WFRE Morning Host Tom Whalen to Retire After 26 Years

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, December 22, 2025 | 10:32am CT

Tom Whalen

Longtime Frederick, MD air personality Tom Whalen will retire from 99.9 WFRE in early 2026, ending a career that spanned more than a quarter century on the station's airwaves.

Whalen's final on-air appearance will be Sunday, January 4, when he hosts his last weekly Sunday Rewind Classic Country program from 8am to noon. He has been a fixture at WFRE since March 8, 1999.

Program Director Andy Webb credited Whalen's long tenure and community connection, noting that he has been "the voice and face of WFRE" for nearly 27 years and leaves behind "big shoes to fill."

In a statement, Whalen said he will miss being part of listeners' daily routines but expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve Frederick audiences for more than 26 years, adding that he looks forward to following the station's next chapter as a listener.

A Louisville, KY native, Whalen studied Speech/Theater and Radio/Television at Morehead State University. He later taught theater and English at Valley High School in Louisville before spending 15 years working in New York City. He relocated to Frederick in 1992, several years before joining WFRE.

WFRE announced a revised weekday lineup beginning Monday, January 5. The new schedule will feature Andy Webb and Emma Webb from 6-10am (Andy & Emma in the Morning), Dianah Gibson from 10am-3pm, Randy Grubbs from 3-7pm, and Drew Phelps from 7pm-midnight.