Mickey Starling
reporter3@greenepublishing.com
Madison native Gary Thigpen always had his head in the clouds. As a young boy, he was fascinated with meteorology. While some of his classmates were pulling frogs out of their pockets or shooting marbles, Thigpen was keeping charts on temperatures and rainfall throughout the year. "I just did it because it was fun and I found weather fascinating," said Thigpen.
The weather wasn't the only passion for the young Thigpen. On many occasions, he would pretend to have his own radio station by placing a walkie talkie between two bricks, causing the "talk" button to stay on. Thigpen would then ride away on his bicycle and test the range of his walkie talkies while practicing his DJ skills.
One day, while listening to WMAF 1230 AM, his local radio station, Thigpen discovered the station was holding a "DJ for an hour" contest. All he had to do was write a letter explaining why he would like to be a DJ. So many good entries came in, the station decided to award the best five writers with the opportunity to DJ at the station for an hour. Thigpen was one of those winners. This would be his first experience behind the mike and soundboard of a radio station and he was instantly hooked. "It was the coolest thing," said Thigpen. "I knew I wanted to do this."
Shortly after graduating from Madison High School in 1979, Thigpen began working at WMAF as a part-time DJ, while working full-time at Dixie Packers, in Madison. Several years later, he was offered the station manager's position at WMAF. This turned out to be a short-term gig for Thigpen, as the station encountered financial difficulties and he was forced to move on.
However, Thigpen was a long way from being finished with radio. 92.9 WAAC-FM, in Valdosta, soon hired Thigpen as a weekend DJ for a morning program that ran from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. While there, Thigpen met Benny Daniels, who hosted a Gospel program at the station. Daniels asked him to fill in for him as needed. Thigpen was well acquainted with Gospel music, so this was a perfect fit for him.
Television soon came into view for Thigpen when a relatively new station in Valdosta, WVGA, channel 44, wanted to start a live Gospel video program on weekdays and Sundays. Thigpen was offered the two-hour Sunday program, giving him his first exposure as a television host. The years spent with WVGA gave Thigpen valuable practice merging his radio and television talents and added to an increasingly impressive broadcasting resume.
In 2002, Thigpen moved to Macon, Ga., where he was employed at the Masonic Children's Home. Though he found this job immensely rewarding, his heart was still tuned to radio and he spent the next decade working for various stations around Macon. What set Thigpen on his current career path was just around the corner. In 2012, a Macon television station asked Thigpen to co-host a three-hour news talk show, called "Mix in the Morning," that was going to be simulcast on TV and radio. The show ran for two years, until the station was sold in 2014.
During those two years, Thigpen became a familiar face to the residents of Macon who regularly viewed his program. "Total strangers were greeting me by name in the grocery store," said Thigpen. "I definitely wasn't a stranger anymore." His years of broadcasting experience and his new-found familiarity were soon to open the door to Thigpen's dream job.
In July of 2017, WMGT 41, an NBC affiliate in Macon, was looking for a part-time weatherman and Thigpen couldn't submit his resume fast enough. Though not a meteorologist, the station's news director and station manager were both impressed with Thigpen's credentials and his life-long passion for all things weather related. They quickly offered him the job. "I had already read stacks of books on meteorology," said Thigpen. "I added to that countless hours of studying the Weather Channel so that I could do the best job possible." The most difficult thing to master for Thigpen was how to use the software associated with preparing the daily program. "Learning how to properly position myself and pointing properly took some practice, but it wasn't that bad," said Thigpen.
In January of 2020, Thigpen was hired full-time by a rival station, WGXA. The station owns ABC 16 and FOX 24, in Macon. Thigpen forecasts the weather for two programs on the stations that air from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. and 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on the weekdays. "This is a wonderful place to work," said Thigpen, who rises at 3 a.m. to prepare for the day ahead. "We all get along great."
Thigpen has learned to think quickly in order to sidestep potential errors that are inevitable when doing a live broadcast. "Shortly after taking the new job, I was going to talk about conditions on the live-cam that most stations use," said Thigpen. "I always start with the stations call letters, but once I accidentally uttered my former stations numbers. I immediately caught it before finishing my sentence and changed direction, saying, 'well, let's talk about temperatures later.' Fortunately, it was a cold day, so that took care of it."
Though Thigpen loves his job and the city of Macon, Madison is still home. "All my family is still in Madison and I don't get to come home as often as I would like to," said Thigpen. "Every trip back is still a breath of fresh air."