10 Questions with ... Rick Everett

1) What was your first job in radio?

WQBR-A/Atlantic Beach, Florida

2) What led you to a career in radio? Was there a defining moment that made you realize "this is it?"

I always wanted to be in the music business but I really wanted to go to school to be a sound engineer. My Mom signed me up for Jones College in Jacksonville, FL after high school because they had a music course. It turned out to be a radio broadcasting school where you trained to be a DJ. I was hooked immediately. That was 30 years ago!

3) Can you give us a brief outline of your radio career to this point?

I started out in Jacksonville, FL and bounced around from station to station in the market, taking any job I could, in order to learn more about the business. I started out as a board op at WQBR-A (Religious/Talk). I then landed a job in Production and as a morning show producer at WZAZ (Urban) where I also did some on-air work. I finally I ended up in the Promotions Department with a full-time job at WAPE (Top 40). Later, I moved across the street to WIVY (Hot AC). In 1997, I moved to Orlando for the Promotions Dir. position at WJRR, thanks to the late great Dick Sheetz. It was a dream job for me. I was a big fan of the station and I quickly moved up to a position overseeing promotions for both WJRR and WTKS. In 1999, Linda Byrd arrived in Orlando from Jacksonville. I was quickly promoted to Dir./Promotions for our cluster in Orlando. Later I added PD duties at WJRR, and eventually Sports station WYGM. Later in 2016 I was elevated to RVP/Programming for the North Florida Region of iHeartMedia.

4) How long have you been programing WJRR and what makes this station so unique?

I added WJRR PD duties in 2007. WJRR will be 25 years old next year and has had many competitors since its inception. I believe the reason we have survived, is our on-air talent (most have been with station for 23-plus years) and the family mentality among the team. Everyone truly loves the station and will do almost anything to win.

5) Tell us about your morning show "Lynch & Taco." Who are the players and how are they doing in the market?

Pat Lynch was the PD prior to myself and at some point has hosted every daypart. He and Taco Bob started out doing the "Lunch Time Fiasco," an hour a day when Bob was just a part-time intern. Eventually the show turned into a full-time program for WJRR and has done very well over the years. "The Fiasco" has a very passionate fan base.

6) Let's talk about the music on WJRR. How aggressive is the station in jumping out on new rock and new bands?

I listen to everything and am attentive to the trends, charts and what other successful stations are doing. WJRR has a new rock hour, weeknights from 11p-midnight. The station is able to try new things to catch a glimpse of how it will sound on the air as well as what type of response it will get. We don't have to jump out on a song out of the gate to beat our competition to it. We are much less current now than we were five years ago.

7) What's your take on the Active Rock format as a whole?

It's great to see some of the core bands back, with new music and touring. There are also some really good young bands coming up that are starting to break into the market. At the end of the day, the station has to be fun as well as playing good music.

8) WJRR recently completed Earthday Birthday #24. Can you give us a brief history of this franchise event for WJRR?

My first day on the job at WJRR was at EDBD 4. The headliner was Matchbox 20, along with about five other bands. Over the years it has grown into a huge all day festival featuring over 20 bands, three stages and the attendance has been as many as 15,000+ fans. Every year we add a new element to the event such as, Mid-Way Rides, Pro Wrestling, an Art Walk, BMX/Motocross stunt shows, charity row, the vendor village and more! You can even take a helicopter ride at the show! I still oversee the production of the event every year and essentially live at the venue the week of the show. We have had just about every band in the format play the festival over the years.

9) You recently replaced Chris Kampmeier as iHeartMedia's North Florida region VP/Programming. What are your new responsibilities in this role?

I'm still the PD for WJRR and VP/Events in Orlando. In my new role, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with some amazing people across all formats not only here in Orlando, but across the region in areas that include: Jacksonville, Tampa, Sarasota, Melbourne, Tallahassee, Panama City and Brunswick, Ga.

10) Finally, kudos to you for your billboard salute to the late Chris Cornell in the Orlando market. How did this all come together for you and the station?

As soon as I heard the sad news, I reached out to our on-air talent to start making plans for the day. As updates became available, we started with tributes on the air and on social media. We continued doing that throughout the day, as well as handing over the airwaves to our listeners at noon for an all request hour and tribute to Chris Cornell. Before 8a that day, Dickerman, who does PM drive and works with our digital team (Orlando cluster), had a billboard designed to pay tribute. I sent it over to our great partners at Clear Channel Outdoor and it was up by 8:30a all over Central Florida. We continued the tribute over the next couple of days on the air.