5 Years And STILL Rockin’ The Airwaves
In 2016, I was at a crossroads in my radio career and the main question was: "where do I go from here?" My thoughts instantly turned to the beautiful Berkshires as I had hopes of working at WSBS in Great Barrington. This was etched in the back of my mind since the 1990's. At that time, I was about 30 miles south in neighboring Sharon, Connecticut at WKZE-AM playing country hits from the past and present and every so often, I would listen to 860 AM and kept saying to myself this would be a great place to work.
It took 2 decades, but the mission was accomplished. Keep in mind, I just walked into the station without an appointment, interview and did not send an air check and resume. On the spur of a moment, I came in to WSBS and introduced myself to my future Program Director Jesse Stewart. Luckily, Dave Winchester was also in house and we go back to the days when yours truly visited our sister station in Pittsfield (at that time, each station was it's own entity) while handling overnight at K-LITE 101 in neighboring Albany, New York. My aim was to be a part of WSBS, but it took a few weeks before this became reality.
At the start, coming over here required travelling about 3 hours each way from eastern Connecticut and there was skepticism regarding if this could be accomplished. After a little convincing, the final step was finally taken and my first air shift took place on this day, a half a decade ago. I was assigned Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons an eventually engineered high school sports and LIVE remotes from the studio.
I was also covering shifts on middays and afternoon drive whenever needed and even if it was at the last minute to hold the fort, I jumped into my Hyundai and headed for the drive west to south county. So proud to say, I NEVER missed a shift that was assigned to me. It's all about the passion and determination of loving what you do that motivates me in attaining my goals in life.
Months later, I was permanently given the Saturday morning shift which included co-hosting Greg Ward's Garden Show and the Trading Post along with Sunday afternoons and the engineering-fill-in work continued to flourish which eventually included covering for our "Main Man & Main Dad' on morning drive (a key step in my advancement and iI STILL fill-in for him when he has time off). In September, 2018, I officially became the midday host with Saturday mornings on YOUR Home Town Station and to this day, we continue to entertain and inform you each and every day.
I also am proud to have a pair of near and dear people that share the microphone with me including "my radio wife" Lisa Z alongside yours truly as she joins me on occasion to discuss her causes as she also serves as The Bay State's Ambassador for The National Association of Child Abuse Adult Survivors with a goal to assist those who cannot speak up as people during this trying situation. This all-important mission continues to resonate every time she co-hosts with me on WSBS and Z knows how to ROCK the airwaves when we feature musical memories from "The Rad Decade"
Let's not forget, "The Man of Steel", New England's George Reeves, Kevin Titus who appears with me once a month on our Saturday morning feature"10 at 10 @ 10:10 as he assumes many other identities besides mild mannered Daily Planet reporter, Clark Kent. Kevin has become a key component in our line-up and I am honored to have him share the studio with me here in south county. He has become one of my nearest and dearest friends" in my life.
In closing, I owe a debt of gratitude to my Station Manager Dave Isby and the BEST Program Director in this biz, "Our Main Man & Main Dad" Jesse Stewart as they BOTH allowed be to become of this exclusive team here in Great Barrington. I save the BEST for last....Thanks to ALL my LOYAL & TRUE listeners for tuning in because YOU are the reason why I come in to work each and every day. It is very much appreciated....To sum things up in 4 words; "Let's Keep On ROCKIN!"