Guest Professional Faculty - Kellar Radio Talent Institute

July 8 – 17, 2013
Guest Professional
Faculty
Greg Abee
Air Personality
New Rock 93.3 The Planet
Entercom
Greenville/Spartanburg, SC
Greg’s radio career
began with college
radio, WASU-FM at
Appalachian State
University. For two
years he hosted
various air shifts,
including a weekly
metal show called
“Metal up the
WASU”. He
attended the firstever Keller Radio
Talent Institute in
2007.
Immediately after graduation, he got his first job in
the promotions department at Entercom in
Greenville, a cluster that includes Active Rock,
Classic Rock, Top-40, Hot AC, and News/Talk
formats. After several months, Greg was offered
a part-time air position on CHR - B93.7. Greg
says, “I started small, hosting a late night
weekend show and, over time, as my skills
improved, I was handed a Saturday/Sunday air
shift, fill-ins, and eventually overnights. In 2009 I
was asked to host a heavy metal show on Active
Rock – 93.3 The Planet.”
“I left B93.7 and jumped over to the active rocker
exclusively. Over time my one hour show grew
into a weekend air shift, fill ins, etc.” In December
2011, the Planet’s full-time night show became
available, and after an audition process, Greg was
named the full-time night show host, which is
where he is today.
Ace & TJ
The ACE & TJ Show
Channel 96.1
Clear Channel
Charlotte, NC
Ace – The Rockstar, the lead singer of the band
Charity Case. He and TJ are co-hosts on Rock
96.1, and Ace runs the board for the show. He
is constantly labeled as the most vain,
egotistical member of the show, although this is
mostly in jest.
Ace started working for his hometown radio
station right out of college where he met TJ
when the station traded out an apartment for
them to share. When the station filed
bankruptcy, they made themselves the morning
show and shot to #1 in the market. The pair
moved to Baton Rouge, Huntsville, then on to
Charlotte.
Ace is an LSU grad and his three favorite bands
are KISS, Run-DMC, and Bon Jovi. His last
job before radio was Mobile Home Repair and
says if he wasn’t in radio, he’d be a Sports
Center anchor or professional drag racer.
Ace and his wife,
Shonnette, were
married in 1996 and
have two children,
Payton and Cade.
TJ – The Love
Specialist, TJ is the
wittiest member of
the show. He cohosts the show with
Ace, and he
constantly uses sarcasm to take his humor to the
next level. His real name is Ritchie and he feels
bad for calling himself Terry Joe for all these
years.
TJ majored in theater at Louisiana Tech,
passing up several football scholarships to the
dismay of his father. He worked in lumber
mills, tried his hand at stand-up comedy in LA
and returned to Louisiana to try his hand at
radio. He and Ace have been doing mornings
together since 1993 in Alexandria, LA, Baton
Rouge, LA, Huntsville, AL, and for 13 years in
Charlotte, NC.
Before getting into radio, TJ was a Purchasing
Agent for a lumber company and says he’d
probably be a teacher and coach if it weren’t for
the show!
TJ and his wife, Jodi, have two children, Lanie
and Aiden, who take care of their goldendoodle, Dutch. One more thing you need to
know: “I can’t make it through the day
without…hugs and kisses from my kids!”
Dave Aiken
Assistant Program Director &
Music Director
WKRR-FM/Rock 92
Dick Broadcasting Company
Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC
Dave Aiken is Assistant Program Director and
Music Director for WKRR-FM (Rock 92).
Known to listeners as “Weather
Dave”, he also hosts his own afternoon show
on Rock 92 and is a member of the “Two Guys
Named Chris” morning show. Aiken has been
with Dick Broadcasting Company since 2003
and has served in many facets in both Creative
Services and as Promotions Director.
Prior to his work in DBC, Dave was staff
meteorologist for both WFMY-TV and a
freelance meteorologist at WXII-TV in
Greensboro and Winston-Salem, respectively.
He has also done work for the Hazardous
Weather Preparedness Institute, providing
corporation
s, sports
organizatio
ns, and
public
emergency
response
teams in the
developmen
t of
hazardous
weather
planning and staff training throughout the
Carolinas and Virginia. He has been a member
and broadcast seal holder of the National
Weather Association.
Dave is a North Carolina native and a graduate
of the Broadcast Meteorology Program at
Mississippi State University. He holds a double
major Bachelor’s degree from the University of
North Carolina
Greensboro with concentrations in National
Security Policy and Radio & Television
Broadcasting. He lives in Greensboro, North
Carolina.
Don Anthony
Founder & President, Talentmasters
Publisher, The Morning Mouth
Magazine & Jockline Daily
Creator & Host, Morning Show &
Talk Show Boot Camp
As the titles
suggest, for
over 25 years,
Don’s life has
been
consumed by
the business of
personality
radio. Each
summer, 25
years running, Don brings together hundreds of
the top personalities from throughout the US
and abroad for his highly acclaimed Morning
Show Boot Camp. It has become radio’s largest
gathering of its type.
Following the success of Morning Show Boot
Camp, he began Talk Radio Boot Camp, now
in its 5th year. Talk Radio Boot Camp was
immediately successful. Don brings in the
leading Talk Radio talent in America, as well as
internationally.
Through his conference, his monthly
publication for talent, and his daily talent search
operation, Don has developed a unique and
well-honed insight into the inter-workings and
elements of successful radio shows.
Jockline is a daily newsletter for air talent and
the radio industry, and one you can read daily
at www.themorningmouth.com.
Courtney Armstrong
Promotions Manager
KISS 95.1 & K104.7
CBS Radio
Charlotte, NC
Courtney is in the department of fun and games
with a side of problem solving. She has been
working for CBS Radio as a Promotions
Manager since August 2012. Courtney is a
recent graduate of Appalachian State University
and a Kellar Radio Talent Institute graduate of
2010. From these experiences, she took home a
degree in Electronic/Media and Broadcasting
and Advertising. She also took home many
experiences from working as Promotions Director at WASU-FM and a deep respect for a
good jacket and warm socks. If you've ever
stayed in Boone for an extended period of time,
you understand why. Courtney enjoyed a
wonderful internship in Greensboro at WKZLFM (107.5 KZL) and WKRR-FM (Rock 92)
as well.
Courtney
says, “The
best part of
promotions
is the
combination
of using the
ideas of a
five-year-old
and making
them happen. Since 2006 she has done
everything from spray painting logos onto snow
to a free outdoor concert for a thousand girls to
filling a kiddie pool full of lucky charms and
making people dive in for prizes. It's a
department that works with every part of radio
and is the face of the station to people on the
streets. There is no better description for it than
the department of fun and games."
George Beasley
CEO
Beasley Broadcast Group
Naples, FL
“Just take a leap of
faith” is the advice
George G. Beasley
shares with students
today.
In 1961, Mr. Beasley
took that leap. While
serving as principal of
Meadow High School
in Benson, NC, he
began building his first
radio station, WPYBAM, also in Benson. His days were spent at
school, until the bell rang and he hurried to the
radio station to conduct sales meetings. But the
double-duty soon paid off. He sold WPYB at a
profit in 1966 and bought a larger signal station
in nearby Goldsboro. Today, Beasley
Broadcast Group has grown to 43 radio stations
(27 FM and 16 AM) in eleven large- and midmarket locations across the US.
George made the lead gift, making a new
media complex possible on the campus of
Appalachian State University. The George G.
Beasley Media Complex is scheduled to open
later this year. The complex will house the
Department of Communication’s radio and
television studios, labs and offices.
He served the North Carolina Association of
Broadcasters for eight years as president, vice
president and member of the NCAB Board of
Directors. He received the association’s
Distinguished Service Award in 1996 and was
inducted into NCAB’s Hall of Fame in 1998.
In 2003, the Broadcasters’ Foundation of
America awarded Mr. Beasley their prestigious
Broadcast Pioneer Award. The Nevada
Broadcasters Association inducted Mr. Beasley
into their Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2010, the
Country Radio Broadcasters honored Mr.
Beasley with the Tom Rivers Humanitarian
Award. In 2011, the Florida Association of
Broadcasters named him Broadcaster of the
Year by bestowing upon him the William J.
Brooks Award. For 13 of the past 16 years, Mr.
Beasley has been acknowledged as one of the
“40 Most Powerful People in Radio” by Radio
Ink, an annual listing the magazine started in
1996.
Mr. Beasley has received numerous accolades
from the broadcast industry as well as from
various civic and charitable organizations
throughout his fifty-plus years in radio
broadcasting. Notably, he was recently
honored by the Library of American
Broadcasting as one of the “2012 Giants of
Broadcasting.”
Kent Bernhardt
Production Coordinator
Performance Racing Network
Charlotte, NC
Kent has been the official “voice” of PRN since
1988, and joined the PRN team in December
2000 as Production Coordinator.
A native of Faith, NC, Kent attended The
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
before beginning his broadcasting career in
1977. He spent 13 years hosting “Salisbury’s
Early Morning
News” on WSTP in
Salisbury, NC, the
station that spawned
sportscasting greats
like Bob Rathbun,
Marty Brenneman,
and PRN’s own
Doug Rice. He is a
recognized voice for
radio and TV
commercials, and
has voiced
numerous corporate productions. His voice is
heard as a track announcer in the movie
“Talladega Nights”.
He produces much of PRN’s feature material,
and in 2005, was a co-recipient of the
prestigious Barney Hall Award for outstanding
motorsports radio reporting. He was also
named the NMPA’s Broadcaster of the Year in
2008.
In his spare time, he is an avid movie and
theater buff, and has appeared in more than 30
regional stage productions, including “1776”
and “Spamalot”. Kent is a proud dad of a
daughter, McKenna, who is currently a student
at Appalachian State University.
Arroe Collins
Production Director
Clear Channel Radio
Charlotte, NC
If you ask Arroe Collins about the current
expectations of a Modern Broadcaster, you'll
never get the same answer. He puts "no" focus
on where 34 years of Radio and Television has
taken him. Arroe says, “For the first time since
its inception, the internet combined with new
age technology, has turned everybody in radio
and TV into Broadcast pioneers. Setting the
standard for the next one hundred years should
be the everyday ambition. Content collects
followers, not just on radio's two speakers, but
station websites, individual blogs, Twitter, Face
Book, Stumble Upon, Google + and more. If
you aren't writing, producing and performing
on five social media outlets daily, you're going
to have a
tough time
convincing
Programmer'
s how serious
you are about
being a
leader in a
field of
constant
changes.
Radio
commercials
connect you to clients and listeners. You can do
more things to a listener's life and style in a 15
second commercial than you can on a week's
worth of four-hour Radio shows.”
A 2012 National Mercury Award nominee,
Arroe lectures on university and Broadcast
campuses throughout the Southeast. He says,
"Engage the listener or remind them that the
radio station isn't playing their favorite song."
Arroe has six published books, with his seventh
currently under construction, which recently
put him face-to-face with one of its main
characters: Yoko Ono. The host of The Fox
Classic Rock Report keeps music fans informed;
"I refuse to believe the format is for old men."
Unplugged and Totally Uncut unlocks the
Radio expectation through one-on-one
conversations with nationally recognized actors
and comedians, musicians and the soon to be
famous. Connecting Road: The Preacher and
The Poet take Modern New Rock and makes
meaning of the lyrics between the bass beats
and hard driven drums. Collins and Jonathan
Coppedge-Henley have created side by side in
generating what once was a 60 second
commercial into a two hour radio show.
Scrambled Eggs ignite the imagination of
hidden away writers and poets. Who's doing
this? That guy on the Radio. My message is
personal. Master commercial production. You
can't fire yourself.”
Jack Daniel
Program Director & Air Talent
106.5 The End/WEND-FM
Clear Channel Media +
Entertainment
Charlotte, NC
Jack’s career began in eastern NC over 40 years
ago. He attended East Carolina University and
first worked in
Charlotte radio in
1976. In Charlotte,
he has programmed
and worked on-air
at WPEG, WAYS
and WROQ,
WJZR, and WBCY.
At WRFX he held
the positions of onair, program
director and general
manager, then to WEDJ as VP/GM until he
joined WEND in 1995, where he is on-air and
program director of 106.5 The End. Jack is a s
staple, and some would say, legend, in
Charlotte radio.
Jack and Carla have been married for 36 years
and have two grown children, Adam and
Alexandra.
Chris D’Emilio
Media Consultant
Cox Media Group
Atlanta, GA
Born & raised in Wilmington, Delaware – The
First State! Not familiar? See George
Thorogood & The Delaware Destroyers. After
moving to
Concord, NC, “I
became a huge fan
of a tiny little
morning show on
WRFX called John
Boy & Billy (I
doubt you’ve heard
of them). That’s
when I started
learning about &
getting interested
in local radio.” After graduating from App
State in 2004, Chris started his career with Cox
Media Group, a career that is in year 9 right
now.
Working in promotions for 4 years was a great
learning experience, but he had aspirations for a
bigger career. A step in that direction was
joining the sales force at Cox Media Group for
WSB-FM in Atlanta. BAD TIMING! Why?
“The time was Fall 2008…right when the
economy went down the drain. Not a good
time for radio advertising…but it was a fantastic
time to learn the dedication that is critical to be
a successful media sales professional.” In just 5
years as a sales person, D’Emilio built a local
and direct account list billing over a million
dollars annually with unique marketing ideas
and self-motivation for success. For 2012, he
received the honor of Cox Media Group’s
President’s Circle as sales person of the year for
WSB-FM, WALR, & WSRV. As he stated,
“Strategic marketing for a local business is
extremely challenging to navigate through all
the clutter, and it’s my job to help my clients do
exactly that. Keep on rockin’ in the free world!”
Brandon Dickson
Anchor/Reporter/Producer
680 WPTF/Curtis Media and
North Carolina News Network
Raleigh, NC
Brandon is currently an anchor, reporter, and
producer with 680 AM WPTF and for the
North Carolina
News Network in
Raleigh, NC. He
graduated from
Appalachian
State University
in May 2010 and
was a 2008 Kellar
Radio Talent
Institute graduate.
He worked as the
assistant sports director and sports director at
college radio station 90.5 WASU in Boone, NC
and was an on-air talent all four years.
He has worked in both radio and television,
having previously worked as a producer,
evening news show co-host and board op at 600
AM WSJS in Winston-Salem, NC; the evening
news and sports anchor, reporter, producer,
sports show co-host at the Mountain Television
Network in Boone, NC; and a news anchor,
reporter, producer, weekend morning show host
at 800 AM/97.3 FM WKBC in North
Wilkesboro, NC. He has also interned with the
Winston-Salem Dash (the single A affiliate of
the Chicago White Sox) as a sales and guest
service representative and has worked with
ESPN for the Belk Bowl (formerly the Meinke
Car Care Bowl) in 2006 and 2007 as an on-field
coordinator.
DZL
Air Talent/Assistant PD
106.5 The End/WEND-FM
Clear Channel
Charlotte, NC
DZL (pronounced “Diesel”) is the host of
WEND 106.5 The End’s afternoon drive radio
show called "The Lounge." DZL is also a
syndicated
radio
personality
on over 60
stations
across the
US from
Fairbanks,
Alaska to
Tampa,
Florida! Here’s a little bit about DZL straight
from the horse’s mouth:
“I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia! I
will say this though: my mother was an English
teacher, so if I ever said “ya’ll” or “fixin’ to”, I
was QUICKLY corrected! My Grandfather
was in radio for over 30 years as a morning host
for a popular country radio station in Missouri,
so I was exposed to radio from a very young
age and have been around it my entire life. I
knew radio was what I wanted to do for a living
when I was in elementary school. To this day, I
still pursue it with a ferocity! The passion never
goes away.”
DZL got his professional radio start at WZGC
in Atlanta in the 90’s. Since then, he has
worked in South Carolina, New York and has
been in Charlotte for the last 7 years. Charlotte
is where he met his wife, they have since bought
a house and planted roots! His personal
interests outside of the radio station keeps him
involved in the industry to some degree as well.
He is the lead singer and guitar player in a
working rock band…and he says, “I LOVE to
play golf! I'm a sports nut. I love traveling the
world and spending time with family.”
Stu Epperson
Chairman of the Board
Salem Communications Corporation
Santa Rosa, CA
Stuart W.
Epperson is
Chairman of the
Board of Salem
Communications
Corporation, the
leading U.S.
radio
broadcaster,
Internet content
provider and
magazine
publisher
targeting audiences interested in Christian and
family-themed content and conservative values
program-ming with 96 radio stations, including
67 stations in 24 of the top 25 markets. Salem
became a publicly traded company in 1999 and
is listed on NASDAQ. He has served in that
role since founding the company in the early
1970s with brother-in-law, Edward Atsinger.
Epperson holds a bachelor’s degree in radio and
television broadcasting and a master’s degree in
communications. He has been involved in
broadcasting since the early 1950’s when he
worked as a disc jockey; and he built his first
radio station in 1961.
He lives in Ponte Vedra, Florida with his wife
Nancy. He is one of the founders of the
Winston-Salem Rescue Mission, Salem
Pregnancy Support Center, founder of One Kid
At A Time Mentoring Ministry and a two-time
Republican nominee for U.S. Congress. He has
4 children, all married, and 16 grandchildren.
Jason Furst
Program Director
News Talk 1110 WBT
Greater Media
Charlotte, NC
Jason Furst is
Program Director of
News Talk 1110
WBT Charlotte.
Passionate about
radio, Jason grew up
with the business
around him. Mom,
Dad, even his
grandmother, have
worked in radio.
Jason feels privileged
to have worked with
many great stations during his fourteen year
career. Starting as a producer at KASE, and
then KHFI, both in Austin, TX and KKBQ
Houston, where he shifted to research, working
for Broadcast Architecture, doing projects for
many radio stations, including KIIS Los
Angeles, KHKS Dallas, and KODA Houston.
Jason helped The Australian Radio Network
move into the automation era, programmed
legendary talk stations WSYR, Syracuse and
WHAM, Rochester and several stations in
music formats.
A content enthusiast, he enjoys creating
successful digital stations and social media
strategies. When not at the station, Jason plays
competitive hockey.
Jason Goodman
Director of Programming
WKZL & WKRR-FM (Rock 92)
Dick Broadcasting Company
Winston-Salem/Greensboro, NC
Jason has been in the
Program Director’s
chair at 107.5 WKZL
and holding down
the afternoon drive
shift since 2005.
During that time,
WKZL has
experienced some of
its highest ratings
ever as a CHR, often
number one in the
target demo and
almost always top three in most key demos. In
2010 he was also given the responsibility to
program Rock 92.
Prior to WKZL, Jason was Assistant Program
Director and Music Director at The
Point/WPTE in Norfolk/Virginia Beach,
Virginia, while also pulling an air shift and
handling the imaging of the station. Jason
worked as an air personality at three other very
respected heritage Top 40 stations,
WXLK/K92 Roanoke, WRVQ/Q94,
WNVZ/Z104 Norfolk…all in Virginia.
He was nominated for Radio Music Awards for
Music Director/Assistant PD of the year in
2003 and 2004 and nominated for Hot AC Air
Personality of the year in 2003 and 2004. Jason
graduated from Old Dominion University with
a Bachelor of Science Degree.
John Hancock
Talk Show Host
WBT
Greater Media
Charlotte, NC
Hancock arrived
at WBT in 1990
and took
Charlotte by
storm. In 1999
he put himself in
“Time Out”, but
returned as the
self-proclaimed
“Charlotte’s
Most Beloved”
in 2001, where he’s held down the Maine to
Miami, Canada to Cuba hours ever since.
As his many fans and listeners know, John is a
Colorado native and a PK (Priest’s Kid).
Following a short but uneventful stint at
Colorado State University, Hancock majored in
“Street Smarts”, working with many major
Rock Music Tours as a record promoter, and
even a stint as a Rack Jobber in Texas,
Louisiana and Mississippi. In addition,
Hancock’s radio career has included Denver,
CO; Dallas, TX; Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA;
and Jacksonville, FL.
The Zumwalt Community Award (National:
Marrow Donor), Charlotte’s Best Magazine’s
“Best Radio Personality”, Creative Loafing’s
“Best Local Personality” and “Best Talk Show
Host”, and Charlotte Magazine’s “Worst
Whiner” (the award was retired in John’s
name) are among the many awards John has
won. John loves music of all kinds, especially
Miles Davis, Eric Clapton, and Tom Petty, and
recalls his first concert was The Beatles at Red
Rocks in 1964.
John lives with his kids and his wife, Susan, in
Charlotte.
Wade H. Hargrove
Partner
Brooks Pierce
Raleigh, NC
Wade Hargrove’s
practice is
concentrated in
communications,
antitrust, corporate,
media, Internet,
copyright, public
utility law and
Congressional
representation. He
has been asked to
testify before
numerous
Congressional and legislative committees on
issues involving corporate law, copyright law,
the Internet, satellite broadcasting, open
government, libel and slander, political
broadcasting, broadcast license renewal, cable
television, and public utility law. He regularly
advises clients in mergers and acquisitions and
has served as counsel in some of the nation’s
largest media transactions.
He appears regularly before the Federal
Communications Commission and other
government agencies, as well as federal and
state courts, and he counsels clients on
Congressional and state legislative matters.
New technologies and associated issues of
intellectual property, licensing and contractual
negotiations, and mergers and acquisitions are
significant components of his practice. His
regular clients include radio and television
broadcast stations, cable television companies,
newspapers, Internet and new technology
companies, telephone companies, public
utilities, financial institutions, and trade
associations.
Hargrove graduated from the University of
North Carolina, J.D., Alumni Scholar and the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
A.B., with honors, Jefferson Foundation
Scholar. Among his many honors and awards,
he was inducted into the North Carolina
Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and
was named by the National Law Journal as one
of the nation’s Top 10 leading
Media/Telecommunications lawyers.
His hobbies include playing the guitar, pedal
steel guitar, and banjo, as well as tennis and
boating.
Dick Harlow
President
North Carolina Association
of Broadcasters
Raleigh, NC
Mike Hartel
Vice President/General Manager
Radio 96.1
Curtis Media
Raleigh, NC
Dick is the president
of the North Carolina
Association of
Broadcasters. His
professional
experience includes
holding the positions
of Vice
President/Market
Manager for Clear
Channel in Raleigh,
and Clear Channel
Radio in Wichita,
Kansas. He was VP/Market Manager for
Bahakel Communi-cations in Greensboro and
Regional Vice President of Voyager
Communications/The Dalton Group in the
three southeast markets of Charlotte and
Greensboro, NC and Greenville, SC.
Mike Hartel is the Vice President and General
Manager of Curtis Media’s Radio 96.1/WBBB.
Mike is a 20 year media veteran, spending the
last eleven of those years with Curtis
Media serving the local
listening and advertising
communities. Mike
was also instrumental in
launching Curtis
Media’s Digital
Division to complement
their growing number of
broadcast properties.
Prior to Curtis Media,
Mike spent six years as
a General Sales
Manager with Clear Channel Radio in Raleigh,
and also worked as an Account Executive with
Katz Media in New York City.
“The first broadcast company I worked for was
Mann Media in High Point, NC, and our
paychecks had a slogan written across the
bottom that I will never forget that said, ‘the
ability of radio to move goods and services has
made this check possible.’ I read that the first
time over 35 years ago and I still believe it
today.”
Mike resides in Wake Forest with his lovely
wife Kendal and their four children. Mike is
currently the Member Relations Chair of the
Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce’s
Leadership Raleigh Alumni Association, Chair
of the Parish Council at St. Catherine of Siena
Catholic Church, Chair of the Marketing and
Development Committee for Triangle Family
Services, and an Advisory Board Member for
NC State Student Media. He also loves
coaching his daughter’s soccer team, and his
son’s football team, and he is an avid fan and
supporter of the Special Olympics, St.
Baldricks, and the Foundation of Hope.
Dick says, “Over the last 35+ years, I have been
very fortunate to be in one of the most exciting
industries in the world. During that time we
have witnessed significant change driven by
technology, yet we continue to focus on our
main goal, which is to serve our communities
and to help our advertisers move their goods
and services.
Gerry Horn
Vice President of Sales
Performance Racing Network
Concord, NC
Gerry Horn is PRN's Vice President of Sales.
He joined the network in 2002, and manages
the sales effort of PRN while also carrying an
active client list.
Gerry has 27 years
of experience in
increasingly senior
positions in sales
and sales
management. Prior
to joining PRN, he
was the VP,
Business
Development, for a
start-up company
called MoonBuzz,
where he was responsible for building and
managing the sales and deployment teams.
For the nine years prior to MoonBuzz, Gerry
was employed by the NBA Charlotte Hornets
and rose to the Director of Corporate Sales.
During his tenure with the Hornets, he
increased billable revenues by 35%, managed
the sales staff, all saleable inventory and all
corporate contracts. He also negotiated and
managed affiliate and representation contracts
for the team.
Gerry graduated from the University of Rhode
Island with a BA in English and History in 1980
and did postgraduate work at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Gerry is also a
huge fan of the Carolina Tar Heels, Boston Red
Sox and New England Patriots. He also has an
endless amount of knowledge about the Beatles,
which could come in handy on trivia night.
Gerry is married and has one child; he and his
family live in Charlotte.
Keaira Huffman
Promotions Director
B93.7, Magic 98.9,
New Rock 93.3 the Planet,
Rock 101, and NewsRadio WORD
Entercom Radio
Greenville-Spartanburg, SC
Keaira went to school to become a helicopter
pilot and has her commercial license. You
would think with that license she would be
doing traffic reports, but instead she loves
working in radio promotions, which she has
been doing for five
years. She holds the
position of
Promotions Director
for Entercom Radio,
which houses 5
stations in GreenvilleSpartanburg, SC. She
loves people and
anything that includes
the word fun. She
says “I love my job!”
Scott Lauer
Radio Play-By-Play Announcer
NBA Charlotte Bobcats
Scott Lauer just completed his sixth season as
the Bobcats radio play-by-play announcer,
having spent the previous four seasons as host
of the team’s radio broadcasts. Prior to his
appointment as the Radio Voice of the Bobcats,
Lauer’s work as studio host saw him handle a
30-minute pregame show, along with halftime
and postgame wrap-up programs.
Preceding his work as the Bobcats radio studio
host, Scott served as play-by-play announcer for
the Triple-A
Indianapolis Indians
of the International
League. In
addition, he has
served as play-byplay announcer for
several other minor
league baseball and
basketball teams and
has also delivered
commentary for the
World Series of Poker, held in Las Vegas,
Nevada on WorldSeriesofPoker.com. His
sports broadcasting experience also includes
KWOX in Woodward, Oklahoma, and the
SportsFan Radio Network in Las Vegas,
Nevada, where he served as anchor, host and
producer. Lauer and his wife, Alison, have a
three-year old daughter, Ashley.
Alicia Lingerfeldt
Director of Broadcasting
Performance Racing Network
Concord, NC
Alicia joined PRN
full-time in 1996
after serving as the
associate producer
of Fast Talk, a
sports talk/racing
radio program, for
two and a half
years. She is now
PRN’s Director of
Broadcasting. Her
duties include the
director’s role on
race day, plus directing and producing Fast
Talk fifty-two weeks of the year. Alicia has also
spent time working in the public relations field
of racing.
Lingerfeldt is from Colonial Heights, VA and
graduated from Radford University with a
degree in Communication with radio/television
concentration. She resides in the Charlotte area
with her son Austin.
Dan Mason
President and Chief Executive
Officer
CBS Radio
New York, NY
Dan Mason serves
as President and
Chief Executive
Officer of CBS
Radio. In this role,
he oversees all
aspects relating to
CBS Radio’s more
than 125 stations
across 28 markets,
including all of the
Top 10, as well as
the day-to-day
operations of the
division.
An experienced radio programmer, Mason
returned to CBS Radio in April 2007 after
serving as an adviser and consultant to CBS and
other domestic and international companies in
the radio broadcasting industry for the five
years prior. Before that, Mason was President
of CBS Radio from 1995-2002. As the
executive responsible for operating the group’s
then 184 stations in the largest markets across
the United States, Mason successfully
integrated the original CBS, Group W, Infinity
Radio and American Radio Systems stations,
among the most venerable radio broadcasting
groups in the country, by merging operations,
blending business styles and increasing
profitability. Mason joined Westinghouse as
President of Group W in 1993.
Mason has initiated an aggressive growth
strategy at CBS Radio, including the launch of
new formats at dozens of stations across the
country, the purchase of FM stations in New
York and Washington, DC, and creating CBS
Sports Radio, a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week
lineup of national programming from premier
entities CBS Radio and CBS Sports. Restoring
WCBS-FM to its Classic Hits format was one of
Mason’s first moves upon his return. The
station is an undisputable ratings leader and
consistently ranks among the most popular with
listeners of all ages in New York.
Mason also has diversified the division’s
portfolio with station formats that cater to a
variety of male and female demographics, as
well as myriad age groups from teens to young
adults, and boomers. Top 40 stations have been
launched in New York, Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Houston, and
Phoenix; and the debut of sports programming
on FM in New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta,
Boston, Detroit, Washington, DC, Dallas,
Tampa, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Cleveland is
proving to be a successful business model for
the future.
Under Mason’s leadership, CBS Radio has also
taken a variety of steps to expand its digital
presence, including building an online
streaming platform, and creating mobile
applications that allow listeners to interact with
CBS Radio stations on the go. Radio and
Internet Newsletter (RAIN) has honored the
division with an Internet Radio Award for Best
Digital Strategy.
A native of Louisville, KY, Mason graduated
from Eastern Kentucky University with a
degree in broadcasting, and was later presented
with an honorary Doctorate of Humanities
from the institution. In October 2010, Mason
was graced with the Ralph Gabbard
Distinguished Kentuckian Award in recognition
of his achievements in broadcasting.
The National Association of Broadcasters
named Mason their 2012 National Radio
Award winner for his outstanding leadership in
the radio industry. In addition, Radio Ink
magazine has chosen Mason as Executive of the
Year, and on numerous occasions named him
to their list of Most Powerful People in Radio,
including presenting him with top honors in the
years since he has returned to CBS Radio. He
currently serves as a member of the Board of the
Academy of Country Music.
Jonathan Mauney
Director of Interactive Media
Greater Media
Charlotte, NC
Jonathan Mauney
got his start in radio
in 1993 at the
student-run radio
station, WASU, at
Appalachian State
University. He
quickly became
Production Director,
then served two
years as Station
Manager. Under his
manage-ment, the
station won the National Association of College
Broadcasters "Station of the Year Award" in
1997.
Before graduating with a Bachelor of Science in
Communications and a minor in Graphic
Design, Jonathan worked part-time as a
Marketing Producer and Associate Producer at
WBTV Television in Charlotte and was a
weekend On-Air Personality at WKBC-FM in
North Wilkesboro, NC. In 1997, he joined
WLNK-FM as a weekend On-Air Personality
and Programming Assistant, where he designed
the station’s first website. By 2000, Mauney
had transitioned into full-time web application
development for both WLNK-FM and WBTAM and was a member of the technical
advisory panel for LMiV, a joint internet
venture of several mid-sized broadcast
companies.
In 2006, Jonathan was promoted to Director of
Interactive Media and is charged with shaping
the interactive strategy for what is now known
as Greater Media Charlotte. With a background in marketing, radio, video and web
development, Jonathan and his team have
become industry leaders in creating highengagement, integrated marketing campaigns
for clients.
Mick Mixon
Play-by-Play Announcer
Broadcasting Department
NFL Carolina Panthers
Charlotte, NC
Forest Orion (Mick) Mixon was born on a cold,
rainy Wednesday in October 1958, a Gerber
baby cute as a toddler, but then started to get
progressively worse looking into adulthood.
Mick graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in May
of 1980 with a BA in Broadcast
Journalism/Radio, Television, Motion Pictures.
Mick is now in
his 30th year as a
sports announcer.
He is the former
radio and TV
“Voice of the
Maine Guides”
Triple A
Baseball Club;
spent sixteen
years as Color Analyst/Production Manager for
the Tar Heels Sports Network and did TV
games for Fox Sports South. He taught two
classes in the UNC School of Journalism and
Mass Communications for 6 years and was the
consistent recipient of the department’s highest
professor approval ratings.
Mick was named North Carolina Sportscaster
of the year in both 1999 and 2004 and is the
only non-official to be inducted into the
Atlantic Coast Conference Football Officials
Association. Mick became the Play-by-Play
announcer for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers in
2005.
He is married to Kristin Lyn Tucker, plays
drums in two working bands “Franklin Street”
and “Mick and the Ultras”, likes to jog, lift
weights, write, mess around with cars, do yard
work and play golf.
Jay Nachlis
Program Director & Air Talent
Radio 96.1/ WBBB
Curtis Media
Raleigh, NC
After growing up in the great city of San
Francisco, Jay Nachlis did what any smart 17
year old would do – he moved to one of the
coldest, snowiest cities
in America. After
graduating in 3 ½
years from the
Newhouse School of
Public
Communications at
Syracuse University in
1993 (“Why was I in
such a hurry to
leave??”), Nachlis
worked his way up
from overnights at Hot
AC WYYY (Y94FM)
in Syracuse to Asst. PD/ Afternoon Drive,
while overseeing both Y94FM and the launch
of CHR WWHT (Hot 107.9).
In 1996, Nachlis made the move back home as
Music Director of K101/San Francisco and was
later made Interim PD of the heritage Hot AC
station, making him a Program Director in a
Top 5 market at the ripe age of 24.
1997-2000 saw Nichlis take on his first fullfledged PD gig in Buffalo at WLCE (Alice @
92.9) during the red-hot Modern AC years.
Possibly the only person to have ever
programmed two “Alice” stations, Nachlis took
the helm of Classic Hits WLLC (Alice 106.7),
Detroit, from 2000-2003. A station perhaps
ahead of its time, the quirky-imaged, heavy on
gentre variety template became popular a few
years later as the “Jack” format.
On the night of April 7, 2003, Jay flew into
Raleigh, NC for an interview the next morning
at WBBB/96Rock. That night, he watched in
his hotel room as his beloved Syracuse
Orangemen won their only basketball
championship and his fate was sealed. He has
spent the past 8 years (that’s 56 in “real job”
years) as the Program Director of the Curtis
Media Group owned Mainstream Rock station.
Each day at 3pm, he walks into a phone booth
and changes into “Foster”, his on-air alter ego.
In November 2011, Nachlis helped lead the
successful transition from 96Rock to Adult Hits
Radio 96.1.
Jay lives in Raleigh with his wife, two kids, a
dog, and an unnatural love for karaoke. He is
also the lead vocalist of Radiowave, the 96Rock
DJ Band.
Pam Patton
Account Executive
Beasley Broadcast Group
Fayetteville, NC
Pamela
graduated from
Appalachian
State University
where she
double- majored
in Electronic
Media/Broadcast
and Advertising.
During her time
at Appalachian
State, she
discovered her
passion for radio.
She is one of the first students to attend the
Kellar Radio Talent Institute where she was
given the opportunity to meet several top
industry leaders and was offered her first job in
radio. Pamela began her career as an Account
Executive with the Beasley Broadcast Group in
2007, where she is still employed today. She
currently is the top performer for interactive
sales and is known to go above and beyond for
her clients. Pamela is also heavily involved
with the community where she sits on the board
of the Fayetteville Ladies Power Group, as well
as the Karen Chandler Trust, an organization
that helps local cancer patients. Pamela is a
valued employee and is looking forward to
many more amazing years in the radio industry.
John Reynolds
Operations Manager &
Program Director
KISS 95.1 & K104.7
CBS Radio
Charlotte, NC
John has come a
long way since the
time he became
fascinated with
radio as a nine year
old, playing songs
on his parents’
stereo. He used
their tape recorder
to record himself
talking over intros
of songs while
mimicking the jocks on the big Top 40 station
that inspired him. By age 11, he attended a
broadcast school, which wasn’t exactly typical,
but they let him go at his own pace. By age 13
he got his first radio gig working part-time
running a “Big Band” show on a local radio
station. At 16 he was hired to run the “Casey
Kasem American Top 40 Countdown” on the
#1 station in the market, then on to college and
working nights on the Top 40 station in the
market where he went to school. He was hired
away by the competition to work full time and
work the midday shift in another market.
John has worked at some very impressive radio
stations, including Z100 New York, Z104
Madison, Wisconsin and WKTI Milwaukee.
Doug Rice
President /General Manager
Performance Racing Network
Charlotte, NC
As well as
being the
President and
General
Manager of
PRN, Doug is
also a coanchor of all
the PRN race
broadcasts.
He can also be
heard on-air
on PRN’s “Fast Talk” show each Monday
night. Doug has been a part of PRN since
1988, starting out as the Affiliates Manager.
His broadcasting career started at
WSTP/WRDX in Salisbury, NC, where he
served as the program director, morning show
host and sports play-by-play announcer.
During that time, he received the UPI National
Broadcast Award for Outstanding Sports
Coverage in 1982. Doug’s sports casting career
has included doing play-by play of college
basketball and football.
During his career he has worked on numerous
broadcast teams, including Fox Sports Net and
Indy Racing Radio Network. In addition to his
on air duties with PRN, Doug is also the coanchor for Indy Radio Network broadcast of
the Brickyard 400.
Doug’s hobbies include science fiction, golf,
which he claims to not be very good at, and he’s
a history nut, especially the Civil War.
WQDR quickly rose to become the top billing
station in the Raleigh-Durham market, and
continued to grow, eventually rising to become
the top billing station in the Carolinas, and the
17th highest billing Country station in the
United States. He became Senior Vice
President of Curtis Media Group in 2008, and
added General Manager duties at Classic Hits
WWMY-FM at that time.
In 2010, seeking a new challenge in a larger
market, Trip moved to Charlotte to become
Director of Sales for Greater Media stations
WBT, WLNK and the nationally syndicated
Bob & Sheri Radio Network. In September
2012, Trip was named Vice President and
Station Manager of Greater Media Charlotte.
Trip Savery
Director of Sales
Greater Media Radio
Charlotte, NC
Trip Savery is a
dedicated radio
broadcasting veteran
with over 20 years
of experience.
A native of Chapel
Hill, North
Carolina, Trip has
held a variety of
sales and
management
positions within the
radio industry from small markets to major
markets. He began his career at WQDR in
Raleigh as an account executive. At age 30, he
became General Manager of WCHL in Chapel
Hill and soon added duties at WDNC in
Durham, NC. In 1996, Trip became General
Manager of WKXU and WWND, Raleigh. In
1998, Trip was named National Sales Manager
of Curtis Media Group stations in Raleigh and
continued in that role until 2001, when he was
named General Manager of legendary country
station WQDR. Under Trip’s leadership,
Trip resides in Charlotte with his wife, Dolly,
and their two children, and is an alumnus of the
University of North Carolina, and an avid Tar
Heel fan.
Patrick Sills
Digital Program Director
Clear Channel Media +
Entertainment
Charlotte, NC
Patrick Sills is a
Digital Program
Director at Clear
Channel Media
+ Entertainment,
where he’s
helped lead the
integration of
digital media
into a traditional
media group.
He has over 8
years of experience in content creation, digital
marketing, web metrics/analytics, database
marketing, video production and social media.
He leads a digital team of designers, content
creators and social media marketing over 5
websites. These content sites consistently drive
over 300K in unique visitors and millions of
page views each month. Patrick also works
closely with the sales team to generate new
ideas that leverage digital assets for Clear
Channel’s clients.
Patrick is constantly pushing the envelope by
studying new marketing techniques and trying
new digital products. In his free time, he enjoys
reading, graphic design, and the occasional
home improvement project. You can follow
him on Twitter (@patricksills), but you’re more
apt to see one of his posts coming from the
brands that he represents.
Two Guys Named Chris Morning
Show Team
Rock 92
Dick Broadcasting Group
Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC
Chris Kelly – I was born in Asheboro on April
11, 1971 and things were great. My mother
immediately began doing my laundry…a
practice she continued until I married at age 31.
I had the typical childhood…lots of sports.
Mostly I waited to be picked last and then be
booed when I struck out at the end of the game.
In my teenage years, I bounced back and forth
from high school to a bar-b-que restaurant,
Henry James BBQ, where I specialized in
making hushpuppies on the line. In my
spare time, you could find me shopping
for my clothing at the Portly and
Proud, which has now closed, or
playing Pac-Man at the arcade and
pretending I was not a virgin.
I got my first radio job at a little 5000
watt radio station called the Kickin’
Chicken. They hired me mostly
because they needed someone to fill out
the chicken suit and provide entertainment for
store openings. This did not last long as I
tended to scare the children and, in fact, I am
still dealing with litigation over a 1988 incident
at JC Penny involving a giant chicken suit, a
basketball, and a plunger.
I went through all these humiliating moments
because I knew that after going through all that,
I could eventually attain my dream…attending
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
(their Boone campus) in 1993. It was the
proudest imaginary moment of my life. Years
later, I would honor my college by putting a
UNC logo around my license plate. After
college I immediately went back to work in
radio. My father asked why he had spent the
money on a college education since I went right
back into the job I had before going to college.
Frankly, a good question.
In 2002 I got married. Most people think I
either drugged or paid a woman to be with me,
but I swear I won her heart the old fashioned
way…hypnosis. In 2005, my first child was
born. Now he is seven and I have a three year
old daughter. They are the absolute joys of my
life.
And that is pretty much Chris Kelly in a nut
shell. The things I love doing most…sitting on
the couch, sleeping, and yawning. My biggest
pet peeve…having to GET UP to use the
bathroom. You can hear me as part of the
“Two Guys Named Chris” show, every day for
many hours.
Chris Demm – I started working at Rock 92
when I was just a boy. It was so long ago that I
used to play records…vinyl records! Yes, I was
once young. I jumped high as the sky, had fire
in my eyes, and legs like a stallion. But,
eventually, the legs gave out. Then, I stopped
going out to nightclubs and bars and started
wearing earplugs when I’d go to
concerts.
I have no idea how to work a
computer. I don’t go to the drivethru window, I go inside the
restaurant. I can drive a stick-shift.
I’ve never voted for “American
Idol.” I’m still searching for the
recipe for the perfect margarita. I like circus
peanuts…but not the circus. I only wear a
necktie about twice a year. I try to do
crossword puzzles to keep my brain from
turning to mush. I’m trying my best to deal
with the extra hair that keeps turning up in my
ears. I’d be happy to show you some of the
pictures I took in France. If you’ve got a music
trivia question, I’d love to hear it. And, if I
hadn’t met my wife, I’d be stalking Cindy
Crawford to this day.
Deidre – Deidre was born and
raised in High Point, NC. She
loves Lifetime Television, a good
grit plate, Journey, singing in her
car, a good fish fry, and the Jo
Bro’s. She has an odd, sometimes
scary, obsession with Oprah and
is scared of her basement. Deidre graduated
from the University of North Carolina at
Greensboro. But she openly admits everything
she needs to know she learned at a record store
call Peaches. Oh yeah…and her family still
thinks she works at 102 Jamz!
Biggie – I was born in the small mountain town
of Kingsport, Tennessee in 1983. My parents
liked the town so much they moved to
Charlotte, NC two weeks after
I was born. I moved a lot as a
kid and changed schools quite
a bit, but I feel like moving
and having to constantly make
new friends helped grow my
sense of humor. We finally
landed in Greensboro in 1997
where I went to Western
Guilford High School. I graduated from high
school in 2001…I wouldn’t say I was the best
student…You know what, we’ll just leave it at
that. I had lots of offers from several colleges,
but ended up at GTCC (I didn’t want to be a
show off and go to Harvard or Yale). While I
was at GTCC I studied Engineering,
Automotive Technology, Hotel Restaurant
Management, and Marketing as well. I actually
never finished any of those courses and ended
up leaving school and taking a highly coveted
management position at Papa John’s Pizza. I
had been working there since I was 16 and
decided that now was the right time to make the
jump to management. At the age of 21 I
became one of the youngest General Managers
in the company and excelled at running a store.
The only problem was I hated my life and
working there. In 2006, a good friend of mine
became an intern on the Murphy in the
Morning show and I started helping him do
prank calls and other funny bits. Jack Murphy
took a liking to both of us and I started
appearing on the show sometimes in the
morning. After my friend’s internship was up,
they never took back the key, so we would
sneak into the station late at night and still do
prank calls and bits and send them to Jack.
Jack would still play them and have us on the
show from time to time. My friend got a job
with Murphy in the Morning in 2007, and I
continued to help out when I was needed. I
also started performing Stand-Up Comedy
around this time and really enjoyed it. I
performed at lots of different venues along the
East Coast through late 2007 and early 2008, all
while still keeping my job at Papa John’s. But
in June of 2008, I was offered a full time job on
the “Two Guys Named Chris” show. I said
“yes”, of course, and the rest is history. I have
been the Producer of the “Two Guys Named
Chris” show for four years now and I love my
job. Oh, and if you’re wondering about how I
quit Papa John’s once I got my radio job, it
went a lot like the scene in “Half Baked” when
Scarface quit his job; I’m sure some of you
know what I’m talking about.
Bruce Wheeler
Vice President/ General Manager
WKZL & WKRR
Dick Broadcasting Company
Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC
Bruce is a thirty-eight year radio veteran with a
background in programming, sales and
management. His career began in Lincoln,
Nebraska, followed by programming stops in
Denver, Chicago and Columbus, Ohio. He’s
been with Dick Broadcasting in Greensboro for
the past twenty-eight years, ten of those years as
the Vice President of Programming for the
fourteen D.B.C. stations. These stations
represented all formats and approaches. He’s
worked with all sorts of research, strategic and
tactical projects. Bruce’s resumé includes
eighteen years as
the General
Manager of Rock 92
and 107-5 KZL.
He has served as an
elected member of
the Arbitron
Advisory Council
representing the top
fifty markets. He’s
also served as an
advisor to the film
and broadcast
department at the University of North Carolina,
Greensboro. Bruce is a past President of the
North Carolina Association of Broadcasters and
is a current Board member. He is the 2009
recipient of the Distinguished Service Award
presented by the Association at their annual
convention. Bruce resides in Greensboro with
his wife, Terry. They have two sons. Sam is a
senior at Appalachian State University and his
brother, Mitch, is a graduate of the University
of North Carolina, Greensboro.
Dan Vallie
Founder, Vallie●Richards Donovan
Consulting
Director, Kellar Radio Talent
Institute, Appalachian State
University
Boone, NC
Dan Vallie is a 42-year broadcast veteran and
Founder of Vallie•Richards•Donovan
Consulting, Inc., a premiere consulting firm
that, over the years,
can list almost all the
large broadcast
groups in America
among its impressive
clientele. Dan has
worked in practically
every level of
broadcasting,
beginning as an air
talent, sales,
programming to
operations, vice
president of a
broadcast group, to ownership of both the
consulting firm and, ownership of a radio
station and classified paper which he sold in
2004.
Dan’s successful career, now in his fourth
decade in radio, has been relentlessly innovative
as evidenced by a career that has him at the
forefront of various formats. In the 1980s, he
debuted legendary Top 40 stations, including B97 in New Orleans and B-94 in Pittsburgh; he
helped pioneer the Hot AC format in the early
1980s (Y-98, St. Louis) and the Dance format,
where as Vice President of Programming, he led
the effort to debut Hot105 in Miami.
In the 1990s, Dan and Vallie•Richards•
Donovan Consulting partnered with the
internationally respected Gallup Organization,
based in Princeton, NJ, and Lincoln, NE, to
form Vallie-Gallup, which performed research
and consulting for stations in various formats.
He developed the idea of “conceptualizing”
radio stations and coined the term
“stationality,” plus created the MorningMasters
program for high-profile talent.
Dan was a leader in the evolvement of the
Adult Contemporary format, and
Vallie•Richards•Donovan Consulting remains
at the forefront of all variations of the
Contemporary format today with Top 40, Adult
Hits and Soft, Mainstream, and Hot AC clients.
In 2007, working with Appalachian State
University, Dan debuted the inaugural Kellar
Radio Talent Institute, a program to teach and
prepare college students to enter professional
broadcasting and creating a “go to” place for
the broadcast industry to find young talent. The
program debuted with rave reviews from the
industry.
Dan is a non-traditional and creative thinker
who believes creative discoveries are best
maximized when they have practical
application. Prior to founding
Vallie•Richards•Donovan Consulting, Dan was
Vice President of Programming for EZ
Communications, a group that merged into
American Radio Systems, which sold to CBS.
Dan is a frequent speaker at various industry
conventions, including the National
Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Convention
(and is an eight-year NAB Radio Award
Selection Academy member), the NAB Radio
Executive Group Owner Fly-In, the former
Radio and Records conventions, National
Religious Broadcasters convention, The
Midwest Conclave, The Gallup World
Conference, Gospel Music Association
convention and for various broadcasting
groups.
Dan is frequently asked to contribute articles
and comments to leading industry publications,
including Inside Radio, Radio-Info.com, Radio
On Line, FMQB, Tom Taylor Now and others.