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What a Difference a Year Makes · Commentary - TJ Meadows

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  Speaker 1: Chris. Next week marks one year since Dave Wilson and
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  Speaker 1: I inherited Metro News talk line, and honestly, it still
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  Speaker 1: feels a little unreal. Flashback to the year two thousand.
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  Speaker 1: I'm a skinny wet behind the ears kid cracking a
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  Speaker 1: mic at West Virginia Radio, Charleston on what was then
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  Speaker 1: ninety eight point seven. The Beat College brought me to Morgantown,
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  Speaker 1: and through a few kind people, I connected with the
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  Speaker 1: late Lacy Nef, longtime WVAQ program director, multiple Marconi Award
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  Speaker 1: winner and one of the most gifted radio minds I've
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  Speaker 1: ever met. I truly miss him like any good PD.
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  Speaker 1: Lacey wanted an air check, so I drove to Saberton,
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  Speaker 1: walked into the Greer building and knocked on the West
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  Speaker 1: Virginia Radio headquarters door. Hobby Kerchival answered, foreshadowing maybe Lacey
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  Speaker 1: wasn't available. He was on the air, so I handed
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  Speaker 1: over a cassette tape, yes, a cassette. I've often wondered
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  Speaker 1: what Hoppy thought of that kid dropping it off. Odds
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  Speaker 1: are he doesn't remember I would, but Lacey listened and
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  Speaker 1: he gave me a shot. First weekends then nights seven
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  Speaker 1: to midnight, a great shift in a college town. I
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  Speaker 1: worked it until graduation. Then life took me elsewhere. Corporate America, boardrooms,
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  Speaker 1: long hours, big decisions, a clear ladder to keep climbing.
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  Speaker 1: Then in October of twenty twenty four, Hopy called he
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  Speaker 1: was retiring, and suddenly I had a choice. Keep climbing
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  Speaker 1: or take a leap. Walking away wasn't easy. Growth can
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  Speaker 1: be intoxicating. The meetings, the access, the sense that you're
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  Speaker 1: finally starting to matter. But fear is nothing more than
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  Speaker 1: a liar. It's meant to make you settle for less,
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  Speaker 1: and if you prepare your life well, you can afford
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  Speaker 1: to trade money for meaning. I'm grateful my wife and
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  Speaker 1: I learned that early, after prayer, long conversations, and quiet
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  Speaker 1: reflection about later life, about regret, I found peace in
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  Speaker 1: saying yes. Now. Hundreds of shows and commentaries later, I
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  Speaker 1: wake up every day excited and humbled to do this work.
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  Speaker 1: A seed planted twenty five years ago grew into today.
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  Speaker 1: I'm grateful to God, and I'm grateful to you for listening,
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  Speaker 1: for agreeing, for sometimes disagreeing, and for staying engaged. The
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  Speaker 1: goal isn't agreement, it's honest conversation. Thank you for making
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  Speaker 1: this part of my life possible. Here's to a great
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty six, sharing ideas, debating issues, and growing together.
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  Speaker 1: Chris