This week I will celebrate two anniversaries although I’m not sure of the date of one of them.

Kevin with radio partner Steve Paul
Kevin with radio partner Steve Paul (Townsquare Media NJ)
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I know that Saturday is my 34th wedding anniversary as there’s no doubt that it was July 25, 1981 that Jane Viggiano made the biggest mistake of her life. I’ll save that one for later in the week.

However I’m a bit unclear on the date I walked into what was then the offices and studios of WOBM on Route 9 in Bayville to begin my first official day of work. I think it was July 23, 1979 because that was a Monday but I’m not positive. I know I made a favorable impression because I brought two boxes of Dunkin' Donuts as a first-day treat and immediately learned that the gift of food goes over very well, especially at a radio station.

I was 23 years old and thought I had a bright future as WOBM was only a pit stop on the way to the big time. Little did I know that I would only leave Bayville when we moved our operation to Toms River a few years ago.

Kevin Williams in his early years at WOBM
Kevin Williams in his early years at WOBM (Kevin Williams, Townsquare Media NJ)
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WOBM was not the plan as I had been working at another radio station for a year and was strongly considering moving to Arizona to join some friends there. I had even applied for jobs at a couple of radio stations in the Phoenix area and one offered the possibility of some part time work in the near future.

At around the same time I got a phone call from the General Manager at WOBM asking me to come in a talk about a new position they were creating. While the station had done quite a bit of sports broadcasting they were looking to hire their first ever full-time Sports Director whose main priority would be to do live sportscasts in morning drive. Truthfully I didn’t think I would fit as I was young and a bit wild and thought of the radio station as, well< let’s say a bit older.

My interview in early July consisted of answering five sports questions from this guy Bob Levy who then told the GM I was the guy to hire. However I wasn’t sure I wanted the job as Arizona and year-round sunshine awaited. I was offered the position at $175 a week with a promise to go to $200 after 90 days. At the time I was earning $140 a week so it was a nice raise.

I spent a weekend thinking about it and decided to give WOBM a shot. I figured I would stay for a couple of years and then it was to a much bigger city and job. That was 36 years ago this week (I think) and while I’m full of regrets in many ways I’ve been pretty lucky.

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