Who's Who at WONN

Nancy Cattarius

Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Nancy moved to Lakeland in 1956 and graduated from Lakeland High School. She furthered her education at Florida Southern College and from 1966 to 1969 was a legal secretary for the law firm Bentley, Miller, Sincer, Carr, Chiles and Ellsworth. She was Executive Secretary for H.F. Mason Equipment Corporation from 1969 to 1971, just before taking five years off work when she gave birth to her daughter.

Nancy got back into the work force in 1976 and went to work at WZNG (originally WINT) in Winter Haven. Two years later, she moved to Cypress Gardens’ WGTO and that’s when her radio career really started to take off. In 1983 she accepted an offer to join the sales staff at Hall Communications in Lakeland, owners of WONN and its country music sister station, WPCV, which just happened to be WGTO’s major competitor. With Hall she has served as Regional Sales Manager, General Sales Manager, and Station Manager for Lakeland’s Big 4, WONN, WPCV, WLKF, and WWRZ, and in 2011 was promoted to General Manager for all four stations.

Over the years Nancy has picked up some impressive recognition. In 1988 and 1991 she was named Ad Woman of the Year by the Polk Advertising Federation. She won the Silver Medal Award in 1992 from the American Advertising Federation, and 1994 brought her Volunteer of the Year recognition from the American Cancer Society. Hall Communications knows the value of her work, too, beginning in 1992 with the Hall President’s Award, the Extra Mile Award in 1999, and membership in the Hall Triple Diamond Million Dollar Club.

Nancy stays highly involved in the Lakeland community and has served as Chairman of the Imperial Symphony Orchestra Advisory Board and as President of Leadership Lakeland Alumni and the Radio Broadcasters Alliance of Tampa Bay. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Peace River Center, SPCA, and University of South Florida Business Advisory Board.

Station History