I love it when good people finish first!

I have a ten share!

Lance Tidwell and Mike Wheeler at WWYZ Hartford have a lot to crow about and Wheeler is not one to crow.  Working with him in Wichita, when he was our regional programmer based in St. Louis was a treat. I have worked for some smart cookies in radio. Bob Hattrik, Gerry Cagle, Jerry Clifton, Kevin Metheny, Scott Mahalick, Bob Glasco and I put Wheeler in that category. A consummate radio wizard who goes through the window when the door is locked. He never the let the politics of dancin' get in the way in The Clear Channel World. Mike was instrumental in helping me implement a more contemporary, entertainment-based venue on KZSN which helped it explode to #2 25-54 and 2 12+ in Spring and Fall 05.

And I helped!

We were in a meeting with the OM and MM discussing the newer sound with the base of pretty dry announcer-types who lined the airwaves of KZSN and it was a fight with these curmudgeon types to adjust thier style. They just didn't want to do it. Wheeler tells the OM and MM, "Why try to do contemporary radio and beat KFDI, why don't we just placate to the air staff and program the station around them if they don't change to we can't replace them". I'm like, who are you and where have you been in my life? Only Mahalick and Glasco said stuff like that. 

Combined with Tidwell, a well-rounded CMR programmer with a passion for contemporary Country Music Programming. . Lance and I worked together in Citadel and he was a major success in Salinas, Boise, Memphis and Seattle. I knew when these two guys got together good radio was about to happen. I am having fun with them as well, writing image sweepers for Fall 10 and Spring 11, I kept PPM shortness values in mind, but we had fun with the regionalisms in Connecticut. Lance working with Mike have vaulted Country 925 to the highest numbers in the stations history, the highest jump in PPM and if I'm right close to KEEY for the highest 6+ PPM numbers for CMR. What an effort for two of the formats best.