22 RADIOINK•COM MAY 6, 2019
RadioInk:Howdidyougetyourstart
inradio?
Cantrell:I grewupinthebusiness.My
fatherhasbeena broadcastersince1957.
BeforeI reachedthesmarmystage,when
you’rea smartassabouteverything,he
wouldtakemetotheradiostationfora
varietyofthings.I wouldhangoutwith
Daddy,andhewouldhavemecutspots
andgotoremotebroadcastsandallthat
kindofgoodstuff.
AndthenI gotintodanceandtheater
andvoiceandchorusandallthosesorts
ofthingsupthroughmyhighschool
years.I thoughtI wasgoingtobethe
MerylStreepofmygeneration.Thatwas
mygoal.I wenttocollegeandmajoredin
theaterperformance.Whileinphilosophy
class,oneofmyfriendssaid,“Hey,I work
atoneofthelocalradiostationsherein
townandtheyneedpart-timersbecause
I’mworking12-hourshifts.Youwould
probablybegoodatthatandyoushould
apply.”
Well,I neededmoney,soI wentdown
totheradiostationandI’malldressed
upandI havemyresume.It wasmyfirst
realjobinterview,andI wasscaredoutof
mymind.Theprogramdirectorcamein
andsaid,“FilloutthispaperworkandI’ll
bebackina minute.”Onthedeskwasa
copyofRadio&Records, andmydadwas
onthefrontpagefora hugedealtheyhad
justclosed.It wasoneofthelargestradiotransactionsinhistoryatthattime.
I havea differentlastname,sonobody
knewthatwasmydad.I beganinradio
inOctober1987,andI wasmarriedin
January1988.So,formostofmycareer,
unlesswehappentobesomewhere
togetherandDadsays,“Thisis mydaugh-
ter,”peopledon’tknowwe’rerelated.I’ve
beena Cantrellfor 32 years,andI’vebeen
inradio 32 years.
Sothatwasintimidating— myGod,
that’smydadonthecoverofR&R. I
turnedoverthemagazineandtheguy
comesinandsays,“OK,canyoupushbut-
tons?”andI said,“Yes,sir,I can,”andhe
said,“Great,youstarttomorrow.”Andso
thatwasmyillustriousstartinradio.RadioInk:Whatdidtheyhaveyou
doingatthestation?
Cantrell:ThiswasinRome,Georgia,in
1987.I wouldhangaroundthestationall
thetime,whetherI wasontheclockor
offtheclock.PeoplewouldgetfiredandI
wouldbehangingaroundandtheywould
ask,“Canyoudothis?”andI wouldsay,
“Yes,I can,”evenif I hadnoideahowto
doit.Youknow,I learneda lotbyscrew-
ingthingsup— a lot.I justkeptdoingthat
andkeptshowingup.
WhenI graduatedfromcollegein
1989,theonlyfull-timejobwasinsales,
soI tookit.I wasscaredofselling,butI
seemedtohavea knackforit.Then,in“Kristin was 20 years old
when she called me from
Berry College in Rome,
Georgia. She said, ‘Dad, I
want to go into radio, but I
need your blessing.’ She’s
been on her own ever
since. I’m so proud of her I
could just bust.”
Kerby Confer“Kristin has a passion
for radio. Her greatest
talent is her creativity in
all aspects of the radio
operations.”
Donald Alt“Kristin is a dynamo,
blessed with positive
energy and unmatched
creativity. That’s enabled
her to assemble an
extraordinary team
of terrific people,
innovative products,
and an impressive
platform of stations and
formats. Joining her
Seven Mountains Media
leadership team has been
a great joy and a fast ride.”
Jim Loftus
Chief Operating Officer
CapCity Communications
Seven Mountains MediaKristin Cantrell with CapCity Frankfort, Kentucky GSM Christine Cartwright