Parks Stamper, Fish 104.7′s only mid-day host in its entire history, has retired from full-time work after more than 21 years on the air.
She said she told the Fish last September she was planning to retire but will continue to do fill-in shifts and endorsements for realtor Mark Spain.
“I just think it was time for me to step down from full-time mid-days so someone fresh can come in,” she said in a text to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday. “I know we’ve had a ton of really gifted people apply.”
During Stamper’s final full-time shift, she told her audience: “For those who listened the past 21 years, thank you for letting me into your lives and being my friend,” she said. “Thank you for letting me, a little girl from the Appalachian mountains of southwestern Virginia, be on the air in a major market shows God exists and God has a sense of humor.”
Stamper said she really enjoyed helping listeners through the annual Fish “Christmas Wish” campaign. She recalled a man who was paralyzed with OCD got treatment and got into radio, noting “I still keep in touch with his family.”
She also helped connect a woman in need of a kidney with her perfect match, a stranger who called in at the radio station. And a second caller got her kidney checked for a possible match but instead found out she had early stage ovarian cancer, Stamper said, “so being so willing saved her life! God’s cool like that.”
Mike Blackmore, her boss at the Fish lauded Stamper’s dedication to her work and her kindness: “She, more than anyone at The Fish, sounded like Atlanta, and was the radio co-worker and friend to millions of listeners during her tenure. Parks on the air is the same as Parks in person. She is 100% authentic.”
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