Kirk started his career in broadcasting in 1996 as a part-time master control room operator and assistant engineer at WVSX, a start-up FOX station that gave him the opportunity to learn the industry from the ground up. After six months, he was promoted to chief engineer and oversaw the daily maintenance and operations for the station. He left in 2001 for WFXR/WJPR in Roanoke, Vairginia, to design and build a CW network control room. Later that year, he was contacted by Concord University in Athens, West Virginia, to help design and build a new, all-digital television studio for its Center for Academic Technologies.
In 2003, Gary was recruited back to WVSX — now WVNS — to do a ground-up build of the station to include a cutting-edge control room and live news department. Then, he helped the station grow its news product and improve the technology to include a completely high definition control room and a tapeless news room to pave the way for a 2013 launch of high definition newscasts.