National Radio Day

Today is National Radio Day. For those under 25, radio was the thing that people listened to before Spotify. I joke, but let’s address the elephant in the room: Radio just ain’t as popular as it used to be. I get it. I stream music also. I listen to podcasts. I listen to a bunch of things other than radio. I’m just like you. Well, not JUST like you. I still absolutely love radio. Not just because it’s fed my family for the past 25 years. But, because of the connection I feel when I listen. Sure, streaming music gives me more control of what I listen to, I mean, we’re probably never going to hear Pantera’s “Cowboys From Hell” on the radio and sometimes I just need my metal fix. https://www.instagram.com/p/BM6jbXNjqoe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Radio Connects Me With My Community But, when I listen to the radio, I feel connected with my community or, really, whichever community I’m in when listening: the air personality, the imaging (that’s the little things in-between the songs with the zips and zings that say things like “Allll the hits…. HD983!”) and, yes, even the commercials. I do have my favorites: “It’s a crime to pay more than a dime” and “If you need a car, a truck or even a VAN…” https://www.instagram.com/p/C8hxRN9O8fz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== My Love For Radio Started As A Teenager I’ve wanted to talk to my city on the FM radio waves ever since I was in high school. Fun Fact: I called into Kicks 99 as a teenager to just come and check out the radio station and talk to the program director about what a radio career looked like. That program director is now my boss. No, he didn’t hire me. At least, not then. Years after I had gotten my start and bounced around a handful of markets, our paths crossed again. He doesn’t recall our meeting all those years ago. But, I feel like it’s a cool little full-circle moment. Radio Has Granted Me A Lot Of Opportunities Radio has given me a really fun career and a lot of moments I wouldn’t otherwise have had: I met Taylor Swift several times, hung out with Toby Keith in a dive bar, hung out on stage with Marshmello, sold my megaphone to Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix, then interviewed him 10 years later and recanted the story, hung backstage at the Grammys with drank with Zakk Wylde and hung out with Kelly Clarkson-AT HER HOUSE, just to name a few. https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ4_BUZAzba/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== I’ve also gotten to share several monumental moments with my community on the air: Playing songs and taking calls after the death of two icons: Prince and Michael Jackson and helping listeners comprehend the magnitude of what our country was going through on September 11, 2001. I always joke that radio is better than a real job. After all this time, I think I realize that it’s not a joke. One thing's for sure, I sure do appreciate those that still listen!