Well this Weekend In Pictures is definitely Epic! Getting to introduce Billy Ray Cyrus at Skylands Stadium, Fantasy Football Drafts, work, and fun with friends all along the way. I think tonight will be a very early bedtime for me. We'll start with Friday morning.
Friday morning, I was able to award Vernon Township Ambulance Corp with our Nielsen Ford First Responders Of The Month award. This is one of my favorite and most important things I get to do every month. We are very lucky to have them in my hometown of Vernon, that's for sure! They'll be using their $500 donation towards their new power stretchers. My grandfather Pop Pop in Florida was a firefighter for many years, and I always have fond memories of getting to visit him in the firehouse. Little Stevie always had fun channeling his inner Batman and sliding down the pole at the firehouse.
Friday afternoon I went to Krave and had lunch with my besties Kim and Patti. We were having fun going over upcoming fun events happening with Shoppes At Lafayette, and also talking about yummy seafood. I'm now craving Lobstawh.
Friday night it was time for one of my two Fantasy Football Drafts. I picked 10th overall, so that meant there were going to be red flags on anyone available. Nobody's perfect anyway. I think overall my team The Radioboyz had a decent draft. CBS graded my draft with a B +. Of course, this was after I drafted Andrew Luck, who retired 24 hours after I drafted him. I shouldn't see that as a sign of how my Fantasy Football season is going to go, right? In all seriousness, I wish the best of luck to Andrew Luck. If you watch his press conference, you can see that this guy is just totally burnt out. Last year I went 12-1 but lost in the playoffs. Ugh!
1 of 6 2 of 6 3 of 6 4 of 6 5 of 6 6 of 6
Saturday was ACTION packed! I kicked it off in Newton on 206. I went to Marshall's, where I was immediately recognized by Manny who listens to me on the radio every single day. Nice to meeting you in person, Manny! Then I had a yummy, hearty breakfast at Hampton Diner. They always have 102.3 WSUS cranking through their radio speakers. Bacon and scrambled eggs get in my belly!
Then Saturday afternoon from 11am-1pm we had our monthly live broadcast at Audi Of Newton with Wally. I swear, Wally's enthusiasm is contagious. The second I got there he hugged me and wished us congratulations on our engagement. He prides himself on turning around places and it shows. I have so much fun getting to hang out with Wally every month. Woohoo!
Saturday afternoon I came back to the radio station to run the board for another one of our live broadcasts happening. We had a ton going on this weekend! I then ventured off for one drink at Brick And Brew where I ran into friends Donna and John Arrigo. They have a Golf Outting in honor of their late daughter Dina. All proceeds benefit NothingIsImpossible.org. You can find out more about their event there, and you'll be hearing me talking about it in commercials starting this week. Everyone wanted me to stay for another drink, but I told them I had to go introduce Billy Ray Cyrus at Skylands Stadium. Everyone was cracking up saying "look at Steve go, he just says I gotta leave soon, I have this thing...."
Saturday night HERE WE GO! Billy Ray Cyrus's Old Town Road just broke the record, spending 19 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. I had to skip my other league Fantasy Football Draft to emcee this, but it was well worth it! Ironically, by the time Achy Breaky Heart was a hit in 1992 I was already dreaming about having a career in radio. Little did I know that so many years later I would be on stage introducing Billy Ray Cyrus. I wanted to meet Billy Ray Cyrus in the worst way.
1 of 14 2 of 14 3 of 14 4 of 14 5 of 14 6 of 14 7 of 14 8 of 14 9 of 14 10 of 14 11 of 14 12 of 14 13 of 14 14 of 14
In radio, you end up getting to make an amazing set of friends working together. My first ever morning guy I worked with in Boston is John Lander. He did so much for my career early on, and has always been a champion for me. Turns out, in the early 90s John Lander was doing mornings in Philly on the Top 40 radio station. While visiting his family in Houston, he heard Achy Breaky Heart on country radio stations and immediately knew it was going to be a smash hit. He then bought the cassette, and played it on his radio show, becoming the first Top 40 DJ in America to play Achy Breaky Heart. Billy Ray Cyrus played tennis with Lander later to thank him.
I was able to make friends with Billy Ray's terrific point person and tell him that story. He was able to get me, Meg, and our Awesome Daughters into a Meet And Greet with Billy Ray. The minute I told Billy Ray, he stopped and said "John Lander? He's a beautiful, beautiful spirit. Please tell him the show tonight is for HIM!" I was so happy to be able to make that connection with him. Awesome Girlfriend Megan's Awesome Daughters loved watching him on Hannah Montana growing up, and they were thrilled to meet him. Opener Johnny McGuire was absolutely fantastic and a legit good dude. He high fived me as I walked off stage after introducing him.
I cannot lie, getting cheered on by so many at Skylands Stadium was very humbling. My life in Jersey these past 5 years has been pretty amazing. The crowd age range really was from 5 years old cheering on Old Town Road, to 90 year olds rocking out to Achy Breaky Heart. It was quite the scene. Then on top of that we kept running into friends new and old congratulating us on mine and Meg's engagement. Pretty wild.
My besties Kim Eid and Shawn Stinnett were able to get us into our Suite at Skylands Stadium where we were able to enjoy the show with them. The weather was fantastic and we had an amazing time.
1 of 4 2 of 4 3 of 4 4 of 4
Sunday, we had a nice little victory lunch with Meg, and the Awesome Daughters at Rockaway Mall. We tried out Miller's Ale House, which is a sports bar chain based in Florida. They were surprisingly terrific. My wings and fries were fantastic. The girls had caesar salmon salads, chicken salads, etc and they were very happy.
Sunday afternoon, I was so happy to chill at Minerals Sports Club by the pool. Getting to catch up and hang with JG, Michele, Aggie, Steve and Sonny was therapeutic. Just what the doctor ordered.
I NEED A NAP! LOL. Overall we had an amazing weekend. I hope your weekend was wonderful too. Time to start planning next weekend!