National Radio Day!

Today is national radio day! Which is the one time of year you get to see where all your favorite DJ’s worked before making it to wherever they happen to be now.

My radio journey all started when I came home from college my sophomore year on the verge of flunking out of my chosen degree. I had a dream going to school that I was going to save the water systems of our country by getting an aquatic biology degree. After getting a midterm grade check and finding out I had a 37% in one class and 42% in another and that I had forgotten to show up to another for the entire semester I decided to bail on the science degree and “focus on me” for a few weeks. Which is code for I took a bunch of gym classes to make sure I was still eligible and try not to drink every beer in the dorms.

So how did I find my way to this wonderful and relatively profitable industry? I was sitting at home unable to sleep and I heard some guy on Razor 94.7 in Appleton and it sounded like he was having an amazing time. The next morning I looked up a major that might send me in a radio direction and redid my spring semester schedule and off I went. I got my first internship that summer and by the start of my senior year I had a job lined up in the super huge town of Bemidji Minnesota. If you’ve seen the tv show Fargo, season one takes place there. We had more trees and lakes than what they showed.

After working for 6 years there I burned out. So I hit a reset button, moved to the Twin Cities area, became a bartender and tried to figure out my life. I applied to 57 jobs in The Cities. None were radio and to everyone’s, mostly my, surprise not a single one called back. Confidence!

I had made a few friends in the industry including one who used to do nights here a long time ago. He said there was a job opening here and that I should apply. I talked The Wife into the idea of me working in radio again and she said, “Go for it!” So I did and it was the second best decision of my life!

Working here on The Rock for what will be two years in November has been the most rewarding work I have ever done, and I owe it all to you wonderful listeners. You all keep coming out to events, concerts, fundraisers, text the station because you know I don’t like talking on the phone and are seriously the most loyal listeners I have ever seen in my life.

Thank you for welcoming me on to your radio station and calling Decker or Dexter or Schrecker or Derek or whatever you want really. Much love! \m/