The first face you see when you walk into KAWC is that of Business Manager Brenda Badilla. She's always smiling and willing to help out, whether you have radio-related business or whether youëre just lost and wandered into the station.

Badilla graduated from Arizona Western College in 1985 with an A.A.S. in Broadcasting and an A.A. in General Education. When she began working in June 1985 KAWC AM 1320 was the only public radio station in Yuma.

Her job during those early years was to do the traffic logs -- every day, since KAWC is on the air seven days a week -- which tell the broadcaster what to play throughout the day.

"I used to type the logs on an electric typewriter and carbon paper in order to make a backup copy." said Badilla.

In the spring of 1992, KAWC added the FM station. The AM station was still the training ground for students, and the FM was classical, jazz and news. Part of her other duties were to go on the air when necessary, doing music shifts, voiceovers and newscasts.

When KAWC transitioned to a public radio station in 2006, Brenda and company had some challenges, one of the biggest of which was figuring out how long to make pledge drives and how much money to ask for.

"I went to different stations like KNAU and KUAT to see how they did things," she says.

She continues to do the traffic logs and voiceovers and to give tours for students and potential clients.

Badilla has truly been through it all, both as a student and as an employee. She's been employed longer than anyone else at KAWC, and she looks forward to handling anything that's thrown at her.