Dr. Herb Johnson, treasurer of Friends of WPVM Inc, has been an art collector for many years, a passion he inherited from his father—a jazz musician in the 1920s-30s and then owner of an art gallery in Chicago in the 1940s. Dr. Johnson's art interests include American print makers and American primitives of the 1930s as well as traditional West African tribal art. Also known for sharing pieces of his art, three of Dr. Johnson's donations to the Asheville Art Museum are now on display with other American prints. He is shown above at the recently re-furbished museum beside a collection of prints from the 1930s and early '40s, featuring scenes that are urban, industrial and rural in a range of printmaking techniques. The exhibit includes his gifts by Reginald Marsh, Grant Wood and Helen West Heller—artists who Dr. Johnson believes “truly express the iconic American print movement in the 1930s.”
Ms. Davyne Dial and Dr. Herb Johnson, president and treasurer of Friends of WPVM,
Inc.—and husband and wife—are featured with nine other regional non-profits in
the November issue of Capital at Play magazine. The
couple is profiledin an informative two-page spread about how they came to be involved with the station.
Additionally, other station volunteers,
including Blaine Greenfield, host of “Blaine’s World,” and Jessica Rice, host of “NC
Serves Veterans Radio Hour,” are featured in a section called “Fun for a Better WNC.”
In February of this year,
WPVM premiered a new monthly show, “NCServes Western Veterans Radio Hour.”
NCServes, now known as Veterans Services of the Carolinas (VSC)—a local division
of AmericaServes—is a non-profit organization that offers
veterans, service members and families of both, access to a range of supportive
sources from superior housing and emergency service providers to employment,
recreation and fitness, health and well-being, financial capabilities and more.
Kevin Rumley Coordinator, Buncombe County Veterans Treatment Court
The show is presented
live on the first Thursday of the month at 11 a.m. and rebroadcast on Tuesdays
at 5pm. Each show presents experts in specific fields important to veterans and
their families. One of the featured guests, Christy
Shortridge, an Air Force veteran currently working on her master’s degree in
social work, shared: “WPVM is giving us veterans an unstifled voice to speak to
our brothers and sisters in a very candid manner that otherwise we wouldn’t
have. We are so grateful.”
Following their mission of
giving back to their much-loved Asheville community, managers of WPVM 103.7FM,
Ms. Davyne Dial and Dr. Herbert Johnson, who acquired the FCC license for the
not-for-profit station in June of 2015 (building the long-dormant station into
a strong, positive voice of the community), consider it a privilege to
broadcast the “NCServes Western Veterans Radio Hour.” The couple sees the
program as a vital addition to their already notable lineup of informed show
hosts well-versed in the fields of arts and culture, with a focus on vintage
and regional music, as well as politics and current events—all covering
subjects important to Asheville and the surrounding communities.
“It’s especially
reassuring to know that women veterans and veterans’ families are being cared
for and offered support services through NCServes Western,” remarked Ms. Dial,
who is the daughter of a World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veteran, as
well as the former wife of a Vietnam War combat serviceman. “I’m happy that
WPVM can play a part in focusing on these needs. In fact, I felt working with
this group was nothing less than a sacred opportunity.” ~
Welcome to
WPVM’s new blog! Most fittingly, our first feature is Dr. Herb Johnson, the
station’s main and most beloved patron.
Recently Dr.
Herbert Johnson had a revelation while sitting in the lobby of WPVM 103.7 community
radio station in downtown Asheville—a station which he and his wife, Ms. Davyne
Dial, manage since acquiring the FCC license in 2015. He was looking at the old
black and white photographs on the wall, taking him back to his childhood in
Chicago when his father was a professional musician, playing during the Big
Band era of the 1920s and ‘30s with the likes of Paul Whiteman, known as the
“King of Jazz.”
“My God!”
thought Dr. Johnson—who has had a long and fascinating life full of both
disappointment and success—"my life has come full circle! It started out
in ‘show business’—listening to my dad on the radio—and now it’s circled back
again!” Indeed, a feature of WPVM 103.7FM is their musical programs of vintage
music including live and recorded Big Band music.
USCGC Eagle
The decades
in-between have been just as revelatory. Dr. Johnson graduated from medical
school at Northwestern in 1960 (attending less out of his own passion and more
because his immigrant parents were committed their sons be “professional” men),
but he was not happy in private practice—a time when family medicine was
becoming too much about the business of medicine. After a stint in the Public
Health Service, Dr. Johnson was assigned as doctor aboard the legendary tall
ship USCGC Eagle, a Coast Guard
training cutter (built in Germany before WWII), but had to retire from the
Coast Guard (retiring as a full colonel) when he became sick with encephalitis.
Suffering organic brain damage, Dr. Johnson spent nearly a decade relearning to
speak and to walk. Wondering what to do during his rehabilitation time, he
“heard” the message: “you’ll read what you’ll find most boring” and, in turn,
read every available book on the stock market. (The only one he found not boring was Andrew Tobias’ The Only Investment Guide You’ll Need,
reading it twice!) As a result, he became a very successful investor.
It was not
the last time Dr. Johnson heard “a mystical voice,” as he calls it, speaking to
him, sending him messages of guidance and instruction. Although he moved to
Asheville in 1989 because of the VA hospital, there could have been a “message”
of a more intimate nature in that decision because he met Ms. Dial a year later
and they’ve been together ever since. In Asheville, Dr. Johnson, putting his
successful investments to good use, became the largest personal donor to
UNC-Asheville, starting a book scholarship for students.But the real satisfaction for Dr. Johnson—highlighting his
generous spirit—was the deep pleasure of philanthropy!
Back to that
“full circle.” When they had the chance to acquire the FCC license for the
long-dormant community radio station WPVM 103.7FM, Dr. Johnson and Ms. Dial
didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to give back to their much-loved adopted
city. Concerned with the country’s dwindling sources of independent media, the
couple welcomed their new career,investing
time, money and joy in the station! Through the not-for-profit Friends of WPVM,
they’ve established a dynamic community voice, with a roster of informed and
entertaining show hosts including programs featuring music of all stripes—and
with a little “show biz” vibe! ~
