Von Johnson joined KIQY-FM (K104) in Lebanon, Oregon as Vice President and General Manager in 1979. Located in the heart of Oregon’s Wine Country in the Willamette Valley, K104 served the Linn-Benton county area which includes Corvallis, Albany, Lebanon and Sweet Home. The 50,000 watt radio station features a strong signal reaching beyond the primary service area to include Eugene and Salem. Johnson engineered a turn-around beginning with a complete re-tooling of the broadcast plant, program services and sales. K104’s entertainment format was adult-contemporary, but the canned automated programming stifled the station's personality and limited growth. Johnson hired a new program director (Russ Kimball) who guided the transition from automation to a live announcer format. K104 improved audience reach and penetration to achieve #2 ratings in the target demographic over one year. The improved ratings were a benefit to sales under the leadership of a new sales manager, B. Paul Moore. K104 achieved both artistic and business excellence during Johnson's administration. The links on this page include audio and images from K104 in 1979 and 1980.