Working Side by Side: Chuck and Wanda Cooper

Written By: Marlene Osteen | Issue: March 2023

Chuck and Wanda Cooper

“How did you meet Chuck?” I asked Wanda Cooper. “Well, we met at a car race at the Jackson International speedway in Jackson, Mississippi. But there’s more to the story.”  

The answer came with a sigh and the whisp of a faint wince attached.  Wanda revealed that for her, the months prior to their meeting had been fraught with unhappiness.  Her 18-old-year brother and only sibling had died in a car accident.  Her marriage of eight years had ended the year before.

“I had lost interest in most everything – especially men,” she said.

That summer in 1970, Wanda was living in Meridian, Mississippi, and was in Clinton, Mississippi, visiting her parents. She was in the process of moving back there – to be closer to them.   At 25, she was already the mother of 2 boys – 6 and 7.

1972

It was a warm day in June when neighbors invited Wanda to go with them to a barbecue and then decided to stop by the raceway. During the race intermission, Wanda and her friends were in the lobby when Chuck and his companions spotted her. Wearing hip huggers with a wide belt, a halter top and hair cascading to her waist, it was no wonder they asked if she wanted to be a “trophy girl.”   She didn’t.

As Chuck recalls, “I was a sportscaster then for WLBT TV and was covering the event.  I saw Wanda come in and I thought, ‘She’s a beautiful girl.’” 

(Later Wanda learned that as soon as he saw her, Chuck told his friends, “I am going to marry that girl.”)  

“As it turned out, I knew the couple Wanda was with – he was one of the Senior VPs of the bank.  So, I was able to track her down in Meridian,” he said.

Wanda recalls Chuck on that day, draped in microphones and cameras.  “I thought he was very nice and extremely cute.”

She could tell he was quietly listening to her conversation, “He was trying to find out more about me, to get my contact information.” 

Soon after Wanda returned to Meridian, Chuck telephoned. 

“He was very interested in the fact that I was moving, “she said.  Eventually Chuck helped Wanda move and on Labor Day they had their first date.  

“I remember it like it was yesterday,” Wanda told me. “He was so smooth and kind.  We went to the Barn Dinner Theater at the Ross Barnett Reservoir, and I wore a light pink mini dress.  He arrived in a bright blue, brand new Porsche, dressed in a blue and white seersucker blazer and pale blue slacks.”  

Perhaps it was that moment that Wanda’s brain did a complete turnaround from having no interest in men to fulfilling her mom’s prayers for her to find a good man?  

1993

They got to know each other that evening – talking about Wanda’s boys, her life, her new job working for a Jackson physician and Chuck’s favorite subject, cars. 

“Wanda was so personable and bubbly, with a terrific smile.” He was besotted.  

Their second date was less than a week later.  By then, it must have been apparent that they had a future together. 

The following December, Chuck proposed, and they married on Wanda’s birthday, July 1, 1972. Chuck’s father, a Baptist minister, came from Naples, Florida, to officiate at the First Baptist Church in Jackson, where Wanda’s two sons walked their mom, dressed in a pink gown, down the aisle.

They moved to Columbus, Mississippi, in 1975, and to Orlando in 1985 when Chuck got involved in the early days of cellular.  In 1986 they filed for an FCC license for a radio station in Highlands.  It was to be the fulfillment of two dreams – to own a station and to live in Highlands.  Chuck had fallen in love with Highlands in the 50s when he would drive his two great aunts to town in pursuit of antiques.  

Perhaps the greatest testimony to their strength as a couple can be seen in the tenacity and resilience, they displayed in the launch of WHLC FM 104.5. By the time the station signed on, on July 8, 1993, they had outlasted years of opposition – overcoming local resistance to the erection of the tower, enduring criticism from the media, and defending and eventually winning three lawsuits. 

They have worked side by side from the beginning. Wanda credits their success to “Our perseverance, ability to work together and like and respect each other. Chuck is very protective of me.”  

As Chuck emphasized, “I have been privileged to have Wanda by my side all these years. Wanda’s very smart and has a great mind for detail. It could not have succeeded without her.” 

by Marlene Osteen