Guest post by Clarence Thomas, Jr.
On December 1, 2017, an iconic voice in local radio will step away from his morning gospel show microphone and into ministry full time. That voice is WNEX-FM 100.5 The Light’s Bobby Clark, a staple in Middle Georgia listeners’ daytime radio diet.
What began in 1977 as a favor for Reverend Ronald Terry of New Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, turned into a career filled with memorable moments, says Clark. With no previous experience, the Sandersville, Georgia, native was summoned by Terry, his pastor at the time and the show host for WIBB-AM, to sit in for him during a revival service Terry had to attend.
Terry never returned; so Clark soon found himself under the tutelage of WIBB’s “Big” George Threatt– and Clark says that the rest is history.
“The Lord took what they showed me during training and manifested it into whatever people say I am today,” Clark revealed. “I’m just a little pebble on the beach still trying to make it. I don’t ever want to forget how I got over.”
A variety of different factors contributed to Clark’s decision to call it quits. One is the seismic shift radio has taken since he first hit the air. Another is the length of time (40 years) he has put into the journey. Most of all, Clark is transitioning into the ministry as a daily head of his own church, Kingdom Building Ministries of Macon, Incorporated, which is located in the historic Pleasant Hill community. Clark calls the ministry his retirement cushion.
Clark’s career even spans the globe. Being an on-air radio personality has afforded him the opportunity to travel abroad to places like the Bahamas.
He’s been to the islands twice alongside his longtime friend, Dr. R. L. White, who sponsored both trips. Clark appeared alongside many gospel music stars. The appearances abroad featured the likes of Dorothy Norwood, the Williams Brothers, the Anointed Pace Sisters of Atlanta and the R.L. White Gospel Choir.
Clark’s unique job created other opportunities for him to rub shoulders with celebrities, booming business people, and powerful pastors. He says he had a blast and he believes God divinely placed him to do what he has done for the past 40 years. “I put my heart into it,” Clark explains. “He saw that I was for real about it. My thing was, play the music that people really wanted to hear,” Clark said.
Vertise Rozier, known to radio audiences as the “God Son,” will replace Clark as the Light’s new early morning man on-air from 6:00 AM – 10:00 AM. Rozier currently follows Clark’s program in the time slot from 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM.
The transition of Rozier taking over for Clark began with Rozier visiting WNEX radio (The Light) in downtown Macon to record a commercial on behalf of his church with Clark. The two have become good friends since that fateful day. Rozier even assisted Clark with securing his central Macon worship center.
“The Lord took what he wanted to do in his heart and is manifesting his will in what Vertise is doing today,” says Clark. “Vertise is good at what he does. He was a quick learner while I was training him. He will do well.”
Rozier says that he is humbled by the opportunity to sit in Clark’s seat. “It’s been an amazing journey. It’s mind-blowing that Bobby named me as his successor,” Rozier said. “I can never fill his shoes, but just occupy the seat he’s vacating.”
Mike Roberts, owner of Majic 100 FM in Forsyth, has known Clark for some time. Clark worked for Roberts previously. Roberts says that Clark was always easy to work with and that he is just a great guy that will be missed. “People already have fond memories of him. There are personalities that go off the air and no one remembers them,” Roberts pointed out. “But people will remember Bobby Clark. There is only one Bobby Clark and there will be no other like him.
Clark has big plans for his parishioners. He has already identified activities he wants Kingdom Building Ministries to initiate. Membership training and community outreach are a just a few of his planned activities, which will also include a future community feast designed to bring the church and residents of the surrounding neighborhood together to break bread. “We came here to work. We thank God for this and we want Pleasant Hill to know we are here for them,” Clark said.
To honor the radio journey of Clark and his life beyond retirement, a weekend celebration is scheduled to take place. The celebration will begin on the evening of Friday, December 1, 2017, and it will continue on the afternoon of Sunday, December 3, 2017.
The Friday night event will be held at 7:00 PM, and it will be held at Greater Little Rock Baptist Church. The event features nearly 30 gospel artists. On Sunday, Clark will publicly place Rozier in power during a “Passing of the Torch” ceremony at 4:00 PM at New Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church. Both events are free and Clark invites all of Middle Georgia to attend.
As he closed his conversation with the Middle Georgia Informer, Clark expressed what he wants his listeners to continue doing, once he is gone: “Love ye one another. There’s too much violence going on in our city,” he said. “The Earth doesn’t belong to Satan, it belongs to God.”
This article originally appeared in the Middle Georgia Informer Newspaper. For more news from Middle Georgia Informer, and more great articles by reporter Clarence Thomas, Jr., please visit them at www.gainformer.com.
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