Rising Stars: Meet Ashley Frasca of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Frasca.

Hi Ashley, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I currently host Green and Growing, Atlanta’s biggest garden radio show, on 95.5 WSB. I’ve been host for 6 years now, and the story of how this wonderful show landed on my shoulders is really inspiring and humbling.

Walter Reeves, affectionately known as the Georgia Gardener, hosted the Lawn & Garden show on our station for 26 years. When I was in my late 20s, I began answering phones for his popular call-in show. My husband and I had just bought our first house, and it had a great established landscape. Selfishly, I thought “I can get good garden advice from someone who my parents have to listened to on the radio for years.” After eight years side by side on Saturday mornings, Walter became a good friend and a mentor.

When he announced his retirement from the radio show in late 2019, I was selected to become his replacement. I did not think I was worthy. I was (and still am) a traffic reporter for WSB. I had no background in horticulture or botany. Little did I realize, Walter had been preparing me the whole time. Green and Growing launched in 2020, right before the pandemic and has been such a highlight in my radio career! I am able to cover so many fun topics pertaining to gardening and the outdoors. I take pride in interviewing experts about subjects they’re passionate about. I am completely satisfied when listeners leave my show having learned at least one interesting thing they didn’t know before. We’re all learning together!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As with any form of entertainment, coming up with new and engaging material can be daunting at times. Some Saturday mornings I wake up afraid, like “what am I going to have on the show today?”, but good topics always present themselves in a timely fashion. Plus, I thoroughly enjoy the call-in radio show format. The best conversations and questions come from listeners!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am known as the host of Green and Growing on Saturday mornings on 95.5 WSB, but prior to that, I was primarily known as a drive-time traffic reporter, helping Atlanta drivers get to and from work each day. I’ve been at WSB Radio for 17 years, and in that time, I’ve been fortunate to fill many roles around the station. I’ve run the board, been a producer, a phone screener, traffic reporter, promotions assistant, and now show host! The talent and the opportunities at a legendary station like WSB are unheard of at smaller radio stations.

Two things about this job satisfy me most. One is learning WITH my listeners about gardening and all the interesting things that come along with spending time outside. I’m extremely flattered when someone calls and says, “I followed your advice and my [insert plant name here] is now thriving!”

Second is the work I do to plan and coordinate our radio station’s largest annual fundraiser. For 26 years, we’ve partnered with the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. In those years, listeners and the community have helped us raise more than $30 million to fight pediatric cancers and blood disorders. These 2 days each year are so special, as all of our talk hosts come together and get to interview and share stories of these brave kids and their families. There’s usually not a dry eye in the house. The community service piece of what we do for a living is the most important. Radio is a service that will never fail it’s community.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I had a great childhood, raised as an only child. That was when we rode bikes until dusk, built forts in the woods, and played flashlight tag with neighborhood kids after dinner. But my favorite memories are from my time in the high school marching band. We were such a close group of good kids. We made each other better.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wsbradio.com/on-air/green-and-growing/
• Instagram: @ashleyfrascawsb
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greenandgrowingwsb
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-frasca-a278131a6/
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-838541212