Guest Professional Faculty - Kellar Radio Talent Institute

Guest Professional Faculty
Dave Aiken
Assistant
Program &
Music Director,
WKRR-FM
(Rock92)
Greensboro, NC
Dave Aiken is
Assistant Program and Music Director fo WKRRFM (Rock92). Known to listeners as “Weather
Dave,” he also hosts his own afternoon show
on Rock92 and is a member of the “Two Guys
Named Chris” morning show. Aiken has been
with Dick Broadcasting Company (DBC) since
2003 and has served in many facets in both
Creative Services and as Promotions Director.
Prior to his work with DBC, Dave was a staff
meteorologist for WFMY-TV, Greensboro, and
a freelance meterologist at WXII-TV, WinstonSalem. He has also done work for the Hazardous
Weather Preparedness Institute, providing
corporations, sports organizations, and public
emergency response teams with assistance
in developing hazardous weather planning
and staff training throughout the Carolinas
and Virginia. He has also 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 and
Television Broadcasting. He lives in Greensboro,
North Carolina.
Don Anthony
Founder & President,
Talentmasters;
Publisher, The
Morning Mouth
Magazine;
Creator & Host,
Morning Show Boot
Camp and Talk Show
Boot Camp
Atlanta, GA
Don Anthony is the founder and president of
Talentmasters, pubisher of The Morning Mouth
Magazine and Jockline, and is the creator and
host of Morning Show Boot Camp and Talk
Show Boot Camp. As the titles suggest, for over
20 years Don’s life has been consumed by the
business of personality radio. Each August for
the last 20 years, Don brings together hundreds
of the top personalities from throughout the U.S.
and abroad for his highly acclaimed Morning
Show Boot Camp. It has become radio’s largest
gathering of its type. Through his conferences,
his monthly and daily publications for talent
and his daily talent search operation, he’s
developed a unique and well-honed insight into
the innerworkings and elements of successful
radio shows.
Keaira Bray
Promotions Manager,
B93.7 & Magic 98.9
Entercom Radio
GreenvilleSpartanburg, 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
Guest Professional Faculty
promotions, which she has been doing for four
years. She now holds the position of Promotions
Manager for Entercom Radio, which includes
B93.7 and Magic 98.9 in Greenville-Spartanburg,
SC. She loves people and anything that includes
the word fun. She says, “I love my job!”
Arroe Collins
Production
Director,
Clear Channel
Radio
Charlotte, NC
Who and what is
Arroe Collins...
a student first, a
teacher second.
Thirty years ago it was his vision to help shape
a broadcasting future by playing the multiple
roles of each panel that creates the four walls
of a radio station. He then discovered the art of
it, and the opportunity to make a difference not
only in a listener’s life, but also those who’ve
invested their money inside 30- and 60-second
commercials.
Arroe says, “too many people get into radio to
talk, why should I listen if what you’re saying
has nothing to do with me?” That very thought
dominates his vision in commercial production.
Every Commercial should ask, “what’s in
it for the listener?” Arroe doesn’t expect
everyone to line up and suddenly support
his style of creative ambition, yet, he feels a
production room has the strength to empower
more listeners on a daily basis than the most
brilliantly delivered one-on-one break.
“In radio we are taught to communicate over
the intro of songs, rarely does someone step
up and show us why we create commercials
in a way that is more effective by putting the
listener first. My calling is to re-create the way
commercials are delivered. Emotion sells. Radio
works if you allow it to do what it was meant
to accomplish. We aren’t a billboard; we are
theatre of the mind. Creativity runs rampant
within the studio walls and true broadcasters
locate it. Once there, his or her life changes
because they spend every day thereafter
wanting to share an energy source many never
see.”
Arroe openly admits he still finds incredible
pleasure in creating seven-second breaks
that have more impact than a 20-minute
conversation about comedy or politics.
Arroe is also a published author, up for his thirddegree black belt in the martial arts, was the
first two-time employee of the year for Jefferson
Pilot, hosted three separate shows in different
markets for Clear Channel and has displayed his
artwork in three galleries. What motiviates him
is one simple thought, “winning is a choice,” and
he loves watching others feel success.
Kerby Confer
Owner, Forever
Broadcasting
Baltimore, MD
Kerby’s interest in radio
was kindled at the age of
13 when he earned the
Boy Scout Radio Merit
Badge. At 15 he “earned”
his first job as a DJ in his
hometown of Williamsport, PA by promising
to help in the building of a new radio station in
exchange for any part time job when the station
went on the air. Gradually he moved into larger
markets as an on-air personality, including
Harrisburg, PA and Syracuse, NY.
In his twenties he worked on-air at WCAO
radio and WBAL TV Baltimore and WDCA
Guest Professional Faculty
TV in Washington. He pioneered the first
integrated TV dance show in America, which
has been satirized in the movie and Broadway
productions of “Hairspray.” His frequent guests
included major stars of the era, including
The Beatles, Supremes, Rolling Stones, Stevie
Wonder and others. From 1964-1984 Kirby
was Baltimore’s highest rated local radio/TV
personality.
He eventually moved into management at
WYRE Annapolis, MD and in 1975 purchased
his first radio property, WILQ Williamsport,
PA. In 1978 he founded KSSN Little Rock,
AK and from there he formed Keymarket
Communications in the 1980s, with stations
in markets that included Harrisburg, PA;
Columbia, SC; Jackson, MS, and then stations
in Houston, St. Louis, Detroit, and Los Angeles.
During this era, he created the “Froggy” brand
for his country music stations.
In the late 1990s Keymarket sold its 35
stations for $133 million and, through a merger
with Sinclair, became the 10th largest radio
broadcaster in the U.S. Over the years, he has
owned an interest in and operated over 200
stations and is still active in 70 properties. In
2003 Kerby was inducted into the Pennsylvania
Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Jack Daniel
Program Director & Onair Talent,
106.5 The End FM
Clear Channel
Charlotte, NC
Jack’s 40-year career began
in eastern North Carolina.
He attended East Carolina
University and first worked
in Charlotte radio in
1976. In Charlotte, he has
programmed and worked on-air at WPEG, Big
Ways, and WROQ, WJZR, and WBCY. During his
stint at WRFX he held the positions of on-air,
program director and general manager, then he
went on to WEDJ as general manager until he
joined WEND in 1995, where he is on-air and
program director of 106.5 The End. Jack is a
staple, and some would say, legend, in Charlotte
radio.
Jack and his wife, Carla, have been married
for 34 years and have two children, Adam and
Alexandra.
DZL
On-air Talent,
106.5 WEND FM
Clear Channel
Charlotte
DZL is the host of
WEND 106.5 The End’s
afternoon drive radio
show, known as the
“Budweiser Lounge.”
DZL also hosts a night show on WTKX TK101
in Pensacola, FL, and a morning show at KCCQ
105.1 Channel Q in Des Moines, IA In addition
to three daily radio shows, DZL is a nationally
syndicated radio host with over 65 markets
on the weekends. You can hear him all the way
from Seattle, WA to Tampa, FL. Here’s a little bit
about DZL straight from the horse’s mouth!
“I was born and raised in Atlanta, GA,” says
DZL. “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! I am 33 years old
and recently married to a woman who is WAY
too beautiful to be with me!”
DZL has worked in radio for over 12 years, and
got his start at WZGC in Atlanta in the 1990s.
Since then, he has worked in South Carolina
and New York and has been in Charlotte for the
last six years. DZL’s personal interests outside
Guest Professional Faculty
of the radio station keep him involved in the
industry to some degree as well. He is the lead
singer and guitar player in a rock band, and he
loves to play golf, even though he says he isn’t
very good at it. He currently is working out at a
gym that caters to mixed martial arts (a.k.a. cage
fighting). “Just the training... you won’t catch
me fighting in the ring though... “I’m too pretty!
J/K!”
Jason Goodman
Program Director,
WKZL & WKRR
ROCK92
Greensboro/WinstonSalem, NC
Jason has sat in the
Program Director’s
chair at 107.5 WKZL
and held 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 Rock92.
Prior to WKZL, Jason was Assistant Program
Director and Music Director at The Point WPTE
in Norfolk/Virginia Beach, VA, while also pulling
an on-air shift and handling the imaging of the
station. Jason worked as an air personality at
three other very respected heritage top forty
stations, WXLK/K92 Roanoke, WRVQ/Q94,
WNVZ/Z104 Norfolk, all in Virginia. He was
nominated for Radio Music Awards for Music
Director/Assistant Program Director of the year
in 2003 and 2004. Jason Graduated from Old
Dominion University with a Bachelor of Science
degree.
Dave Goren
National Sportscasters &
Sportswriters Association
& Hall of Fame Executive
Director
Winston-Salem, NC
Dave Goren was born and
raised in Taunton, MA. He
began his journalism career
as editor of his eighth-grade
newspaper, then moved on to cover high school
sports for the Taunton Daily Gazette as a high
school junior.
Dave graduated from Syracuse Univeristy’s
Newhouse School of Communications, where
he majored in Broadcast Journalism. While
at Syracuse, he got involved at student radio
station WAER, doing everything from football
and basketball play-by-play to daily newscasts
and sportscasts.
Following graduation, Dave continued to write
sports for the Gazette and branched out into
commercial radio in Brockton, MA, doing high
school football and basketball play-by-play, as
well as scoreboard and magazine shows. In
1984, Dave started his TV career as an associate
sports producer at WJAR-TV in Providence, RI,
where he eventually worked his way on-air as a
sports reporter.
Four years later, Dave moved south as sports
reporter/producer at WXII-TV in WinstonSalem. In 2001, he was named Sports Director
and became Monday-through-Friday 6 and 11
o’clock anchor a year later. In all, Dave worked
20 years at WXII, covering everything from the
NCAA Basketball Championship to the Super
Bowl to Dale Earnhardt’s death at Daytona.
As part of an industry wide decline in the
importance of local TV sports, Dave was laid off
in December 2008. Two months later, he was
notified that he was named 2008 North Carolina
Guest Professional Faculty
Sportscaster of the Year in a peer vote. He came
to Salisbury in May 2009 to recieve his award,
was encouraged to apply for NSSA’s Executive
Director job and was hired by the NSSA Board of
Directors to start September 1, 2009. Away from
the office, Dave lives in Winston-Salem with his
wife, Ada, and sons, AJ and Max. He just finished
his 11th year playing ice hockey for the Bears of
the Piedmont Hockey Assocation and coaches
Max’s Little League team, The Reds.
Brian Hall
Director of News/Talk
Programming,
Clear Channel
Asheville, NC
Brian discovered his love
of radio back in the big hair
80’s at NC State University
where he got his start at
WKNC, the student run
radio station. While in the triangle area Brian
worked for several radio stations out of college
and covered ACC sports for ABC, WFAN, NCNN
and other networks. Brian was the play-by-play
voice for the NC State Women’s Basketball team
under legendary coach Kay Yow from 19861989 and worked as the voice of Duke Women’s
basketball in the 1994 season. Brian was with
Premiere Radio Networks from 1994-2002,
and has worked at Clear Channel Asheville as
Program Director, Sales Manager, Sports host
and High School Football play-by-play. He lives
in Black Mountain with his wife Mary Elizabeth,
two dogs, and a cat.
Henry Hinton
President, Inner
Banks Media
Greenville, NC
Henry is President of
Inner Banks Media,
which owns four
properties in eastern
NC, and host of “Talk
of the Town,” a daily
radio and television show on WTIB 94.3FM and
Cable 7. His 37-year career began in the campus
radio station and spans radio and TV in Norfolk,
Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Greenville. Henry is also
guest host and panelist for statewide political
talk show, NC Spin, that airs on 13 TV and 20
radio stations in NC.
He founded New East Communications in 1989,
which has been the parent company of three
radio stations and other related companies.
Henry has been honored by state broadcasters
with the 2001 Earl Gluck Distinguished
Service Award, and in 2000 by the ECU Alumni
Association Distinguished Service Award, and
named Greenville’s Business Leader of the year
by the Chamber in 2002.
Henry is currently Secretary of the East Carolina
University Foundation Board and on the ECU
School of Fine Arts, Music and Communications
Advancement and Advisory Council.
He is formerly President of the North Carolina
Association of Broadcasters, former Chair of the
Greenville Pitt County Chamber of Commerce,
and formerly on the board of the NC Center
for Public Policy Research. He also was the
color sports announcer on the Tar Heels Sports
Network broadcasting UNC-Chapel Hill football
and basketball.
Guest Professional Faculty
Henry is married to Debbie and their son, Hank,
is a business partner in Inner Banks Media, their
daughter, Courtney, is a nurse in Charleston SC.
Scott Lauer
Play-by-Play
Announcer,
NBA Charlotte
Bobcats
Charlotte, NC
Scott Lauer just
completed his third
season as the Bobcats
radio play-by-play
announcer, having spent
the previous three 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-by-Play 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,
NV., on WorldSeriesofPoker.com. His sports
broadcasting experience also includes KWOX
in Woodward, OK., and the SportsFan Radio
Network in Las Vegas, where he served as
anchor, host and producer.
Scott and his wife, Alison, were married in May
2008.
Jonathan
Mauney
Director of
Interactive
Media,
Greater Media
Radio
Charlotte, NC
Jonathan got his
start in radio in
1993 at the student-run radio station, WASU, at
Appalachian State University. He quickly became
Production Director and then served two years
as Station Manager. Under his management, the
station won the National Association of College
Broadcasters “Station of the Year Award” in
1997.
Before graduating with a Bachelor of Science in
Communication and a minor in Graphic Design,
Jonathan worked part-time as a Marketing
Producer and News Writer/Associate Producer
at WBTV Television in Charlotte, NC, 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
and designed the station’s first website. By
2000, Jonathan had transitioned into full-time
web application development for both WLNKFM and WBT-AM and was a member of the
technical advisory panel for LMiV, a short-lived
joint internet venture with Jefferson-Pilot
Communications and four other broadcast
companies. In 2006, Jonathan was promoted to
Interactive Director and is charged with shaping
the interactive strategy for what is now known
as Greater Media Charlotte.
Guest Professional Faculty
Matt Mittan
organizations. He also serves on the Board of
Directors for the Western North Carolina Red
Cross, an organization he has been affiliated
with since 1989.
Matt Mittan is Western
North Carolina’s premier
talk radio host, based
out of Asheville. He has
called western North
Carolina home since 1996, working with
numerous print and radio media outlets around
the region and across the country.
Mick Mixon
Talk Radio Host, “Take
A Stand,”
WWNC/Clear Channel
Asheville, NC
Besides his daily show out of Asheville, he has
done work with stations including WBT in
Charlotte, Rush Radio WRDU in Raleigh, as well
as stations from Wilmington, NC to Savannah,
GA. Matt served as the Executive Editor of a
chain of weekly papers in NC and SC as well
as published his own newspaper out of Black
Mountain, NC. He also serves as a political
commentator for BBC Radio in London and has
been featured in publications such as USA Today
and Talkers Magazine.
His background, however, is that of an Air Force
Medic. Matt served for eight years in the U.S.
Armed Forces and served overseas during Gulf
War I.
Matt takes a “front porch” approach to his radio
program, chatting about anything from news
topics to pop culture. Matt says that first and
foremost, he likes to have fun while still offering
thought provoking discussion. The topics are as
broad and unpredictable as the people who call
America home. Matt rebels against entrenched
political camps and refers to himself as a diehard independent.
Aside from his on air resume’, Matt is also an
active member of the community, volunteering
his time and services to numerous local civic
Play-by-Play
Announcer,
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
Bachelor of Arts 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 16 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 six 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, and he plays
drums in two working bands, “Franklin Street”
and “Mick and the Ultras.” He also likes to jog,
lift weights, write, mess around with cars, do
yard work and play golf.
Guest Professional Faculty
Chase Murphy
Program Director
& On Air Talent
WFBC-FM/B93.7 &
WSPA-FM/Magic 98.9,
Entercom Radio
GreenvilleSpartanburg, SC
Chase is Operations
Manager, Program
Director and Brand
Manager for both WFBC B93.7 and WSPA Magic
98.9 in the Greenville-Spartanburg, SC market,
and is the Midday Air Talent on B93.7.
Chase has worked on air and programmed in
San Angelo, TX.; Little Rock, AR.; Charleston,
SC; Boston, MA.; and Modesto, CA. His awards
include Radio and Records CHR/POP Station
of the Year; nominated for RAB PD of the Year;
Gavin Hot AC Small Market Station of the Year;
Gavin HOT AC Small Market PD/OM of the Year;
Boston Globe “Best Radio Promotion”; and US
Weekly “Top 50 Hottest Jocks.”
Chase has written for/been published by: R&R
Magazine, Network 40, Gavin, FMQB, Billboard,
AllAccess, Izine and the Modesto Bee. Chase was
featured in the movie “O,” and he is a FOX Kids
Club host and has hosted the Ronald McDonald
House Telethon.
Murphy in the Morning
107.5 WKZL
Greensboro- Winston
Salem-High Point
Jack Murphy began
his distinguished career
in radio at the age of
15 as the full-time
night jock at WGAA
in Cedartown, GA.
After graduating from the Columbia School
of Broadcasting in Atlanta, he got his first
morning drive show at the age of 17 on WNEA
in Newman, GA., and worked weekends at WQXI
Atlanta. He later became the Program Director
and Morning Drive Host at WBTR/WCBB in
Carrollton, GA, and worked weekends at WZGC
Atlanta. In 1979 he was hired to do mornings at
WSGA Savannah then was promoted to Midday
and News Director at WSB-FM Atlanta, then to
Afternoon Drive at
WWSH Philadelphia.
Jack did mornings at WWYD Atlanta, and by the
time he was at WCCO Minneapolis, he had the
reputation as a morning show turnaround
artist. He then did mornings at WROQ Charlotte,
Z100 New York, KKLQ San Diego, KHYI Dallas,
and WQXI Atlanta. He has been the morning
show host at WKZL in the Greensboro-Winston
Salem-High Point market since 1992 and has
led the show to consistent Arbitron wins over
the last 19 years. Jack is known for his strong
opinions, quick wit, great storytelling abilities,
funny impersonations, and his charity, Murphy’s
Kids, which has raised and donated over 1
million dollars to deserving families in the
Triad.
Murphy in the
Morning’s Katie
O’Brien is a proud
Appalachian State
graduate. She got her start
at KISS 95.1 and WKQC
104.7, (CBS) in Charlotte.
Over the course of a three
month internship, Katie
worked an incredible 4,500
hours. After graduation,
she was hired by KISS and
WKQC in the promotions
department. After
relocation to Winston Salem in September of
Guest Professional Faculty
2005, Katie was hired by 107.5 KZL and Rock
92. (Dick Broadcasting, Inc) That is where Jack
met her and thought she would be great on
the show. He was right. She became a member
of the show in January of 2006 and is known
for having the best laugh in the Triad. Katie
is the lone “female” voice of the show and has
won numerous People’s Choice awards for
best female Co-host in the market. In addition
to being Co-host, Katie is Associate Executive
Producer, manages the KZL website, documents
every moment of the show, produces a “daily”
sheet, documents and names the morning show
replays, and much much more.
Murphy in the
Morning’s Jared
Pike got his start in
2004 while in college
at UNC-Greensboro
where he and a friend
started the first ever
sports talk show on
UNCG’s WUAG (The Jared
and Cameron Show).
In 2006 he became an
intern for Murphy in the
Morning and made his mark with man on the
street stunts, prank calls and bit ideas, He was
officially hired as Co-host/Executive Producer/
Writer for the show in 2007. In addition, Jared
also assists in scheduling the show, setting up
interviews and is the resident sports expert.
Some notable interviews have included
President Barack Obama, former President
Bill Clinton, Coach K, and his all-time favorite
interview, Coach Roy Williams (Loves Carolina).
Jared is the proud father of a baby girl named
Ava and is expecting his second child with his
wife, Heather, in October 2011.
Jay Nachlis
Program Director & Air
Talent, 96Rock & 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 APD/Afternoon Drive, while
overseeing both Y94FM and the launch of CHR
WWHT (Hot 107.9).
In 1996, Nachlis made the move back home
as MD 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 Nachlis 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
genre variety template became popular a few
years later as the “Jack” format.
On the night of April 7, 2003 Nachlis 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. Nachlis has spent the past
8 years (that’s 56 in “real job” years) as the
Guest Professional Faculty
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. 96Rock is
currently enjoying the highest ratings in the
station’s history.
Jay Nachlis lives in Raleigh, NC with his
wife, two kids, a dog, and an unnatural love
for karaoke. He is also the lead vocalist of
Radiowave, the 96Rock DJ
Kent Pike
Local Sales Manager,
CBS Radio: WSOC,
WFNZ, WCBN, WNKS,
WPEQ,WBAV, WKQC
Charlotte, NC
A 2002 Electronic
Media Graduate from
Appalachian State,
and Department of
Communications
Alumni Council
Member (2002-present.) Kent began his radio
broadcasting career in 1995 at WKVS in Lenoir,
NC in promotions and as a board operator.
In 1998 Kent joined the Appalachian Sports
Network as the Studio Engineer until 2002.
In 2001 he joined WMMY-FM in Jefferson, NC
as the General Manager. In 2003 Kent joined
CBS Radio in Charlotte, where he is employed
today as a Senior Account Executive. Kent
has also worked for NBC News and WIOQ in
Philadelphia. He resides with his wife, Joanna,
and their two daughters in Troutman, NC.
George Reed
Managing Director, Media
Services Group, Florida
& Monticello Media,
Charlottesville, VA
George Reed is co-founder
and manager of Media
Services Group’s Florida
office and San Juan affiliate
and has been managing
director of the firm since 2003. He has been
actively involved in the broadcasting industry
since 1972. In 1987, he joined Chapman
Associates as a broker/consultant. Mr. Reed’s
practice includes station brokerage, valuations,
and investment banking.
George has assisted in transitions totaling
almost a billion dollars. He has formed and
launched two different broadcasting companies
and handled the stations’ acquisitions. He
owns Monticello Media, a company of six
radio stations in Charlottesville, VA, where he
developed the management team, negotiated
and closed the transaction and launched two
new formats. He has served as an expert witness
in State and Federal courts concerning station
valuations and as a court appointed Receiver.
Mr. Reed received his BBA degree from Mercer
University and his MBA from Georgia State
University’s Executive MBA program. He is
a past President of the National Association
of Media Brokers and serves on the Board
of Directors of the Georgia Association of
Broadcasters, North Carolina Association of
Broadcasters, and The John Bayliss Broadcast
Foundation.
Guest Professional Faculty
John Reynolds
Operations Manager
and Program
Director, KISS FM &
K104.7 FM
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 and using their tape recorder
to record himself talking over intros of songs,
micmicking the jocks on the big Top 40 station
that inspired him. By age 11 he attended a
broadcast school, not exactly typical, but they
let him go at his own pace, and by 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 AT40
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 do the midday shift in
another market. John has worked at some very
impressive radio stations, including Z100 New
York,Z104 Madison, WI and WKTI Milwaukee.
Today John is the Operations Manager and
Program Director of the CBS owned KISS FM
and K104.7 FM in Charlotte.
Doug Rice
President/General
Manager,
Performance
Racing Network
Concord, NC
Doug is the President
and General Manager
of PRN, and 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 when he
started out as the Affiliates Manager.
Doug’s 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 Doug received the UPI National Broadcast
Award for Outstanding Sports Coverage in 1982.
Doug’s sportscasting 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 the Indy Radio Network broadcast of
the Brickyard 400.
Doug’s hobbies include science fiction and golf,
which he claims to not be very good at, and he’s
a history nut, especially for the Civil War.
Michael
Thompson
Director, Corporate
Communications,
NBA Charlotte
Bobcats
Charlotte, NC
Michael Thompson
is now in his fourth
season with Bobcats
Sports & Entertainment
as Director of Corporate Communications. After
more than seven seasons with the Hornets
in Charlotte, New Orleans and Oklahoma
City, Thompson returned to the Carolinas to
manage the Bobcats’ corporate public relations
efforts, as well as those of the Bobcats Youth
Foundation and Time Warner Cable Arena.
Guest Professional Faculty
Before joining Bobcats Sports & Entertainment,
Thompson helped the Hornets through their
temporary relocation to Oklahoma City in the
wake of Hurricane Katrina, acting as team
spokesman on all non-basketball issues and
as a liaison between local and national media
and Hornets ownership/management. Prior
to working in the team’s communications
department, Thompson served as the Hornets’
community relations assistant for two seasons
in Charlotte and director of youth programs for
two seasons in New Orleans.
Thompson began his professional sports career
in the Continental Basketball Association, where
he was eventually named director of public
relations for one of its teams.
A graduate of Pacific Lutheran University in
Tacoma, WA, Thompson was born in Chicago,
but raised in Hong Kong, where he graduated
from the Hong Kong International School. He
and his wife, Tara, reside in Ft. Mill with their
daughter, Madeleine.
Bruce Wheeler
Vice President/
General Manager,
WKZL & WKRR
Dick Broadcasting
Greensboro, NC
Bruce is a 34-year
radio veteran with
a background in
programming, sales
and management.
His career began in
Lincoln, NE, followed
by programming stops in Denver, Chicago and
Columbus, OH.
Bruce has been with Dick Broadcasting (DBC)
in Greensboro for the past 24 years, 10 of those
as the Vice President of Programming for the
14 DBC stations. These stations represent all
formats and approaches. He’s worked with all
sorts of research, strategic and tactical projects.
Bruce’s resume includes 14 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 50
markets.
Bruce 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,
and sons, Mitch and Sam.
Leonard Wheeler
President, Wheeler
Broadcasting
Roanoke, VA
Leonard Wheeler began
his broadcasting career
in 1979 in San Diego,
CA, working in radio
sales while attending
San Diego State
University. Leonard,
the son of pioneer broadcaster, Mel Wheeler,
soon joined the family business with his parents
and brothers. Mel Wheeler, Inc. then began
an expansion into radio and television that
continues to this day.
From 1981 to 1983, Leonard worked at the
company’s stations, WSLC/WSLQ in Roanoke,
Guest Professional Faculty
Virginia. At the age of 25, in 1983, Leonard
moved to Oklahoma City, OK to manage KLTEFM. He served as general manager there until
the company sold KLTE in 1988.
At that point, Leonard moved over to television
sales, and became Vice President of Sales
for WSIL-TV, the company’s ABC affiliate in
southern IL, while also assisting with the
operation of KRCG –TV, the company’s CBS
affiliate in Jefferson City-Columbia, MO. In 1990,
Leonard moved to Jefferson City and became
KRCG’S General Manager.
Leonard returned to Roanoke in 1992 as
General Manager of WSLC/WSLQ. In the late
1990’s, he led the company to the successful
acquisition of four more stations in the
Roanoke/Lynchburg Market. In addition to his
role as President of Mel Wheeler, Inc., Leonard
serves as General Manager of the six-station
group in Roanoke/Lynchburg: WSLQ-FM/
WSLC-FM, WXLK-FM, WVBE AM/FM and WFIRAM.
In 2005, Leonard was nominated as Market
Manager/GM of the year by Radio & Records in
2005.
Leonard has been actively involved with the
Virginia Association of Broadcasters and is
a current board member. He has worked to
promote our industry in his work with the VAB
as well as the NAB.
He serves on a number of boards and
committees, including the Children’s Miracle
Network. Most importantly, Leonard leads the
company in its ongoing commitment to serve
its local communities. The Wheeler stations
received the VAB Public Service award in 2005
for raising over $500,000 for Hurricane Katrina
relief efforts. At a time of layoffs in the broadcast
industry, the Wheeler stations added a full-time
Community Development Director in 2008 to
assist non-profit charity organizations in the
Roanoke/Lynchburg Market.
Leonard lives with his wife, Lisa, and
stepdaughters, Lauren and Olivia, in Roanoke,
VA.
Dan “Vallie” Hill
Director, Kellar Radio
Talent Institute
Appalachian State
University, Boone, NC
Dan “Vallie” Hill is a
40-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. While the
focus of Vallie•Richards•Donovan Consulting
is primarily in the United States, the firm has
worked internationally in Italy, Hungary and
Australia.
Known in the industry by his stage name of
“Dan Vallie,” Dan has worked in practically
every level of broadcasting, beginning as an air
talent, then to programming to operations, vice
president of a broadcast group, to ownership
of both the consulting firm and, until recently,
also owned a radio station and classified paper
franchise which he has since sold.
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
B-97 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,
Guest Professional Faculty
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 highprofile 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 San Francisco, Providence, Seattle, Salt Lake
City, Greenville-Spartanburg, Louisville and
others.
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 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 the leading industry
publications, including Inside Radio, Radio-Info.
com, Radio On Line, FMQB and others.