Jon McDaniel Departs C89.5 Seattle After 32 Years As Program Director

After 32 years as Program Director at Nathan Hale High School Dance “C89.5” KNHC Seattle, today is Jon McDaniel’s last day at the station.

McDaniel took over the programming reins of the station in May 1990 after previously being one of the station’s student DJ’s in the mid 80s. He would oversee the station’s transition to Dance in the 1990s as it carved out a unique niche in the radio industry but for high school stations as well.

KNHC will pay tribute to McDaniel’s career at 2pm on Friday as part of a two-hour special hosted by Operations Manager Drew Bailey and DJ/instructor Harmony Soleil spotlighting his contributions to the station and the dance music community.

In a message on the station’s newsletter, McDaniel wrote:

This has been the best experience in my life, being Program Director at C895 for over 30 years.

When I got here, we weren’t allowed to mention gay or lesbian anything on the station but I knew we had an audience in those communities because I was one of them! So, in 1988 or so, when it came time to design a new C895 bumper sticker, I actually snuck an upside down pink triangle into our logo as a “we see you” to those communities. And people who didn’t know what the triangle meant were none the wiser. ???? Now, just look how far we’ve come! We even have a rainbow version of our logo and we’re so proud to be serving the LGBTQ+ audience (and everyone else, too!)

I will absolutely miss the music and listeners, but I know that C895 will endure and continue to grow. I want to thank the donors. Without you, I couldn’t have had this amazing career, so thanks from the bottom of my heart.

This is it, fam! Last day at @c895radio after 37 years on the air, and 32 of them in the Program Director's chair. Here's a pic from the 1987 yearbook with me, and my pal Eva working at the station. I was 17, I think. Thanks for dancing with me, Seattle! And the beat goes on…. pic.twitter.com/bI6ILPRjrp

— JB McDaniel (@mcdizzle) July 1, 2022

After 32 years as Program Director at Nathan Hale High School Dance “C89.5” KNHC Seattle, today is Jon McDaniel’s last day at the station.

In a message on the station’s newsletter, McDaniel wrote:

This has been the best experience in my life, being Program Director at C895 for over 30 years.

When I got here, we weren’t allowed to mention gay or lesbian anything on the station but I knew we had an audience in those communities because I was one of them! So, in 1988 or so, when it came time to design a new C895 bumper sticker, I actually snuck an upside down pink triangle into our logo as a “we see you” to those communities. And people who didn’t know what the triangle meant were none the wiser. ???? Now, just look how far we’ve come! We even have a rainbow version of our logo and we’re so proud to be serving the LGBTQ+ audience (and everyone else, too!)

I will absolutely miss the music and listeners, but I know that C895 will endure and continue to grow. I want to thank the donors. Without you, I couldn’t have had this amazing career, so thanks from the bottom of my heart.

This is it, fam! Last day at @c895radio after 37 years on the air, and 32 of them in the Program Director's chair. Here's a pic from the 1987 yearbook with me, and my pal Eva working at the station. I was 17, I think. Thanks for dancing with me, Seattle! And the beat goes on…. pic.twitter.com/bI6ILPRjrp

— JB McDaniel (@mcdizzle) July 1, 2022