1on1 with Jon Evans

Kimberly Lawrance is one of the strongest women in the world. She’s won several competitions that prove it. Along with lifting stones and pulling trucks, the 27-year-old from Wilmington is also doing her best to lift the sport to new heights.

Early in his career, Sam Gore sold insurance as a second job while he worked as the “Voice of the UNCW Seahawks”. His goal was to become a network play-by-play sports announcer. Never wavering in his belief that God opens doors along the way, Sam took advantage of every opportunity and now has a “dream job” at ESPN.

When Tiger, Phil, Sergio and Dustin finish their rounds of golf, Todd Lewis is one of the first people they meet. Lewis covers the best players in the world as a reporter for the Golf Channel. The North Carolina native shares memories from his life on the road and inside the ropes, years after getting his first full-time job at WECT in Wilmington.

Solomon Harvey’s athletic abilities took him to the finals on two network television shows, American Ninja Warrior and Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge. He’s now using those talents, along with his martial arts expertise, to grow a new career as a stuntman in the television and film industry.

With coaches and mentors like Kay Yow, Anne Donovan and Sheila Boles, it’s easy to see how Carithia "Nanna" Rivers excelled on and off the basketball court. Her Hoggard High teams won 100 games, at North Carolina State she went to the Sweet 16, and Rivers won two championships in her five pro seasons in Europe. Rivers joined an exclusive club in 2018, when she was enshrined into the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame.

Brad Brownell is coming off his most successful season as a men’s basketball head coach since leaving UNC Wilmington. His 2017-18 Clemson Tigers won 25 games, finished 3rd in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Coach Brownell looks back at the UNCW days, the circumstances that made him leave and coaching in the toughest basketball conference in the country.  

If you want to know anything about the history of Wilmington, NC, Wilbur Jones is the best person to ask. He’s lived it, researched it, written about it and helped preserve it. Wilbur is about to publish his 19th book, a memoir that recounts a life of service to community, country and family.

Bobby Sanguinetti’s grandmother bribed him to take medicine as a child. Bobby used that money to buy his first pieces of hockey equipment, and he hasn’t stopped skating since. Playing professionally around the world gave him the chance to play for the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team in 2018. Bobby talks about his career, the support of his family and life near the beach.  

Joshua Johnson had some big shoes to fill in January 2017. National Public Radio fans that had listened to Diane Rehm for decades heard his voice as host of the new show 1A. Johnson honed his talents in Miami and San Francisco, and now interviews the biggest newsmakers in the country. We sat down with Johnson during his trip to Wilmington, and found out he got interested in broadcasting as a five-year-old.  

His name is Brandon Hickman. But fans know him best as ‘Bigg B’, the man behind the voice they hear on the “Bigg Ride Home” every weekday on Coast 97.3. Bigg B’s impact on Wilmington goes far beyond his DJ work. He is a mentor, a volunteer, a leader and an entrepreneur, always encouraging others to know “Better is Possible”.