By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
HOULTON — The voice of WHOU-FM’s morning program may soon be heard on radio stations across the country.
Jason Hill, a broadcaster on the Houlton-based radio station, has agreed to lend his voice to commercials through a national advertising agency. Hill said Jim Maddox, who operates the station’s production company out of Florida, contacted him to see if he was interested in doing some voiceover work for some of his company’s other outlets and asked for some samples.
Pioneer Times photo/Joseph Cyr
MAN BEHIND THE MIC — Jason Hill, an announcer for WHOU-FM in Houlton, records an advertisement for airplay. For the past three years, Hill has lent his voice to commercial spots and morning show broadcasts for the local radio station. He recently signed a deal to record commercials for a national advertising agency, which means his voice may soon be heard on radio stations around the country, in addition to remaining at WHOU.
“I was very interested, so I sent him some samples,” Hill explained. “They said they loved them. I was very pleased to see hear that. To be able to do some commercial work on a national level from right here at my home in Monticello is pretty cool.”
Hill said he has submitted several commercials thus far, including a spot for NAPA.
“It’s all audio-based and I can work out of my house,” he explained.
Hill got his start in broadcasting when his family doctor suggested he had a good voice for radio and should consider pursuing it back in the 1990s. His first work in radio was for WREM AM-710 in Monticello.
“I was 16 and that was before I had my (driver’s) license and I had to bum rides off of anyone I could find to take me to the studio,” he said. “I was a weekend volunteer disc jockey who didn’t get paid, but I loved it.”
Upon graduation from high school, Hill attended the New England School of Communication for two years in Bangor, earning his associate’s degree. He returned to The County and worked again for WREM before going back to Bangor.
He returned home for a job at WHOU in December 2011.
“Being able to reach out to people and send a message over the airwaves and reach thousands of people, that’s pretty cool,” Hill said. “I also enjoy picking out music to play and letting people know about know about new music coming out.”
