New Country 105.1 FM KNCI; www.kncifm.com
Fans of Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith and Carrie Underwood know the station to set their presets to: New Country 105.1 FM KNCI. Sac Mag readers regularly vote the station, which features the popular “Pat and Tom Show” weekday mornings and longtime host Dan Cheatham weekday afternoons, tops for country radio. KNCI does its part for the community, too—a fact recognized by the Community Services Planning Council, which awarded the station the Dick Cable People Helping People Media Award in 2006. KNCI helps out the local chapter of Make-A-Wish, collects holiday cards for the troops and participates in the Sacramento County Sheriffs Department’s annual toy drive. And morning show hosts Pat Still and Tom Mailey have numerous charitable endeavors. Some, such as collecting supplies for firefighters fighting this summer’s vicious fires, are one-time events; others are ongoing. Among them: “An Hour for a Soldier,” where Still and Mailey have family members of soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan contact them with a list of the soldier’s favorite artists. Then, at a pre-arranged time during their morning show, the duo plays the artists’ music and takes calls from the soldier’s family and friends—and records the whole thing, commercials and all. Afterward, Still and Mailey burn the show on CD and send it to the soldier overseas. They also do offbeat fundraisers, such as the Pat and Tom/Clint Howard Wiffle Ball Challenge, which features actor/director Ron Howard’s brother, Clint, and teams of participants in a wiffle ball contest to raise money for the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute.
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