Pat Paxton Steps Down From Saga Communications.

Saga Communications Senior Vice President of Content Pat Paxton will leave the company at the end of August, with two longtime local programming executives stepping into expanded corporate roles.

Paxton will remain with Saga through Friday, Aug. 28, to assist with the transition. Ocala, FL, Operations Manager Scott Chase and Clarksville, TN, Operations Manager Ryan Ploeckelman will co-chair Saga’s programming department as Directors of Group Programming.

Saga CEO Chris Forgy announced Paxton’s departure to employees Friday. In a subsequent memo, Paxton said he had been considering stepping away for several months.

“It's time,” Paxton wrote in a memo provided to Inside Radio. “I've had a long successful career in this business and I've loved every second of it. But I'm not as young as I used to be. I've been considering this for a few months... stepping away now makes perfect sense.”

Paxton joined Saga in 2023 after retiring from Audacy, where he served as Chief Programming Officer for 22 years. He said he initially intended to remain retired before meeting with Saga executives in Detroit in 2023. “I came out of that meeting thinking I might want to do this again,” Paxton wrote. “So, I did, and it's been a pleasure every step of the way.”

Paxton praised Chase and Ploeckelman as “two of the smartest programming minds out there,” adding that he was “100% certain the transition will be smooth and easy.”

Chase returns to a corporate programming role after previously holding the position from August 2020 until Paxton joined Saga in June 2023. He has overseen Saga’s Ocala operations and previously served as Operations Manager of the company’s Clarksville cluster. His programming resume also includes WRQQ Nashville, WSSR Tampa, WZOK Rockford, WAOA Melbourne, WTLQ Scranton and WSRZ Sarasota.

Ploeckelman succeeded Chase as Operations Manager in Clarksville in 2020. He joined Saga in 2005 as a morning co-host at Hot AC “Q108” WCVQ and gradually added programming responsibilities.

Before joining Saga, Paxton began his career in South Dakota before working in Sioux City, IA; La Crosse, WI; and Huntington, WV. He held corporate roles with Cardinal Communications and Adventure Radio Group and programmed KHMX Houston and WOMX Orlando. He also served as National Programming Director for Nationwide Communications.

Paxton joined Audacy predecessor Entercom as Operations Manager of Rhythmic AC “Star 93.7” WQSX Boston before moving into the company’s corporate programming role. During his tenure, he also led Entercom’s Content Innovation Group, which produced original digital and social content and syndicated local shows.

In his farewell memo, Paxton thanked Saga’s content directors and employees for their work.

“You are the best. No one works harder than you. No one wears more hats than you. And you do it all with energy and passion,” he wrote. “I feel blessed that I had the chance to work with and get to know you.”