Tracy Wood, a retired Defense Department IT/RF engineer, challenged himself by starting a second career with KWDB radio. Launched in December 2026, the Commercial Class C3 FM station returns local radio to Northwest Washington’s Whidbey Island. This Auction 109 facility presented many unique technical and statutory challenges such as being next to a Navy airfield and deep inside the US-Canada border region. Besides his life-long interest in shortwave listening and amateur radio (K7UO), Mr. Wood serves on the Board of Directors of the Washington DC Hispanic Gala Theater for the Performing Arts. Mr. Wood discusses his many lessons learned along KWDB’s difficult buildout path.