Proud to Receive An Unexpected And Exciting First Time Accolade
It's not often you get recognized for your talents as I have been entertaining audiences over the airwaves for almost four decades. This past weekend, I took a trek to familiar territory where my voice was emanating though radio speakers on Connecticut's shoreline. Mystic has been an important stop-over in my career where I found myself participating in community events and on a personal note my visits were frequent due to the large volume of tourist attractions and they have some of the finest restaurants state wide (A stop at Mystic Pizza is highly recommended)
After numerous delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The New England Music Hall Of Fame 2021 induction ceremonies finally took place at St. Mark's Episcopal Church as I received a ground breaking accolade: The 1st ever Broadcaster of the Year award. My service to various stations in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island were highly recognized as I was humbled to achieve this honor. As I mentioned in my acceptance speech, this was dedicated to EACH and EVERY listener who tuned in through the years as my aim is entertain an audience who takes the time to tune in on a daily basis, because without you on the other side, I might as well be talking to myself.
My dear friend and mentor Harry Harrison guided me through the fundamentals of this business as I paid heed to his advice as my daily appearances into the studio had one aim: To execute a radio show where I would bring joy to those listening. My motto is if I made one person smile in a given day, the task at hand proved successful. It's enlightening that I've been motivated to make this my mission since I was 3 years old and I am STILL entertaining a New England based audience in Western Massachusetts, North Western Connecticut and our neighbors in Eastern New York.
I am proud of sharing this moment with the other inductees of this special evening including Person of the Year, Connecticut's 18th District State Senator, Heather Somers, legendary musician Brian Keane, Ken Dutton, Ken Lyon and Joseph Firecrow. The musical talent entertained in high fashion as kudos go to Jen Morgajna, Kay Bauer, Renee Gardner, Paul Gabriel, Bob Orsi and Sister Funk. This event also spirited a food drive where non-perishable items would be donated to the Groton Food Locker.
Saving the BEST for last: A BIG thank you to Christopher Annino who put this all together and chose me for this coveted honor as he is also a "radio brother" having worked at radio stations where I occupied the air chair as well in various areas of southeastern Connecticut and the neighboring Ocean state. Professional wrestlers, Nikki Moccia and Archangela Orsini were also instrumental in making this presentation a huge success. A terrific highlight of this Thanksgiving weekend if you ask me.
The moral of this story: Keep enjoying what you're doing in life and everything else takes care of itself.
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