TIFTON — Coworkers and friends of long-time local radio host Al Cohen remember him fondly.

Cohen passed away on April 27. He was the long-time owner of local radio station WTIF as well as being a well-known voice on the station.

David Haire, who was a correspondent for the radio station, said he had great memories of his former boss and friend.

“We had special promotions throughout the year at WTIF,” he said. “A couple (that) come to mind are five-foot tall bunny rabbits at Easter and five-foot Santa’s at Christmas. Thinking of Al delivering those in his station wagon still brings a smile to my face. Each summer we would hide a Pepsi can containing a $1,340 check and post clues at local business sponsors. It was great fun watching people collect the clues from the businesses and try to find the treasure. Two of Al’s sayings will always stick with me. First, always keep your promises, not just when it’s convenient and secondly, do business with people who do business with you.”   

“Of all the people we encounter, it’s really nice when you can remember an old friend as someone who actually enhanced your life,” Allen Tibbetts, who was a cohost on a long-running radio show, said. “Thank you for letting me be a big old goofball while you taught me the business. And thank you for the 15 years together on WTIF. Those memories make my heart happy even with your passing.”

John McClellan, whose first job after college was working at WTIF, was hired by Cohen.

“He was a man who gave the people he hired the freedom to do their jobs,” McClellan said. “Al could sell anything to anybody and was the master of the trade out in which he would swap advertising for all kinds of things that he and the radio station he owned needed. He brought a concept that until that time was virtually unheard of outside major cities with a two man radio show hosted first by Al and Bob Newberry and for almost 15 years starting in 1976 by Al and Allen Tibbetts. The last time I saw Al was in the summer of 2000 when he brought back almost all of us who had worked with him during the 25 years he owned the station. Al, Allen, and the rest of us had a fun time that weekend reliving memories.”