Utah Public Radio co-managers to retire this upcoming fall

For the larger part of four decades, countless Utahns have tuned in to Utah Public Radio and heard the voices of co-managers and show hosts Kerry Bringhurst and Tom Williams. Now, the pair is heading off-air and into retirement.

On Feb. 4, the Utah Public Radio team announced via their website and social media that current co-managers Bringhurst and Williams will be retiring from their positions in the fall of 2026. Bringhurst will make her final on-air appearance on Aug. 27 — which, coincidentally, is her birthday — with Williams ending his work with the company later in September. Both Utah State University graduates, the team has been working for UPR for the past several decades.

“We’re calling it the end of the Tom and Kerry show,” Bringhurst said.

According to the official press release announcing their retirement titled “Tom Williams and Kerry Bringhurst announce retirement from UPR this fall,” the pair “expanded local programs, improved broadcast services in rural communities … and earned recognition for outstanding community engagement” during their time at UPR.      

In addition to managing the company, Bringhurst and Williams are also on-air personalities, hosting the “Morning Edition” and “Access Utah” programs.

Located on USU Logan campus, UPR’s reach extends beyond Cache Valley and through the entirety of Utah and parts of Idaho. Bringhurst’s and Williams’ work has garnered listeners from across the state. According to Bringhurst, she and Williams have accomplished everything they set out to do.

“Our dean at the time, who’s also our dean now, Joe Ward, had outlined objectives of what we needed to do in order to keep Utah Public Radio in operation at Utah State University,” Bringhurst said. “I felt like we had accomplished, really, what the dean had asked us to do, and I felt really good about where we were as a station.”

Bringhurst started her work with UPR after graduating from USU in journalism. After taking a 14-year hiatus to raise her family in 1993, she returned to the company full-time in 2007. Along with Williams, she was appointed co-manager in 2019. Now, as she prepares to host the “Morning Edition” for the final time, she said she looks forward to spending more time with her family.

“I’ve done what I promised to do, and I feel good about it, and I’m excited for the future,” Bringhurst said.

While Bringhurst was the first to announce her departure, Williams said he found it only natural to leave at the same time.

“We came in together,” Williams said.  “I love UPR, have loved my time here, but it feels like it’s the right time to make a change and go out to new opportunities.”

Williams has been involved with UPR since the 1980s and earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and an MBA from Utah State University.

As Bringhurst and Williams prepare to step away from the program, they expressed their excitement for UPR’s growth under new management.

“As things have progressed, I think it also is making sense for the station to have somebody come in that has some fresh ideas, maybe some different connections and perspectives as far as what’s happening nationally in the media world. It’s time to take things to the next step,” Bringhurst said.

At the time of this publication, the search for a replacement manager is still underway. Bringhurst claimed the replacement will have a greater involvement with USU’s educational staff by teaching classes as well as managing the company.

However, no matter what the future holds for UPR and its future staff, Bringhurst and Williams expressed deep gratitude for their time on-air and the impact UPR has on Utah.

“When you hear from somebody in St. George or Moab or Vernal or Delta somewhere say, ‘Hey, that conversation you had, that information you shared, that meant something to me’ — that’s a good feeling, that you’ve strengthened your community in that way,” Williams said.     

Bringhurst agreed with Williams.

“I’m proud of Utah Public Radio,” Bringhurst said. “What we do is important. The work that the staff does is important.”