Travel to North Central Florida, and you’ll find the University of Florida’s main campus in Gainesville and the nearby city of Ocala. Here, Saga Communications operates under the “North Central Florida Media” brand, overseeing a pair of audio brands. As of today, those stations and the “352today” website have a new leader.
The change comes as Howard Tuuri has retired as VP/GM.
That makes Lisa Varner the new Vice President/General Manager of heritage Country WOGK-FM “K-Country” in Ocala; WYND-FM in Silver Springs, Fla., and simulcast partner WNND-FM in Alachua, Fla., known to locals as Classic Rocker “WIND-FM.”
Varner is a nine-year veteran of Saga’s NCFM operation, advancing from Event Director in 2019 to Director of Sales in 2022.
Now taking the role of Director of Sales for NCFM is Tonya Asher, who is inbound from Gray Media‘s TV operation in the Gainesville-Ocala DMA. There, she was a Senior Account Manager at WCJB-20, and Director of New Business Development, working with the ABC affiliate, its MeTV Network and Telemundo digital multicast offerings, and Gray Digital Media.
“Lisa’s attention to detail and ability to multi-task while managing events and an account list has been remarkable,” Tuuri said. “Her business acumen and dedication to excellence makes moving into an executive management role a logical next step in her career. And Tonya’s talent and experience is a perfect fit for the extraordinarily important Director of Sales position. The future is bright for North Central Florida Media.”
