Don Barnes Joins STAR 93.5 as Operations Manager

Don Barnes, STAR 93.5 operations manager

Bringing more than two decades of metro Jackson radio experience, Mississippi College alumnus Don Barnes is the new operations manager at STAR 93.5.

A 47-year-old Brandon resident, Barnes began his radio career at WHJT on the Clinton campus when he was a student in the MC Communication Department in the 1980s.

“I was fascinated with radio as a kid and decided early on that I was going to be a famous DJ someday,” the MC alumnus says.

While that ambitious dream hasn’t been realized just yet, Barnes is delighted to return to the Baptist-affiliated university as a star player with Jackson’s Christian radio station. He considers his recent hiring at the vibrant station in the basement of Aven Hall to be “a blessing from God.”

STAR 93.5 General Manager Doug Amacker is thrilled to welcome Barnes aboard. “Don brings a tremendous amount of radio and multimedia experience to STAR 93.5 and we are excited about his addition to our team.”

As operations manager, his assignments include managing music programming, handling some of the day-to-day operations, serving as an on-air radio personality from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. each day, and helping boost the station’s sales team.

Barnes is eager to be part of the new things planned for WHJT and looks forward to reconnecting with old friends on campus and meeting new ones.

Away from the Clinton campus, Barnes serves as the owner of AMP Entertainment of Mississippi, a full service DJ and community events entertainment company.

Jackson area listeners may be familiar with the voice of the 1989 Mississippi College mass communications and marketing graduate. He worked at local radio stations like 94.7 JACK FM, US96.3, MIX 98.7, Y101 and 105.9 FM.

After working the past two years as marketing director of CCSI-Peak Solutions, a company specializing in brand development and promotion, Barnes rejoined the Mississippi College family this summer.

There are precious memories from his initial tenure at the MC station. He was working in studio when 93.5 FM became the heritage Christian radio station in greater Jackson. It happened on an unforgettable Easter morning in 1987 with the airing of the praise song “Rise Again” as dawn broke in Central Mississippi at 6 a.m.

A native of Richardson, Texas, near Dallas, Barnes has longtime Jackson roots. He moved to Mississippi’s capital city as an active three-year-old, was a Jackson Academy student and grew up attending Colonial Heights Baptist Church in Jackson.

Today, Don and his wife, Leslie, are members of Crossgates Baptist Church in Brandon with their four children, Ryan, Gracie, Cameron and Ava. Leslie Barnes is a stay at home mom and aerobics instructor at The Club at Crossgates.

For Don Barnes, the timing is just perfect as he reconnects to the 5,000-student university as the MC Choctaws return to NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference. “I’m so proud to be back at my alma mater,” he said. “Becoming a Choctaw for the second time is very exciting. I’m looking forward to reliving some fond memories of football games and the whole college atmosphere.”