Today is World Radio Day!

Today is WORLD RADIO DAY!  We want to celebrate along with you and share some fun stories from our Country 107.3 announcers on why they love radio!

Almost every day I have a moment where I can’t believe this is my “Job”.  Radio for me started at Fanshawe College in London, applying to the radio broadcasting program so I could get my parents off my back about not being in school and have a fun few years while I figured out what I really want to do with life.  Fast Forward 8 years and too many stories to count and I can’t picture myself doing anything else. Every day you’re learning more about yourself, more about your community, more about the world, and more about your listeners, all from a booth inside the station. To me it’s not about the music, it’s not about the latest trend, and it’s not about what’s making headlines, it’s about the connection we build and the stories we share with each other. Without you, the people who tune in on your drive to work each morning, we’re just a bunch of people sitting in a room taking to ourselves…and I’m pretty sure that’s grounds to be admitted. So thank you letting us do what we do, we don’t take it for granted! – Daly

Why do I love radio? It’s really simple, for all the negativity that is shown across social media in the world; Radio gives us a chance to have an escape. A chance to hear a story that can make you laugh, or smile, or even maybe you learn something brand new. To be able to just enjoy yourself for a bit of time every day is so important and that’s what radio truly gives us. – Brendan

Almost 40 years on radio, I still love it for the reasons I got in it. I get to meet the coolest people on the planet…faithful listeners, amazing artists, passionate community leaders…and I get to work with some remarkably talented people, too. Most important, I get to help people. It can be something small like answering a listener’s question about a song or a singer, encouraging a new, young artist, participating in a charity fundraiser, being a source of information (from simple things to weather forecasts or road conditions) or even a source of comfort during trying times (9/11 for example). Two quick examples, the first happened without me knowing it at the time. I played a song by a local artist about being true to yourself. Little did I know a teen listener was about to kill herself but she stopped and actually listened to the song and it convinced her not to do it. The second happened when I was doing a live request show. For some reason, he said something in my voice made him trust me. At first, he said he was dying of cancer. But once on the air, he changed it and said he was dying of AIDS. Momentarily shocked, I politely asked how he got it. He said dirty needles. I wished him well and played his request and dedication. Later, he said he had lied to everyone—his friends and his family—about his disease, saying it was cancer instead of AIDS. He said just talking with me convinced him to face the truth. We kept in touch and he decided to make a cross-country trip to say goodbye to his loved ones and wanted to meet me during his travels. We never met. His condition got worse during his travels and he died before we could meet. I never would have imagined I could have such a positive impact on someone facing the hardest time of their life. I’m glad I did and it was radio that helped make that connection. -Randy

I suppose telling a kid they “talk too much” might be foreshadowing a career path. At least, that’s the way it worked for me. Music was a huge deal in my house. Sundays meant the oldies. My (very young) parents were loading up on their vinyl to spin on the record cabinet in the living room, handed down from my Great-Grandmother.
And that beast – the twin cabinet, vinyl-spinnin, 8-track-accommodating, AM/FM tuner – blasted out the analog joy of Conway & Loretta, The Bangles & The Bee Gees, The Cars & Supertramp.
As for me – well, you can imagine I was the 8-year-old, donning her Corey Hart Wayfarers, “coming to you live from Mom’s living room”, as I dropped the needle on my favourite LPs.
Now that cabinet is the party fixture in my living room. And I’ve never been more thankful to be the kid who “talked too much”. – Care