The Art of Authentic Connection

In this episode of It's in the Details, Gayle sits down with MJ Lucas— a beloved Middle Tennessee radio personality with nearly 40 years behind the mic. From the early days of reel-to-reel recording to digital broadcasting, MJ shares how radio shaped her life — and how she now uses her platform to uplift, connect, and support the community.

Whether you're an event planner, a media lover, a community leader, or someone who just appreciates a good story — this episode will leave you inspired, smiling, and reminded of the power of connection.

Transcript

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Kinsey, welcome to within the details, a podcast where we take a sneak peek behind the curtains, where we dive into what it takes to truly create a remarkable event. So whether you are an event professional, a community leader, or just simply curious what goes on behind the scenes, this is your all access pass to the details that make the magic happen. Well, good afternoon, everybody. We have MJ with us today, and we are very, very excited, because she brings to us 39 years of experience in the radio business, and we are very excited to have her with us to tell her story, to give us a little bit of insight on how she has interfaced with events and and kind of maybe what her Why is, because that's the important question that we always ask at the end of the podcast. So welcome. Thank you so much. Gail, glad to be here. So excited to have you here, because this is, like, reverse roles. I know that's what I was just thinking. There was a lot of things going through my mind that we've known each other for so long, so very comfortable chatting with you. It's like talking to an old friend and then, yeah, you usually come and and I interview too. This is very cool. It's very cool. Well, like I said, you know, I was very excited, because you've got over 39 years in the industry. Can't believe that years next year, and oh my god, just blows. What's the anniversary date? I started in my hometown of Ocala, Florida, in April of 1986 and so it'll be in April. It'll be 40 years, and this little girl used to be in her room with a little turntable, and you remember the recorders I was not put on them. No, I wasn't either. I used it as a microphone. So I would pretend I've been obsessed with the whole idea of radio and watching the DJs and seeing how everything worked, I would pretend to be a radio DJ to here we are, 40 years it's amazing. It's amazing. It's an inspiration. You had a dream. You got to see that dream come to reality and and here you are today, doing exactly what you dreamed about doing then, and you've been able to do it for quite a while with some some experience in the TV industry also correct? Well, TV was a little slow for me. I'm a little my energy is not like it was when I first started, but I still have a lot of energy. And I worked in television when I first came to Tennessee, and it was just such a slow process, it I lost interest as far as I'd be working on something, a commercial or a shoot or something like that, and it just be a little boring to me, which I love TV. I love the idea of that radio is spontaneous, as you know, is spontaneous, and it's live on on our station, and when it goes out, it's out right, which is a little scary for me, when I first coming to the radio station and talking to Coleman and then into you. And actually, I kind of, I think I kind of pull some energy from that. It's like it forces me to realize I must be on my toes, yeah, because you don't know what he's going to ask, right, exactly, right? And not scripted, not so much with you, but boy, I'll tell you, Coleman can throw me some curve balls that I have to like. It's like, I feel like a little computer. It's like, take the data in. Okay, what answer am I going to give him back? Because I have to process it so fast, right? And you do a great job at it. I listen. I'm right there, across the way between the glass and my studio and producing it as it's going over the air. And you don't miss a beat. You do a great job. Thank you. Thank you. So what aspect do you absolutely love about the radio? Is there some component of it that just gives you the fuel? Well, there's several layers of that. I love the music. Part of it. I love the when I started in radio in 86 we didn't have what we have today. Today, we've got computers. We have digital music. We have CDs. When I started, you had reel to reel. We had art carts that look like eight tracks where you're you're putting your commercials or your music or whatever on those to play. We didn't have the boards like we had today. They were the big boards with these big knobs. I think when you first started coming to the radio station, we still had one of those older boards. I mean, we've got the new the new slide boards, but it was so different. The process was a lot slower. Today, when you come in to do a commercial, it's all digitally done, which is weird for me to watch. Because I'm so nervous I feel like it has to be perfect. You're like, Oh no, no, we'll fix it. Let's see. I love that part of it, too. I love the music. I love the technical part of it. And then the interviews. I had an interview. I'm a big fan of songwriters. That's my thing. And so I had a songwriter on with me yesterday. My favorite part is looking for that nugget that any other interviewer would not find. I want to find something that takes this songwriter back and something a little more personal. So I spent a lot of time doing that. And the biggest compliment I can get through those interviews, and this guy said it yesterday, and he said, you did your homework. That's all I need to hear. Yeah, that's all I need to hear. But I love different layers of what we do. I love the music, I love the technical part, and I just love the people. I love being able to interview the songwriters and the artists. Well, I mean, I think doing some of your homework also, it helps you formulate your questions better. It helps you, like you said, draw out that information, a little bit about them. I know I did one recently, and I had to do, I had to do some digging to get any information, because what I received when I asked for a bio was a little more than this, you know, but at the same time you talk about the live, the difference in the live out there, it was like, at one point it was like, Okay, well, I've only got so much to deal with, right? And I have my method of how I have my my notes arranged, and, you know, I can, I can zigzag all over them, or I can go down a line or whatever. But it was like, I think we're just gonna have to wing this, yeah, you know, and, and that was okay too, because something really great comes from that, though, right? It did, because I hit nerve of something that was super important to him, yeah, he didn't think I'd be interested in it, but I got enough information to do that. So kudos you for that, because a lot of times people don't take the time to ask question. And I love that part of it. Going back to when I started in 1986 my very first radio interview was Johnny paycheck, wow, known as being this outlaw, and I was nervous, but see, back then we didn't have the World Wide Web. What did we have to do? We had to get a book, and we had to look up stuff today and go back to other interviews. I can go to their bios Wikipedia. I don't really rely on that, because some of that information can be wrong, yeah, but your bios, yeah? So, I mean, back then, it was a book, and it was the artist, and today, so much more at my fingertips that I can find all kinds of information. For instance, this songwriter is Lance Cowan. He used to work for a newspaper in Nashville. He was a publicist and a manager, and now he's a singer songwriter. He's always had an interest in it, and he did it well, going through his information, one of the things that meant the world to him is he received a 1946 Gibson guitar from his grandmother. And the thing is, it was somebody bought it in an estate sale, and then it got away from him. So his wife and his son were on a search to find that guitar, and they found it and gave it to him one Christmas, and he fell apart, obviously, because it meant so much. But see, that was the story. That was what I was looking for, is something that means something to them and is personal, and that just meant the world to him. That's very cool. That's and it changes your interview feel for that person. You know, you're not getting asked the same 40 questions from each you know each interviewer. This is something that you're finding, that little nugget that means that you care about that interview. Yes, absolutely. And I would imagine correct me if I'm wrong, but I would imagine when you kind of uncover that nugget, and they realize that you took the time to dig, right, they probably relax a little bit and open up a little bit more, right? Yeah, you know, I tell you, it's funny. You say that because one of the hardest interviews to do, and I've seen this with many of them, is comedians. Comedians are used to being on stage, having their spiel, you know, doing their thing, but in an interview, it's hard to really pull it out of them. They're a whole different person than they are on stage. And when you said that, it's like making relax that one's always been a challenge too. I would think that that would be a challenge. I love that. That's part of that, that love of an interview, because I, when I think of a comedian, I think, yeah, you it's almost like they don't physically put on a mask, but like you put on the mask, absolutely, they're a persona, like actor, you know, if you're talking to them about a movie they just made. They're probably going to stick to that topic more than they're than anything, right? And they're guarded, yeah, a lot of times they're guarded, yeah, yeah. Well, I think it's, it's interesting to me when I watch interviews on TV, to watch how people handle it, yeah, and, you know, I've even seen interviews. I mean, has this ever happened to you where somebody has, like, shut you down, luckily, no, but I can imagine that would be, I mean, you see some of these interviews, and I like, out of nowhere, it feels like they just went, yeah, there's Yeah, okay. Then, you know, that's kind of interesting. I can feel kind of sorry for the person doing the interview, because, like, would they have known that? Yeah, see, so dig a little bit, right, right? So do you still have that transistor radio from where you were a little girl, you know, I have, I'm hoping I received, when I moved here, I received a bunch of boxes from Florida. Okay, my attic. And so as soon as it cools off, I'm going to go through those, and I hope that treasure is there. That would be my Gibson guitar. I know how silly that sounds. Oh, I don't think it sounds. That would be very cool. That's awesome. Yeah, okay, let's pivot a little bit. Okay, I'm ready. Let's Yeah, so I know you've been involved on boards of a variety of organizations. One in particular, March of Dimes. That's how we met. That's how we met. Love it. Why? Why that? That one was a big one. When I was in Florida, that was a big one that my whole radio station, we were involved in March of Dimes. And when I moved to Tennessee, I was looking for something that felt like home. I was looking for something that I was familiar with. And so that's first thing I did, is I looked for the March of Dimes, and at that time, we had a chapter here in Wilson County. And that's true, there was a small one, and now they're all in Nashville, so but it did, and I've met some great folks through there, which is amazing. And when I moved to Tennessee, I knew one person, one person. So that was a great way, of course, going to work at the radio station was a great way to meet people, because the people there know everybody. So I met a lot of people, but that the March of Dimes was was familiar to me, even though it was in another state. So that's why I sought them out. You had me beat because I moved to Tennessee and knew no one. Oh, nobody. So I can, I can relate to what you're saying. You went to something that was familiar because everything else was forced to brand new. Oh, yeah, you know, I mean to down to the grocery store. And my big joke when I moved here was, do they do they actually make the tea and put the sugar in it? Or do they do some sugar? Because it was just a lot for me to handle. I quit drinking sweet tea because it was like, I can't do this. This is gonna be controversial. I don't like sweet tea. And that was, but that was a thing, yeah, because for the job I had, I made that comment at work. It was like, So do they actually, like, put sugar in the tea, or do they put some tea in the sugar, exactly? And they were all like, What are you talking about? Because it's so sweet, and they were, well, that's the way you're supposed to drink it. And I'm like, I'm not really sure. And why do we put bacon in the green beans when we cook them? Like, oh no. I kind of like that. It was a great discovery Florida, I guess, Washington State, but I have to say, and you probably would agree with me on this, in that coming to Tennessee from another area, I saw, I mean, the state is known as the Volunteer State, right? I saw and felt a welcome attitude from people a lot of bless your hearts. Well, that was two meanings I've heard. So I don't know, I don't know how you heard in what context, true, but I heard that and but they were welcoming and supportive. I knew no one. I had three kids in tow. Okay, here we are. We've never been to this state before. It's now our home. I guess we're just gonna figure this out. It is different when I lost. The reason I came here is 9019 96 my mom died, and we had talked about because with radio to me, I. Country radio in Asheville, Tennessee, come on. And so when I moved here, I ended up in Antioch, and that's back years ago, when Antioch was really, you know, booming, and that's where I found the TV. And let me tell you the story how I found this radio station, this station right here is quite interesting, because I you and Susie cross paths somewhere. No, okay, if you had told me prior to 96 I was going to live in Tennessee, I would say you are crazy and look like you had two heads. Yeah, I had no plans on leaving Florida. And the only way I can explain it is God had control and brought me to Tennessee. It was the place the way. Let me get back to the story with the radio station. I was driving down Briley Parkway, going to the TV station before it became crazy, yeah, yeah. And I was going through the radio dial and again, trying to find something familiar my Station in Florida, the last three years, there's a radio network called real country, and we became part of that network, which you use, we do some live radio, and then you also have it to where it's all coming out of. At this time, they're in Texas, so you get their DJ so it's live parts and satellite parts. So I was going down Riley, and I was going through the dial one of those DJs was on my radio, and I thought, and it was Chris Wilson. She did the midday show. And I thought, oh my goodness, there is a real country network in this area. I'm surprised you didn't know that already. Wow. Okay, I was so fresh. Okay, so I ended up figuring out where that station. I didn't know where Lebanon, Tennessee was. I had no idea. And so I called Susie, I called the station, and I said, Well, I just moved here from Florida. I said I used to work for a real country affiliate in Florida, and I found you on my radio Dom, I just love to come and see the station. I just love to take a look. And so I drove to Lebanon, and we sat down and what is Coleman's studio in Studio B, and we talked and talked and talked, and I ended up coming to work for her, and I started doing live remotes back when remotes were a thing. And it eventually down the road the lady that was doing their morning show left, and so I was hired to do the morning show. It was because I was looking for somebody, something on the radio. So I was just gonna say, definitely a God thing. Yeah, the fact that I found, and I always credit Wilson County back, kind of coming back around with the volunteer thing. We have got such an amazing community here in Wilson County. Wilson County giving, I mean, I work with a lot of different organizations now, and such a giving if you need something or like Sherry's run, I always MC their event, and people give, and they take care of people in this community. I do a lot with new leash on life, which, you know, the animals and they, gosh, what they do for this community, right? So I always credit Wilson County with why I stayed in this radio station. Why I stayed, yeah, because I feel like I've been able to heal from my life hard knocks early on in my life, and I've made some lifelong friends, but it's a good place. I would agree with you. I when I first landed here, I was in Davidson County. I was like off of Andrew Jackson Parkway and and it was okay, but it didn't feel like home. But then I'm not sure anything would have really felt like home. So I don't know that's the fault of where I was, or it just was because we were so, quote, Fresh Off the Boat, if you will. I mean, it was like, we just didn't know up from down, and everything was different. And we too, were trying to figure out what felt normal, or trying to at least define the new normal? Yeah, and and then I made the move across the line to Wilson County, and that's when things began to change and shift for us. So I would 100% agree with you, and now, in the capacity that I have now, I see it all the time, and I get to be an active part of supporting it, or rolling up my sleeves and helping or whatever. So I I'm on the same page with you when it comes to that, for sure. Yeah, so you've done these other events. I think you were also the Grand Marshal in Parade. What's that feel like? Yeah. Yeah. Like, okay, so you get to be the big are you, like, the first float? Are you the last float? What's that you are the first one? You are the town I love Watertown. Always have a soft spot in my heart for Watertown. But Jim amarot, he used to have Jim's antiques. He does a lot, I don't say I think he's kind of slowed down now. He and Mary, and they approached me. This has been quite a while ago, but they approached me about being the Grand Marshal. And it's funny to say this, but I don't like attention. And I know that sounds weird, I know. I mean, am I talking to I know, I know I'm used to doing and so when it's on me, it feels, sometimes it doesn't feel, it just little uncomfortable. That's just all it is. But they have been so sweet and so good. And so I agreed to do it, and it was a great experience. So you got to do the way. I practiced that way to make sure I got it right. I wanted to throw out Wendy, and I didn't do that, but I was in you'll appreciate this. It was a beautiful white Mustang. It was, it was a lot of fun. They treated me like I was somebody, you know, it was really somebody. It was a lot of fun. But, yeah, that was, that was my experience. And being the Grand Marshal That is very cool. I've never done that. I was a princess once in a county fair. That's big. I don't know about that Grand Marshal Princess, just a princess in the back of a car, but I think it was a Camaro, which doesn't hurt my feelings. Oh, that's all right, is it old school Camaro? Oh, yeah, okay, all right. And that was, that was a that was an interesting experience for me, growing up on a farm and being the princess. Okay, this is in Washington State, and I was not the prissy girl, you know, but you cleaned up. Well, apparently I did. I did okay, yeah, I didn't win, but I did okay. And, and I kept telling my dad, it was like, what? Why? Like, why? Why do I want to do this? You know? And anyway, I was so it did. It actually helped me probably more clearly define what was important to me and what wasn't important to me. Yeah, and dressing up in frills was not important to me. That was my takeaway. I'm good. I got other things to do. Thanks for the experience. We're on the same page. This is the real me. Why? Through this podcast, it was like, I don't want this to be pretentious. Yeah, I don't want this to feel staged and uppity and like, what do I need to do. I want it to be comfortable, and if I really honest, I have to give credit to Mel Robbins, because I've watched her reels. I've watched her reels, no makeup, crying, being vulnerable. Okay, I can relate to you exactly, and most people can. That's what's so beautiful. She's got the number one, come on, I'm reading her five second rule, okay, and that's very interesting. But that was kind of my, my motivation for that's great. I mean, if you're gonna set your your bar, set it high, because, I mean, she with her podcast, what I love about it is she's doing things for us to better ourselves. Everything is to help you, to help somebody else, right? And that's really kind of, you know, what we were hoping to do with this was to get information out different a different method, right? And, but, but equally as important was to highlight our guests and their experiences and how that relates back to what we do exactly here at the Expo Center. So, you know, I mean, it just works. It just works. So tell me your speaking of events. Tell me your favorite event to work with. Well, since it's coming up, yeah, August, and the radio station is working off our stuff right now. I love fall. I mean, you know, I'm a Summer Girl. You are a Summer Girl. You live and breathe water. Yes, it's possible to live and breathe water, but I am a Summer Girl, but at the radio station in August, our family increases by so much because we are planning the Wilson County Fair, we are planning Lebanon high school football, and the scoreboard show and the Titans, and then we're also doing Cumberland University. So I love all that stuff, because we get busy and then. Sherry's hope I am see that that's coming up. So I enjoy all of those and the fair. You know what I love about that is that we get an opportunity. We have a building in Fiddler's grove. Our owner, Susie built it years ago. So we're a permanent fixture. It's a 1950s radio station. You go in and the cool thing is, is there was a movie filmed in there. So everything is actually really working condition. We don't use it. We use a piece of equipment that helps broadcast over the air. But we are a part of this Fiddler's Grove, mostly, but the Wilson County Fair, we get an opportunity to see people to actually listen to us, which is so much fun, you know. And thank them, because, you know, there's a lot of choices when it comes to listening to music or programming or stuff like more so today than ever before, somebody chooses us and chooses to be part of our family and chooses to listen to us. I want to have an opportunity to thank them, and that's what the fair does for us. That's very cool. So two questions out of that, what movie was filmed in there? It was one, one of the the preacher that just passed away. I can't remember his name, but it was the movie about his life, okay? Jimmy swaggarts, in my head, it's not him. It's the one that had me just passed away, like three weeks ago. I think it was, but it's the movie of his life. And they did a lot of the filming in Wilson County, and they did the radio scenes right there in our Fiddler's Grove radio station. Very cool. Yeah, so I've had this amazing experience after being on the radio station. Because when I first came into this job, you know, I we have a mutual friend, Sue, Nevada, as well as Susie, a whole lot of other people, but, but Sue was the one that said you really need to get on the radio. And I was like, Do I like, really? That just sounded like, not me. And, and she was like, No, you need to. And so, okay, you know. So I was kind of taking a cue from her, because she had such a prominent role in the community, like, okay, so I started doing that. Well, here's what's happened now, when I go into places and I start talking, people are like, you're on the radio, exactly radio, or I will get off of either talking to you or talking to Coleman, and I'll start getting text messages. Sounded good, good job. And I'm like, this is surreal. It's working. It's working, but yeah, to get that kind of affirmation right on a regular right away, yeah, it's like, this instant, yeah, they were in the room walking out with me, going, Hey, good job. And it's not so much about me doing a good job. It's weird that people know who I am and you're representing. How Blessed are we to have this expo? Oh my gosh, how Blessed are we, and how blessed we are to have you. Oh, well, thank you. But I always like with the radio station. I always tell people, especially the talk show and the station overall, if you want to know what's going on in this community, whether it's the Wilson County Mayor or if it's the city mayor, or if it's Watertown, or if it's Mount Juliet the chamber, listen to that radio station. You're going to learn a lot. Politicians we have those election season. If you're not sure who to vote for, you're going to have those candidates on the radio. I've formed an opinion a lot of times listening to that show, so it's really neat. If you're and we're getting so many people, new people, to this community, that's a great way to learn so that audience is ever evolving. Oh, yeah, and see we're further. I mean, we're more. We are the heart of Lebanon, Wilson County. We love Wilson County, but we cover about 1415, counties in Middle Tennessee, and we stream. And we have people all over that listen to this radio station, and I get there's this guy that always emails Switzerland. I mean, they love our station. People listen? Switzerland, yeah. I'm like, okay, cool. Get up. We do. That's the beauty of streaming. And you just get such a big audience because we're unique to we're unique and we're live, and that we're hometown, and we play music from the 50s to the present, and then we have some specialty programs too. So we're very unique. A lot of stations these days voice track, and they're not a really you could call my radio stations during the morning show and pick up the. Phone. Oh, I mean, that's what, yeah. So that's gonna happen, yeah, it's more unique. And I think, you know, as time goes on, people get the nostalgia thing, you know I do, yeah, for sure. Girl, I can't help it. That's the caller. Feel a little special too, that they can pick up the phone and call you. I love it. Oh my gosh, I just love it. And so I think that's why we've got some loyal people out there. I really do talk to me a little bit about you've got a couple programs that you do, the adopt a pet, and the comedy show, which obviously I know, but tell us a little bit about those. Did you create those? How did they come about? When I first came in to the morning show, I think we had the birthday club. That's That's all we had, and so, and it was a four hour segment, and I had some things that I'd done that I knew could be generate some money for the station and so, and I mean that through sponsorship. So we sat down, and I tried to think about things that would be interesting and entertaining to our audience. And of course, pet lovers. I'm a pet lover. Love Dogs and cats and animals. I'm an only child, and I was raised around dogs and cats and horses and cows. They were my siblings. Similarity, they were my siblings. So I've always had my mom. I mean, she was an animal lover, and I carry that. So I've always loved New leash on life, and we've got great agency. There's others. There's so many that are working hard in this community take care of our furry friends. New leash is the one that we work with, and each week, they give us a dog and a cat. Each day, we feature something different, and it's sponsored. We've got a sponsor for it, but we've had great success. We put them on our Facebook page, we talk about them on air, and we talk about our sponsor, and then each week, new leash will give me an update. Know the results, which is so great, because I get to pass those on to our listeners too. That's awesome. And so they'll let me know. They do something unique. They allow you to take an animal for a sleepover to see if it'll fit into your family. So they'll let me know. Oh, so and so went on a sleepover, and I'm like, Yeah, it's really exciting. But the comedy thing, I love some comedy. I love it. Love it, love it. So when you came on to that, I was so excited, because I A lot of times events here, I want to scream them from the rooftop. I want everybody to know what's coming out, because we've got some great events here, just a lot of fun stuff, and so we do it at 615 and 805 and the expo is the 805 sponsors. We get a chance to talk about all the events going on, and we usually focus on what's closest, right? That makes total sense, but we do. I'm a firm believer my show. If you tune into my show at any time. If you've got a grandkid in that car with you that you don't have to worry about what's coming over that radio station at all. So anything with a comedy, it's got to be clean, right? And so everything in my favorite Ray Steven. We do him on Fridays. We feature him. Love him, but we do Nate bar gets key. We'll do, I mean, there's Henry Cho we do any of the clean comics, but we play them, and we get such great response, because people like to have a morning giggle. We like to call it, so it's a lot of fun. It gets you laughing and having a good day, hopefully. So on the flip side of that, when I'm talking to event planners, okay, you know, they, they, they will often ask, Do you do any promotion for the different events that are here? Oh, yeah. And I will let them know that, you know, I'm on the radio now twice a week, and that we also sponsor one of the segments at the radio station that their their focus is to talk about the events that are coming up. And it's, it's interesting to look, to watch the look on their face, LIKE it becomes really like, Right? Great idea, exactly. They're like, Wow, that's awesome, because apparently other venues don't do that. Well, not a lot of communities have a local radio station. Okay, that's a big thing too, and that's, that's what I think a lot of the people that are so loyal realize we're important to this community as well. You know, a lot of communities now, I won't say these communities don't have radio, but it's going to be the bigger radio stations, the corporate radio that may be streaming or maybe voice tracking and don't have the capability of doing what we do. Do and or don't have the connection, right? Live and local, see, that's part of that, right, right? That makes perfect sense, yeah, but it always makes me happy. And that's you, and that's, that's, I will tell you, I'm give imma brag on you for a minute, because you've created that. You have made that happen for these vendors that come in, you're being creative, and you're doing something that I'm sure other places aren't doing or able to do. Yeah, well, that's the feedback that, right? They're just really surprised. They're surprised that we put them on their Facebook, our Facebook. We're surprised that we'll connect to the Facebook with their Facebook, right? So it's just kind of interesting. You know, people come in with different expectations. They come from all walks of life. They, you know, whatever. But it's like, happy you're here, yeah, exactly, right, exactly. And so I just find that interesting. So I appreciate from the expo side, what you do well. Thank you. But I You make it easy. Oh, I don't know about that. It's fun. We give you a list of events that help. I go down. I'm like, Oh, when I usually tell people in the radio station, because each one has their interest, right, of what they want to see and experience. We know we have a gun show. He came to mind. But you know, you've been so good about bringing something that'll appeal to the masses. That's what's so beautiful about it. One minute there's going to be a mistletoe merchants, and the next minute, there's going to be a gun show. And then or Khan was a success. It was a success. And they are coming back. Yay. They're very excited about that, and we've got some new events coming up. As a matter of fact, I'm, I'm working with, like, vintage market days to bring them back. So that's like, mistletoe merchants, only from a different era. Is like, I guess, I don't know, but I've always appreciated the fact that you had that, and I was you, you highlighted, what I was hoping you would tell me is that that's just another way for the radio station to make some money and provide additional entertainment value for your listeners. Well. And the thing though, Susie, all we have is air. You think about that, that's true. That's interesting, right? Very personally you can't touch or feel, yep. So it's interesting, really, how that all works out. But I love that part of the in being with this radio station. We work together, you know, and we create together, and I love the creative part of it as well, but we've got some great folks. We're so blessed that most everybody has been there for a long time. You know, I'm 29 years just at this station. I was 10 years on my other station, but we've got Coleman that's been there for 30 years. Billy's been there for 30 years. And then we've got, I think we had one of our guys come back, and he's been there now for like, five or 10 years, and tell me we're longevity people, and so we know each other, and we work well together, and that's unique in radio those people are looking for the next job, okay? And see that always. The funny part is, for me, I've had two radio stations in my whole career, and I feel blessed by that, because most people are normal. It's not. People are running around the country. And I used to, honestly before I came to Tennessee, think I wanted a corporate radio but I learned real quick, and it was before I got into that, that this fits. It's the old school way of doing radio, and I love it, and we work together on stuff, and I'm not just a number on a on a board, and it's just, it's We're family. I love that. Is there anything out there in the radio world that you would love to do that you haven't done? Question? I keep trying to get out there and do more. And so I think, you know, I'm in my I think I'm doing it. I think that's the beauty of it. Susie is great in letting me have as much rain as I want. He trusts me. I trust her. She knows that anything that I do on that radio station, I'm going to have the highest respect for what we're putting out there. So she's allowed me to do all of that. But I'm content. I'm very happy. This is my home and this is my family. Well, we're lucky to have you, yay. We're very lucky to have you. So thrilled to be able to reconnect with somebody that I hadn't seen for a while, and it took me a hot minute to put two and two together. I know me too. I was like, Wait a minute. I think Cheryl was the key to that piece of that woman friend knows you knew you better. Yeah, I knew you right. And. I think that's Gail, you are right. It's been a while. It's been a while we've seen each other. That's correct. That's correct. So towards the end of of every show, I like to ask my guests, you've been in the radio industry. You've been involved in events, you've been involved in organizations, and apparently you're out of stride that you're very comfortable with and you love. What is your WHY for what you do well? And you know you had said to me that you're going to ask that, and there's a couple layers to that. And I did think one thing about what I want to achieve, I have been nominated for the Hall of Fame. That's true. So that's one thing I want to for. Okay, being nominated, you just tell us where to send the votes. I know that's pretty darn good. That's pretty because in Florida, we don't have a Hall of Fame. The fact that Tennessee has one, yay, but so that. But back to the why, there's a couple of layers to that. We talked before the podcast started, that I had a pretty rough start in my beginning because of abuse, and so I'm a firm believer that we're dealt a hand of cards, and we're not responsible for how our lives started, but we're responsible for the finish, I would agree with, and we can always ask for cards. And so that's what I've been trying to do my whole life. The other thing is, through my social media and really through my life, I want to bring the positive and the good and make a difference while I'm here. And so through my social media, I always try to strive to put out positive messages. I want to encourage. I want to let you know that you matter, that you're enough, that you're good, no matter what has happened in your life. I want you to know that you're good and you're worthy. So each day what I strive to do, you do that very well, by the way. Thank you. But I do that. That's life's hard. It is hard, you know. And I want to be like, Okay, can I just get a community chest pass? You know? I mean, like, I don't want to do today, but I want to be that soft place. You know, even with my radio show, I'm very conscious of the music I play. Not everybody notices. A lot of people do, but I'm very careful about the message that I put out on my show. I want it to be a place where you're having a crappy day, tune in. You're going to feel better, or if you're having a hard time, you're going to go to my social media, and you're going to feel better, you'll be uplifted. So that, to me, is my mission. You know, it's my mission to make things better. I commend you for that, because putting that intentional effort into what you do, because whether whether you like it or not, you have a wealth of influence over a very large group of people, and how they receive it, how they process it, is very important, and you've obviously taken the time to be intentional about what you put out there for them To process. And Karma is a real thing. Y'all, no. And honestly, you put out good, you put out good. And I that's just, that's the story I want to write. Well, coming from, you know, we know that I've had a significant loss in the past year and a half, and I learned from wrapping things up, from losing that person that you know, he lived life on his own terms, but you share something. You share a facet about who you are with what he was as well, and there wasn't a person that he met that he didn't make feel better he always was. Didn't want anyone to feel left out right. Wanted people to feel like they belonged, that they were special. People want to be noticed. They do, and that seems so fundamental, but yet so many people miss that. Yeah, and I just think that's sad, but from the life that he took, he lived life his way, he chose to be who he was, and he made a difference. And that's that's how I see. You know, coming from a mom who lost a child, that's one thing, but I. See you doing the same thing. And I just like, you know there's value to that. That's the biggest compliment you could give me. I mean, there, there's, there's huge value to that. So thank you for what you do, because it will make a difference in someone's life. You just never know, and that's the thing. You be standing next to someone and they you don't know what people are going through, and I try to be mindful of that somebody could have. You know, I remember this story. I don't know how much time we have, but I remember this story. One time, somebody told me that there was this young father on the airplane. He had this baby, and maybe he was crying and just having a hard time, having a terrible time crying. Couldn't comfort this baby or anything, and how people get everybody was kind of grumpy and making comments and everything, and going through that story, and you realize they say, Well, you don't realize that he just lost his wife and that baby lost his mother? Yeah. So I try and that made that story really rest. And it just really hit me one day, and this has been a long time ago, I heard that story, and I thought, you know, that's true. Need to look out for each other. I experienced that firsthand. So through here, I wanted everybody to be first aid trained. Good idea. Okay, so CPR training, first aid training. That seemed like a logical business move to make you so many people in this building, exactly. Yeah. Now pick that up and drop that into the scenario of three weeks prior, I lost my oldest son. I'm sitting in the first I'm sitting in that CPR training, and the first thing the woman says, Time matters, if you're going to give that person a chance to survive. And I went, Yeah, you know. And it was the first time I've ever been in a situation where they didn't mean anything by it. I know they didn't. They didn't have a clue, yeah, yeah. But I was like, and that, see, that's your that it was, it was like, Oh, my goodness, you know. I mean, I don't, she has no idea what she just, yeah, evoked. But it really is true. You do not know what people are going through. And you, I mean, I would say relationships and respect and collaboration is how we all get through life. Because you're right. Life is hard. This is all we have right here now, and you only get one. So thank you for being so conscientious about how you how you show up, and how you interface with everybody's life, because you don't know if you're going to be the one to make a difference whether somebody chooses to do something not great, you know, make a decision because They've given up or whatever. So thank you for that, and thank you for taking that rough start and turning it into something positive. And we really appreciate you being here today. This was so much fun. So thanks for quickly. Yeah, I know. Well, anytime we're together and we're talking, it does that on the radio as well, and it just flies by. So thank you. This was a lot of fun. Well, you know you're always welcome to come back. If there's I need to talk about, you're always welcome to come back. Just invite me and I'll come back. Seriously, want to thank you for taking the time to be with us, for what you do on the radio station, just for who you are, and I look forward to working with you on future stuff in the as we go forward with whatever journey we're taking. We got some fun stuff. I know, I know. Well, you have a wonderful day, and thanks so much. Thanks, my friend. You.