Gene, Julie, and Des (yes, that’s a Chewbacca hat!).

This “Meet the Show” page does not include all the incredible talent that shared the broadcast studio with us over 21 years. As a legacy website, this is simply a snapshot of the great team that was together when the show signed off in 2016. Much gratitude to everyone who was a part of the show over the years.

Hosts Gene & Julie Gates

While they loved being morning show hosts, Gene & Julie’s favorite job titles are dad and mom. Des is the center of their universe. The trio is a tight-knit family and made a pact to ban their phones during dinner so they can actually talk to each other. It’s been refreshing to see something other than the tops of each other’s heads. 😉 No matter how busy their schedules are, they commit to daily family dinners and evening dog walks, which keeps them close and connected. They also enjoy watching shows together like “Our Flag Means Death” and “Arcane.”

GENE grew-up in a military family and had the opportunity to live in Japan during his youth. He spent most of his childhood in a small town of 384 people where his dad served as chief of police. Passionate about the culinary arts, Gene bought a beef tenderloin with his very first paycheck at the age of fourteen. As his passion developed, he loved to cook meals from scratch. While creating his famous “Three-Day Burger,” he made his own catsup, mayo, and buns. It literally took him three days to pull it all together. But it was worth it. Gene also ran award-winning restaurants, including one deemed a Seattle “Top Ten” and another identified as OpenTable’s “Top 100 Neighborhood Gem Restaurants in America.” He had a wicked-quick wit and made Julie and Des laugh so hard their sides hurt. After a successful radio career, Gene consulted restaurants and ran a marketing company which had him host and consult podcasts for the New York Giants, Ford Mobility, Upwork, Trinity Investors, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

JULIE is an eternal optimist and was voted “Happiest” girl in high school. She’s the person everyone goes to with their problems, and she learned her “U.N. Peacekeeper” skills from mediating battles between her three younger brothers. Growing up in a mixed-faith household with parents from different continents, she embraces the spiritual traditions of many cultures and lights the Menorah and decorates a Christmas tree. Dedicated to building cross-cultural connections, Julie was appointed as a Student Ambassador to Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong for a White House program developed to encourage world peace through cultural exchange programs. Today she leads a diverse team of content creators for a global transportation tech company that is passionate about moving the world’s people. In her spare time she obsessively tackles sheet music from today’s neo-classical pianists including Piano Novel, Oskar Schuster, Alexandra Stréliski, Gavin Luke, Jacob LaVallee, Alexis Ffrench, and Johannes Bornlöf. She loves supporting today’s classical composers and wants to draw attention to their contributions (and move beyond the great classical works from the 1700 & 1800s). In 2021, Julie was recognized with a “Women in Business Award” from the Triangle Business Journal for her inspirational leadership and community involvement. She currently volunteers on the Alumni Council Executive Committee for the University of Puget Sound, where she was honored with the 2010 “Professional Achievement Alumni Award.”

DES is a passionate storyteller who graduated summa cum laude from high school with a Literary Arts Endorsement and the faculty Creative Writing Award. He loves writing, creating characters, and attending fandom conventions. At a recent GalaxyCon, Des cosplayed Karl Heisenberg from Resident Evil Village and The Batter from Off. In his spare time, Des runs international roleplays for teams of 15-30 writers across 6 countries, 18 states, and 7 time zones to develop his storytelling skills. In the fall he will head to college to study creative writing, game design, and digital art with a goal of creating memorable characters for underrepresented groups in the entertainment industry.

Producer Casey Tate

Producer Casey Tate

Casey Tate hailed from the small Southern town of Calhoun, Georgia. He graduated from the University of West Georgia and worked as Executive Producer at Star94 in Atlanta before moving to the Triangle. He adored his large family (he had 24 cousins) and loved to spoil his nieces and nephews. Casey was known to eat dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets for breakfast, and he loved Southern food: fried chicken, peach cobbler, sweet tea and his Momma’s famous chocolate gravy. While relaxing, he was reality show obsessed and couldn’t get enough of Big Brother, Survivor and Real Housewives (of every city).

Patrick McMahon on his wedding day.

Traffic Reporter Patrick McMahon

Born in Raleigh and raised in Wilson, NC, Patrick McMahon discovered his love for radio while broadcasting on East Carolina University’s WZMB 91.3 FM. Upon graduation, he worked in New Bern and Raleigh where he used the name “Crash” on the air (he’s trying to forget those crazy years in his 20s). As a “grown-up” after spending the first few years of married life living inside the Beltline in the same house where his mother grew-up, he is now a family man and enjoying suburb life. He has a soft spot in his heart for educators: his mother is a retired teacher/administrator, his dad is a retired superintendent, and his sister was a Wake County principal. Patrick and his bride Angela are blessed with two adorable children, and you can catch him on Rock 929 (and sometimes on 94.7 QDR).

The Gene & Julie Show Family… Gene Gates, Des Gates (at 10-years-old), Patrick & Angela McMahon, Casey Tate and Julie Gates celebrate at Patrick’s wedding in 2015.