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10 Questions with ... Stacey Stone
February 10, 2020
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1. Could you walk us through your radio career journey that’s brought you to your current gig alongside Johnny at WGTS?
In 1993, after completing my first Master’s Degree in Business Communication, I took a morning show internship at Young Country 105.3, KYNG in DFW. I was an intern for three days before I was hired part time and three months before I became Morning Show Executive Producer/Music Director. Johnny was the Morning Show Host and we worked with an incredible cast of characters. After five years at KYNG, I went to ABC Radio Networks and managed traffic for Paul Harvey, MLB, NBA and Bob Kingsley. Figured out pretty quick that traffic was not my cup of tea, I traveled over to KLUV to produce the morning show. The big change came when I accepted a Morning Show co-host position at The Fish in Chicago. This Texas girl moved for the first time to another state and survived my first real winters. It was also the first station that I helped launch and I look fondly upon that time.
The New York Metro was my next stop at WAWZ, STAR 99.1 as Morning Show Co-host/Promotions Director. Johnny and I were there for almost nine years and that’s where we were married in Central Park. Part of my radio legacy will always stay with that station and staff. We traveled to Family Life Radio in Tucson after that for four years and continue to have dear friends at that network.
Finally, God called Johnny and me to the nation’s capital. FLR actually sent us as radio missionaries knowing how much the people who serve here need WGTS 91.9. Johnny and I love doing afternoons with this incredible staff and God is accomplishing so much through this station. We hear from Capitol Hill, the White House and other locations of importance in our area that this radio station helps them get through their stress-filled days.2. How did you end up in the radio world in the first place? Had you pursued any other career paths before then?
My first degree was in Psychology so my first job out of college was a Rape Crisis Counselor in the county emergency room. I made it a year and a half before, at the age of 25, I faced major burnout and went back to school. I started in radio the way so many of us have, as an intern, but I knew when I walked into that studio for the first time that I never wanted to leave.
3. What do you think you’d do if you weren’t in radio? Have you ever seriously considered jumping into that line of work?
Well, I am a licensed counselor in Maryland, so I suppose that I would provide therapy full-time. My private practice is perfect for my position at WGTS 91.9 (and the reason that I believe God moved Johnny and me to afternoons) because I provide video counseling early in the morning from home and I am in the office on Saturdays. God’s plans are always so much better than ours.
4. What (or who) is your biggest motivation when you walk into the studio every day? Does the motivation change from day to day?
I think it is the parents who are in the trenches every day that are my inspiration. God did not bless Johnny and I with children and, to see what moms and dads are facing now, I understand why they are leaning on a radio station like WGTS 91.9. This one set of parents always stands out for me: we were collecting Mother’s Day cards last April and a father walked up to our staff on site. He began to cry and tell our Community Engagement Director that his 13-year-old son had hung himself just a few weeks before. The saddest statement he made was that his wife was crying that “she will never receive another Mother’s Day card, ever again” because he was an only child. Jitesh listened for a long time, prayed with him and asked him if it would be okay if we sent his wife Mother’s Day cards. He gave us his contact information and left. The dad called the week after Mother’s Day and said that the look of shock on his wife’s face when she opened the package of cards and the tears that streamed down her cheeks meant everything to him.
When Johnny and I met them at the WGTS 91.9 Summer Concert Series last summer, the mom hugged me and we both cried. The dad looked at Johnny and said, “I never thought you would send those cards.” Those moments are the ones that motivate me to go into the studio each and every day.
5. How have you and Johnny grown as co-hosts most significantly from the beginning of your careers together to now?
We are two odd people who were born to be on the radio together. There is a synergy that comes with finishing each other’s sentences and knowing “that look” that gives us an edge as far as being on-air partners. There has been a lot of stretching and a huge learning curve for me to keep up with him and there have been days where I would not be here if he had not carried me. I have to give credit to WGTS 91.9 and their belief in us as human being and air talents because the filters are off and we are allowed to be who God made us to be on air. A listener walked up to me last week and said, “He is the Chip to your Joanna” and that made me smile.
6. Is there anything about working together, then going home together at the end of the day that remains a challenge?
Time management is the first thing that comes to mind. We want to do it all! We want WGTS to continue to grow in the ratings and tell more people about Jesus. We want to volunteer at church, have a private practice, for Johnny to continue his syndicated show, love our families, friends and little dogs. But at some point, you have to pull back and decide your priorities and for us that it is God, then each other. But yes, we have to remind ourselves of this constantly.
7. Who do you rank as some of your favorite artists to bring on-air with you over the years?
These are the kinds of questions that always get me in trouble! In this industry, we are blessed with some of the most personable, engaging artists of any genre and they are so accessible. Mark Hall of Casting Crowns, Matthew West, Steven Curtis Chapman, Micah Tyler, Bart Millard of MercyMe, Jason Roy of Building 429, Jeremy Camp, anyone from Unspoken; they all make the very long list. But the key to all of these engaging interviews is the preparation that takes place beforehand and being real with each of them in turn.
8. From what you’ve seen, who are some of the brightest up-and-coming on-air talents at Christian radio?
I have a little bit of a different answer because Johnny and I were mentors at Christian Music Broadcasters University this past November. We were so impressed with the students in attendance and their professors that it helped us to see the future of this industry a bit more brightly. If we can get those brilliant students to follow us in this career path, CCM will be in great hands. If you know a college student who is interested in broadcasting, business, marketing or any other field within our field, introduce them to CMBU. We look forward to watching them change the world!
Besides, we remember when Scott Herrold, Paul Goldsmith and Jayar were the up-and-comers so I feel like yelling “get off the lawn.”
9. Can you think of any songs that created a particularly meaningful moment for you personally while you were listening on-air? Anything that truly caught your attention, maybe unexpectedly?
In 2018, Johnny had a pacemaker/defibrillator inserted into his chest after suffering sudden cardiac arrest while we were on air in December 2017. (We now call him Iron Man). At about 4:30 a.m., when we were driving to the hospital, Matt Maher’s “Hold Us Together” came on WGTS 91.9. As I am singing along, I realize that the words were perfect for our current storm, “Love will hold us together
Make us a shelter weather the storm…this is the first day of the rest of your life.”
His surgery was a success and we went home that afternoon. I went to get the car, pushed the button to turn it on and Matt Maher sang, “This is the first day of the rest of your life.” I just put my head on the steering wheel and cried. God had it all along but he used our radio station to remind me how much control He truly has. Every time I hear that song, it takes me back to that feeling/reminder that God cared that much about our storm.
10. As we start breaking into spring, what’s coming up for you and Johnny personally and/or professionally that you’re most looking forward to?
2020 is going to be an amazing year! WGTS 91.9 has plans to continue our growth, we are in our new ministry center, and this team was built for “such a time as this.” Johnny and I are planning several adventures with our little dogs. I have several speaking engagements that I am very excited about and will continue to help others any way I can. There is no limit to what God can accomplish when we say ‘yes’ to the ride.
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