Thunder Radio is 100% owned and operated in Manchester, TN by local married couple Josh and Holly Peterson.
Josh Peterson
Josh was born and raised in the New Union community of Coffee County. He is a 2004 graduate of Coffee County Central High School, where he was a 3-year letterman for the Raider baseball team. Josh spent 15 years in the newspaper and radio industry before he and Holly purchased the radio station in September of 2019. He also served as an assistant baseball coach at Westwood Middle School (2005-2006), Coffee County High School (2007-2012 and 2017) and Grundy County High School (2014). You can often hear him on Thunder Radio’s daily The Morning Show from 6:30-8 p.m. and on other random programming, including sports broadcasts. He is a diehard UT Vols fan and loves the Atlanta Braves.
Holly Peterson
Holly (accurately referred to as the one people like most) was born in Augusta, GA and moved to Manchester, TN when she was 12-years old. From that point she has been embedded into the Manchester community, graduating from Coffee County Central High School in 2003, where she was a 1-year letterman in soccer. She spent over a decade in the healthcare field in radiology before leaving to work in radio full time in January, 2020. You can hear her voice every morning on The Morning Show from 6:30-8 and you will often see her around the sports fields lugging a camera for action photos.
Since purchasing the radio station, Josh and Holly remain hyper-focused on providing Manchester with its very own local radio station – much the same as previous owners have done since 1957, when WMSR first went on the air. They launched a quarterly magazine (Thunder The Magazine) that is focused on highlighting local sports teams and athletes and remain more committed than ever to bringing quality sports broadcasts and local news coverage to the area on the airwaves, online at thunder1320.com and through their social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tiktok, where they are connecting a whole new generation of youth with the traditions and importance of WMSR Thunder Radio.
As business owners themselves, Josh and Holly are also dedicated and focused on helping other businesses grow their operations. They often go above and beyond for their advertising clients on Thunder Radio to ensure their investment is returned beyond their expectations. Thunder Radio was named Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce Small business of the Year and has been voted Manchester’s Finest Radio Station every single year for more than a decade.
Josh and Holly were also part of the group that formed and operates the Dream for Weave Foundation – a 501c3 nonprofit organization in the memory of late WMSR Sports Director Dennis Weaver. The foundation provided $20,000 in assistance to local athletes through scholarships, fee assistance and equipment purchases in its first two years of operation. This organization operates out of the radio station studios at 1030 Oakdale St. in Manchester, TN. The non profit and Thunder Radio teamed up in 2022 to form the Thundie Sports Awards, a red-carpet event which recognized nearly three dozen area student athletes for their excellent performance and awarded $13,000 in scholarships to athletes going to college. This event was an overwhelming success, selling out of tickets and sponsorships in its inaugural year.
Josh and Holly live in the New Union community where they raise Cole and Gracie, who are both CHS Red Raider athletes.