At times, early in the morning, you can find yourself driving down the street, listening to the local radio station, WNLA.
To some, turning that dial to Indianola’s radio station just seems second nature.
However, when you pay attention to what’s being said or played, you always hear a vibrant spirit before and after the song or ad.
That’s Regina Felita’ Hawkins, station manager, radio personality, on-site engineer and business development specialist for Delta Radio Network, LLC (DRN).
Although her hands are filled day and night with working at DRN, she’s rarely missed an opportunity to brighten the listeners’ day, whether it be that early-morning wakeup message or something to keep you going in the afternoon.
Recently, Regina celebrated 40 years at the station.
Regina was born in Greenville, to the late Earl David Hawkins and Marva Dillon-Hawkins Jones. She attended the Indianola School District and graduated from Gentry High School.
She received Associate’s and B.A. degrees. Coming from a large family, she was raised on principles she still employs today.
After working part-time as a distribution ordering transportation lead representative, Regina began working for WNLA four decades ago.
When asked what got her interested in the radio station, she said, “Believe it or not, someone recorded my voice via phone, and the rest is history. I came in the following day to pull some stories from the Associated Press teletype printer, and that was ‘a go,’” she said. “Fortunately, “Mikhail Gorbachev” was easy to pronounce because his name remained in the national news.”
Throughout her time at WNLA, Regina has received several awards, achievements and accolades, such as: 40th year Radio/Media Achievement; Affiliation of International Idea Bank; member of the National Association of Broadcasters; member of Mississippi Association of Broadcasters; nominee of Jackson Music Award Gospel Announcer of the Year; recognitions for working in the gospel music industry; has received several Gospel Announcer Appreciation Awards; and several awards and recognitions working with award-winning GWMB (Solid-Gold).
Regina always enjoys a good time outside the office, especially when benefitting others in need.
“When I can be a blessing to someone is one of the greatest things,” she said. “My family is one of the greatest joys because God has blessed me to enjoy family members still. In the last couple of years my loss has been great, but I still have joy.”
In further discussion, I asked Regina what the most rewarding part of her job is.
”My day-to-day operations consist of me being responsible for including but not limited to anything with radio, such as: sales, supervision of staff, meeting with the public, clients, and making sure equipment is operating properly,” she said. “While on the air announcing, I complete voice-overs as production for commercials and programming. One of the greatest things in this business is to know that you made a difference in someone’s life. Callers often have a struggle or situation they are experiencing, and that song or voice may be the encouragement they need for the day. Music is a universal language everyone can understand regardless of background, race, or nationality.”
Going further, Regina hopes to continue to be a beacon of hope for young people, and of course, a voice for her community.
