Tom Hayakawa grew up listening to rock and roll on the radio in Hawaii and California in the 60s. But by the 80s, he’d grown bored and started to surf the dial.
When he found classical music, he was hooked. Tom discovered WCPE in 1994 when IBM (“I’ve Been Moved”) relocated his family to North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, and he has been listening ever since. Designing networks and working as a financial analyst occupied his time until he retired in 2022. It was then that Peggy Powell, a friend of his wife and an announcer at WCPE, found out he was a listener and suggested that he volunteer at the station.
After helping in the Membership department and supporting fundraisers for a while, he finally got the chance to try announcing – and he loved it!
Tom currently hosts Preview! on Sunday evenings. Digging into all the new music and sharing it with listeners has given him a new passion to pursue … well, when he’s not bowling!