Now, we might be a little biased, but we have an amazing crew here at KFI, but most of them you never hear from because they are working hard behind-the-scenes. (Those on-air people get ALL the glory!)
These behind-the-scenes workers are many times the hardest working people at the radio station and their dedication is greatly appreciated by all of us. So each month, we honor one of these employees with the KFI Employee of The Month honor to recognize these amazing people and to give you a little more insight into the people that bring you the programming you love each day, and the best part is that these winners are chosen by their peers.
Each Employee of the Month will receive a few fun prizes, a certificate, an official award, will be featured in an on-air promo and their name will be enshrined on a perpetual plaque that will be located in our building.
So we'd like to introduce you to KFI's Employee of the Month for October..... Digital Content Director / Manager or as we prefer to refer to him...our Digital Content Wizard!
Rick not only produces amazing content for our website, he's also an award winning author with 9 books under his belt, and he's always hard at work writing more!
Here's what some of Rick's co-workers had to say about him.
"Dedicated and hardworking, he often puts the station before himself."
"Willing to go the extra mile to put KFI on the digital map."
"Great writer, dedicated to making KFI look good."
"Overworked and underappreciated, but still does a kick ass job every day!"
"Hardworker...and he likes spicy things!"
"The digital wizard of KFI...it's true...HE HAS THE BEARD!"
Rick has been working in radio for more than 20 years and has not only produced talk radio, but his career has spanned all sorts of positions at the stations he's worked at as he described in a recent Facebook post.
I asked Rick a few additional questions so you can learn a little more about him.
What made you decide on a career in radio?
Two things: When I was growing up, my mom always had KFI on the car (For the old timers, this was the days of Gary Owens, TnT, Mother Love, Handel on the Law, Phil Hendrie, Darryl Gates, John and Ken in their early OJ years, etc etc). I have a vivid memory of being 8 years old and thinking about if I were a reporter, what the top stories of the day was (It was a big fire, the space shuttle launching and something else I forget now). The second thing that locked in radio for me as a career was a moment when I was in College and thinking about switching my major when I saw the college radio station building. I remembered how much I loved radio and that was the moment I decided to drop Computer Science/Engineering and pick up RTVF (Radio Television and Film) get into radio as a day job and work on my screenplays/books at night
What do you like most about your job?
The people I get to work with and their stories. No one is “normal” in radio. Everyone I’ve met in this business has a quirk or personality that makes them a genuinely fascinating person to know. Also, the diversity in what we get to do. When I began my career in radio as a stunt boy, my days would vary from cleaning up stripper vomit to dressing up like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and navigate a corn maze for the show I was on. Fortunately, there’s a lot less vomit at KFI.
Any pet peeves?
I don’t have any pets. I certainly wouldn't name them peeves.
Favorite hobbies
Golf, poker, and PC/Playstation games.
Favorite food / drink
I’m a sucker for a good California burrito and an Arnold Palmer.
What does the perfect 'day off' for you consist of?
Get up early. Go to Corner Cottage for a burrito, go home and watch lots of silly programs or take over the world in Civ V.
What is one thing people don't know about you?
Did we mention the books? Buy my books. I write science fiction and fantasy novels. They're cheap and some are a pretty good read if I do say so myself.
Congratulations Rick!
You can follow Rick on Instagram and Twitter @RickertheWriter and find out more about his books HERE.