we spent several years living in Hawaii. When he retired we moved to Grants Pass. I have two wonderful sons (C.J. and Jon); I also have two grandchildren (Zack and Shyla). My best friend is my husband, Clarence. I was part of the first ever graduating class from Hidden Valley High School (1978).

I love my family, friends, cats, books, gardening, travel, games of chance, and games of fun.

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Ashley Main

Program Director (KRRM & KLDR)

Hi, I'm Ashley. I'm a small town girl who left Aberdeen, Washington and moved to the Rogue Valley in January of 2015. I'm also a diehard Seahawks fan.

When I was a young girl I used to record my own radio shows on cassette tape. I even refinanced my car to pay for a trip to Nashville so I could attend the Country Music Awards.

I'm just as passionate about supporting St. Jude as I am passionate about radio. I even met my husband after not shaving my legs for a month to benefit the hospital.

I'm a furmama to my rescue pup Max, and my corgi, Marty McFly.

I love to be active in the gym (and outside). I even hiked Mt, McLaughlin last summer.

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Catie Johnson

Clerical Specialist / Customer Relations

I was born and raised in Gold Hill and graduated from Crater High school. I have spent my whole life in the Rogue Valley, living anywhere from Grants Pass to Ashland.

When not at work I enjoy spending time with my amazing kids, Alex and Lainey. We love the outdoors and enjoying going camping, fishing, and hiking. Baseball in a staple in our household and much of our time is spent traveling and watching our son's games.

Music has always been a passion of mine and I feel so blessed to get to incorporate that into my livelihood.

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Alex Bauer

Production Assistant / Wandering Minstrel

I was born and raised in the Eugene/Springfield area. When high school and college came around, I made my way up to Washington in Spangle (Upper Columbia Academy), and College Place (Walla Walla University). Once I got to college, I applied for the on-campus radio station. Friends, family, and total strangers had often told me I had a voice (and probably a face) for radio, so I wanted to give it a shot. Long story short, I didn't make it in (But feel free to ask. It's a funny story in hindsight). Anyway, after I graduated with a degree in Communications, I moved to Glendale and joined the Top Hat Theatre Company for a few years. I learned about KLDR and KAJO through a friend of mine and even had it recommended to me at Grocery Outlet while I was out job hunting. After my previous radio experience I was a little nervous to try it again, but man a' livin' I'm glad I walked through those front doors! I absolutely loved the environment and the people working there. I felt like this was where God wanted me to be. Over the course of time I gained a niece and nephew, met my wonderful girlfriend who happened to by right next door to me the whole time, and have gotten to know so many wonderful people here in the community! It has been my absolute pleasure to be a part of such a wonderful team! Thank you all for bearing with me on KAJO, KLDR, and KRRM! It has been a hoot and a half and I'm looking forward to the coming years!

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Rain Redfield

Chief Engineer / Web Master / Photographer

I'm a local boy (born and raised in Grants Pass). I moved around a bit, having lived in both Colorado and Washington, but time brought me back to my roots. In 1996, I joined my 2nd family here at Grants Pass Broadcasting and when I returned to Oregon, I also returned home to GPB. My love for music coupled with my passion for math, tech, and creativity have led me to the engineering side of radio. I love spending my days on mountain tops as my hands get dirty troubleshooting the ins and outs of radio.When I'm not at the station, I'm usually getting mud on my Jeep, riding motorcycles, working with a local theatre group, or playing some video games. Thanks for listening. If I can ever do anything for ya, please reach out on Facebook or drop by the station and say "hi."