A Few Thank You’s Before We Get Inducted Into the Country Radio Hall of Fame

Three weeks from today Todd, Susan and I will be inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame in Nashville. I still am having trouble believing that this is really happening. No one from this area has ever been inducted and no trio has ever been inducted. We are very honored to blaze that trail. I feel life has exceeded my wildest dreams and I am forever grateful for the opportunities I have been given and the people I am surrounded by. Todd and Susan are the best partners and friends I could dream of. I love and respect them with all of me and without all three of us, it just doesn't work.

I started this whole thing in the mid 80's when I decided to go to Brown Institute for Broadcasting in Minneapolis, Minnesota and pursue my life long dream of being on the radio, making people laugh and playing the music that I love. Thanks to Bob Beck in Bismarck/Mandan, North Dakota, I was given that first opportunity when I left Brown Institute and got a part time job at my hometown radio station Y93 in Bismarck. I would stay there for about a year and learned a ton from watching Bob do his thing. He was my first radio guru.

We moved here around 1987 to follow my wife's career with Hardee's when they built a store in downtown Greeley. I tried to find a part time radio job. I was hired by what was then KIMN- FM which was just about to relaunch. They had me do a shift and as I was doing my first break the boss came in and said "try to not sound so up and happy, that is what our competition sounds like and we are trying to sound different and more mellow". I asked who that competitor was. He told me "KUAD" so I told him I quit and went and applied at KUAD. My wife was not happy that I had quit my job on day one but it was the best move I ever made. I was hired at KUAD and have been right here ever since.

Thank you to Tim Dunbar who originally hired me here. Thank you to Dan Conway for being such a great friend and leader. I miss you. Thank you to Mark Callaghan and Cal Hall for your years of guidance and friendship. Thank you to Bob Moody for being the first man to make me feel like I should set my goals and little higher because we were as good as anyone in the business. I will be forever grateful to Bob. Thank you to George King for coming into my career when I was ready to walk away from it. You made me remember why I love this and taught me more than you will ever know. I love you man. Thank you to Justin Tyler and Pat Kelley for being such good friends and the best people to work for and with that I have ever experienced. Thank you to Townsquare Media for letting us do what we do freely. That is very rare in our business. Thank you to my buddy Dave Collins who always felt we deserved this honor and made us believe. He will be giving our induction speech. Thank you to YOU. You are why this is happening. Thank you for spending your mornings with us and giving us the honor of sharing our lives together. This is the greatest place in the world to live. Many travel all over chasing a certain sized market or dollar amount. All I have ever wanted is to be happy and love what I do. I found it and quit looking. This is where I am supposed to be. Thank you to my whole family for putting up with all the demands of this job and being there for me every step of the way. I love you guys. Lastly, I want to thank the songwriters and singers who have given us this amazing music that bonds us all and gives me the platform to do what I do. Your stories touch us and unite us in this family of country music.

I am so proud of this honor and that The Good Morning Guys will be remembered forever in our field. This is beyond a dream. Thank you for this. I truly love you and am honored to have you in my wonderful life. Get ready Nashville. The Good Morning Guys are coming.