For nearly 100 years, the historic 1110 WBT AM transmitter site on Nations Ford Road has been part of Charlotte's, the Carolinas' and America's broadcasting history. WBT began transmitting from this property in 1928, and for generations, broadcasts from Nations Ford Road carried news, weather, sports, entertainment and conversation to listeners across the Carolinas and far beyond.

A lot of that history is still there today. The roughly 19-acre property includes the historic transmitter building, three distinctive Blaw-Knox towers, a Cold War-era fallout shelter, broadcasting equipment and other reminders of a place that grew alongside American radio. But for me, the importance of Nations Ford Road has never been only about what's standing there. It's also about what came through there.

Think about everything people heard from this place over the years. There were major moments in American history, but there was also everyday life. Morning commutes and school closings. Ball games and traffic reports. Weather warnings and local news. Music, conversation and listener phone calls. Sometimes it was simply a familiar voice keeping somebody company late at night.

That's part of the history, too.

When I learned that the Nations Ford Road property was being marketed for redevelopment, I started wondering what would happen to all of that. I didn't know what conversations might already be taking place behind the scenes. I didn't know what was possible, and I certainly didn't have all the answers.

I just thought there was a question worth asking:

Before this place changes forever, what here is worth saving?

That's where this petition began.

From the beginning, this has never been about stopping development or trying to turn back the clock. It's not about bringing WBT's regular programming back to 1110 AM, and it's not about insisting that every tower, transmitter and brick remain untouched forever. I've worked in radio long enough to know that things change. Technology changes. Companies change. Properties change. The business moves on.

But history still matters.

All I wanted was to make sure somebody was asking what is historically significant and what might reasonably be preserved, reused, documented or remembered before decisions are made that can't be undone.

When I started the petition, I honestly didn't know whether 50 people would sign it. Today, 1,917 people have. And along the way, I've realized that the comments, photographs, memories and stories people have shared mean every bit as much to me as the number itself.

I've heard from former broadcasters and engineers, longtime WBT listeners, historians, people from the Charlotte area and beyond, people who grew up seeing those towers and people who simply believe that making room for the future doesn't have to mean forgetting the past.

As more people spoke up, this became more than a petition or a conversation on social media. There were interviews and media coverage. Broadcasters and listeners shared the story. People involved in historic preservation began asking questions. Eventually, I had the opportunity to sit down with Caroline Beasley, CEO of Beasley Media Group; Heidi Raphael, Chief Communications Officer of Beasley Media Group; and Marsha Landess, Vice President and General Manager of Radio One Charlotte, and talk about 1110 WBT AM and the history of the Nations Ford Road site.

We didn't walk away from that meeting with a preservation plan, and I've never suggested that we did. But we did sit around the same table and talk about the history and about documenting or preserving it. That mattered to me because, for the first time since I had started asking these questions publicly, I knew the history was part of the conversation.

Other conversations followed, including discussions involving people who work in historic preservation. Some of those conversations have been private, and I respect that. I don't know everything that has been discussed, nor do I need to. I'm not going to speculate about conversations I wasn't part of or turn private discussions into promises that nobody made.

I'm simply glad those conversations happened.

One of my biggest hopes from the beginning was to make sure the history of Nations Ford Road had a seat at the table while the future of the property was being considered. People noticed. People spoke up. The companies involved heard the concerns. Preservation professionals became part of the conversation.

The history got a seat at the table.

That's what I hoped this effort could accomplish.

Of course, having that conversation doesn't mean we know how the story ends. We don't. There is no announced preservation plan, and I don't know what will ultimately happen to the transmitter building, the towers, the equipment or the property.

I'm okay saying I don't know.

I don't own the property. I don't control the decisions that will be made about it, and I can't promise anyone a particular outcome. What I could do was speak up. I could ask questions, research the history, document what is there, start a petition and talk with broadcasters, historians, preservation advocates, reporters and the companies involved. I could make the case that this history deserved to be considered before it potentially disappeared.

The people who will ultimately determine what happens next now know that people care about this place.

I think that matters.

The petition will remain open because it has become a record of that interest. I'm not chasing a particular number just for the sake of reaching it. If more people choose to add their names, they're welcome to do so. But 1,917 people have already sent a pretty clear message: whatever happens next, please don't forget what happened here.

I'm also encouraged that I'm beginning to hear from people who live near the Nations Ford Road property. They're interested in its history, its preservation and what happens to it in the years ahead. I think that's important because this isn't only broadcasting history. For generations, the property and those towers have also been part of the surrounding community and a familiar part of Charlotte's landscape.

I understand there are business, financial and practical realities involved in whatever happens next. Not everything can necessarily be preserved, and preservation doesn't have to mean keeping everything exactly as it is. What matters is that the historically important parts of this place are understood and seriously considered before they're changed or lost.

There are no villains in this story, and I don't believe this needs to become a fight. It has never been about standing in the way of progress. I've always believed there can be room for both progress and preservation.

So the petition will stay open. The photographs, stories, memories and history people have shared will remain. And when there is something meaningful to share about the site and its history, I'll share what I can.

There may also be stretches when there isn't anything new to report, and that's okay. I don't want to create news when there isn't any, turn silence into a controversy or guess about what's happening behind the scenes. There comes a point when you've asked the questions, gathered the support, made the case and made sure the people involved understand why the history matters. Then you have to give those conversations some room and let the people responsible for the decisions decide what comes next.

For now, I think it's worth recognizing what has already happened.

The preservation conversation started.

People noticed. People cared. People spoke up. The people involved with the property heard the concerns, and people with experience in historic preservation became part of the conversation. A place connected to nearly a century of broadcasting is being talked about not simply as a piece of property, but as a historic place whose story deserves to be considered.

I don't know how this story ends, and I don't want to pretend that I do.

Whatever happens from here, my hope is really the same as it was when I first started asking questions: that before something historically important at Nations Ford Road is changed or lost, the people making those decisions understand what was here, what happened here and what this place has meant to generations of people.

Nearly a century ago, engineers built a radio transmission facility on Nations Ford Road. From there, 1110 WBT AM became part of everyday life for generations across the Carolinas.

Some days, it brought extraordinary news from around the world. Other days, it just told somebody whether they needed an umbrella. Both matter.

That's really what this has always been about for me. Not stopping progress. Not turning back the clock. Not pretending radio hasn't changed.

Just asking that as things change, we remember what was here before.

This place has an extraordinary past. Let's make sure that history has a place in whatever comes next.

Our Airwaves. Our History. Our Future.