10 Questions with ... Adam Star

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I have been fortunate to work in Aurora IL, Elgin IL, Santa Rosa CA, Sacramento CA, (twice), Fresno CA, and for the past nine years I've been in the Fort Myers-Naples-Marco Island, FL market, having a blast as OM over six radio stations.

1) So, you kicked off the Fall Book with Hurricane Irma. Is your home okay?

Luckily, my home had no significant damage. Some other people weren't as lucky as my family, and actually are still dealing with damage to their home. I did evacuate out of state with my wife and new born baby. We just didn't know what to expect.

2) How did your stations fare? Any damage to your facilities?

We had some damage to one of my air studios and a few offices. Some our stations were off-air for a few days due to damage. Tower sites were flooded. We actually had one engineer from one of our Charlotte cluster drive through the night nonstop to deliver a transmitter just so WXKB could get back on the air. Also, some of my Fort Myers guys, like WRXK PD Jeff Zito, WRXK night host Matt Mangas, and WJPT PD Randy Sherwyn slept at the radio station during the storm while the 144 mph winds crashed against the side of the building. My team was resilient and persevered through difficult times. There is really nothing you can do when it rains sideways other than to prepare and brace.

3) What did you do programming-wise before, during and after the storm?

People of Southwest Florida didn't know what to expect. Most gas stations had no gas. Grocery stores were empty. Many Floridians were evacuating the state!

The Programming team sprang into action. Big Mama, Babs, Joe Winner, and Mdot from WXKB used the vehicle of radio to direct members of the Southwest Florida community to food, water, gasoline and shelter. The listeners who were already safe were so helpful by engaging our social media and calling in to help others find the basic necessities. Several of our staff abandoned their homes to stay and sleep at the station to bring round-the-clock updates and storm information to all of our listeners on all our stations and platforms.

4) Everyone stresses that radio needs to be ready for emergencies. Now that you've been through one, is there anything different that you'd do preparation-wise for future storms?

Don't wait until the last minute to get gas and water. And don't forget to leave the jocks some hand soap to take bird baths. Ha.

5) What advice would you give to other stations on how to be prepared?

Have a hurricane preparation and action plan for your building so everyone is on the same page. Have a TV partner that doesn't mind sharing hurricane information to your listeners.

6) How is the recovery going in your area?

Some concentrated areas took it harder than most. Some families are still homeless. I never have seen so many trees down after a hurricane and some with no bark. The surrounding cities are working diligently in getting the community back in order, slowly but surely. We are almost there!

7) Many stations collect various supplies to help folks after natural disasters. What did people in your market really need following the storm?

Some people were without power for more than two weeks. People needed generators, flashlights, batteries, food, water and some patience. Big Mama's sister, Rhonda collected diapers for a week in Indiana and drove them down right after hurricane and personally hand delivered 5,000 diapers for those who needed them in Immokalee, FL. Its obvious humanitarianism runs in Big Mama's family!

8) Was that need addressed in a timely fashion?

Of course, Governor Rick Scott did a great job in having boots on the ground to get electricity restored and trucks on the road to refresh the demand for supplies to the grocery stores.

9) Regarding donated goods, did you wind up with too much of something, and not enough of something else?

You can never have too much of water. At the end of the day somebody is still thirsty after a natural disaster.

10) Now that things are getting back to normal, are you doing anything special for the Fall Book?

We are giving away a baby on WXKB. My superstar morning guy Big Mama and his wife went through the in-vitro process at IVF MD here in Naples and recently found out they're expecting! They documented every step on social media and now Big Mama is going to give the gift of love and life to other Southwest Florida couples who are struggling to conceive. The response has been insanely great! You can get all the details on how to win a baby here.

What's the craziest storm-related story that you encountered?

My wife and I evacuated with our newborn and we were worried because we left 40 bags of breast milk in the freezer. If the electricity went out we would lose it all. Thankfully and surprisingly it never went out. Thank god for small favors!