Barry Thomas is now director of engineering for the Wilks Broadcast Group.
The 21 station group has all FM facilities in the following markets: Denver, Lubbock, Texas, Reno, Nev., Fresno, Calif., Columbus, Ohio and Kansas City, Kansas.
The corporate office is in Alpharetta, Ga., where chief executive officer Jeff Wilks is headquartered. However Thomas will be based at the Wilks’ Denver cluster and is also chief engineer of those stations: KIMN, KXKL and KWOF, all FMs.
Asked whether any of Wilks stations transmit an HD Radio signal in addition to analog, Thomas said the stations that Wilks purchased from CBS Radio do in Denver and Columbus. He’s hoping to upgrade the HD gear in those facilities.
Thomas recognizes the accomplishments of Mark Smith, the current DOE for Wilks. Thomas says he’s fortunate that he and Smith will have a month of overlap before Smith departs the company.
Thomas was previously based in Atlanta as vice president of engineering for Lincoln Financial Media, a position he held for six years. He exited that broadcaster in May.
He’s had a contract engineering firm, Thomas Media Systems & Design, for years, and says he intends to continue with that as time allows. Thomas sits on the government relations committee of the SBE and also hopes to continue to serve on several NRSC subcommittees.