Renda to be inducted into hometown hall of fame
June 3, 2019
The Indiana Gazette reports that Anthony F. “Tony” Renda is one of five men to be inducted into the Indiana County Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame this Thursday.
According to the paper, Renda’s humble beginnings started in the town where he worked at his parents’ mom and pop grocery store before joining the Marines and enrolling at Indiana State Teachers College (now IUP). He would later study broadcasting at Syracuse University.
His first broadcasting duties, while in school, were as a part-time announcer at WDAD (1450 Indiana), a station his company now owns. But before he became an owner, he spent several years as an advertising account rep at WIIC-TV (now WPXI).
Tony’s first purchase was WIXZ (1360 McKeesport) followed by other stations in the Punxsutawney area, and eventually “went big” with WSHH (99.7) and sister WJAS (1320) in Pittsburgh. Renda Broadcasting would own stations in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Jacksonville, Fort Myers, Naples, Greensburg and Indiana. Eventually the Oklahoma stations were sold as were the two Pittsburgh-area AMs. Today, there are 18 stations in the Renda Broadcasting portfolio and 125 employees between Pennsylvania and Florida.
