WOW. What. A. Weekend! This weekend we held our first ever St. Jude Radiothon on 103.7 NNJ. The radiothon aired on 103.7 NNJ anchored by Borasio, while we supported it on all 3 of our iHeartRadio stations, 102.3 WSUS and 106.3 The Bear. Talk about an intense weekend that we will never forget! Our team was amazing all throughout the hard working, special weekend. It takes several hands on deck to pull this kind of event off, and I'm grateful for all of them. Our Market President Rob was a huge help, along with our Sr. VP of Programming for Albany region Chris, Sharon, Felicia and Ava. Borasio did a phenomenal job rallying and keeping everyone up during some very hard and heavy times. Hearing some of these stories that can be sometimes scary, sad, heartbreaking, and even inspirational. I said on the radio a few times how "many of us are getting our cabooses kicked by allergies this time of year," while some of these kids we're trying to help are getting chemotherapy.
This was our first ever St. Jude Radiothon, and we weren't sure what to expect. While we do our massive food drives a few times every year, this was our first time partnering with St. Jude Research Hospital. I explained to everyone "if we raise two thousand dollars, that's two thousand dollars more than we did last year. Everything we're doing, is playing on house money."
Shout out to our sponsors who were a huge help too! Frederick's Fuel, Tire King, Home Transformer, Berkshire & Hathaway Real Estate and more. During radiothons there's never a shortage of cheers.
This was very similar to the many times I did radiothons at Children's Hospital Boston, trying to help gain funds for families. We're raising funds for research to try to end cancer in children, and also help their families too. Here are some interesting tidbits I learned about St. Jude this weekend. I hope to someday go see them in Memphis.
Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food, because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since it opened 50 years ago. St. Jude shares discoveries, so every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. St. Jude conducts more clinical trials for childhood cancer than anyone else. St. Jude is where doctors often send their toughest cases, because St. Jude has the world's best survival rates for some of the most aggressive forms of childhood cancer. St. Jud treats children from all 50 states and all around the world! Because a majority of St. Jude funding comes from generous donors, St. Jude has the freedom to focus on what matters most - saving kids regardless of their financial situation.
I'm honored to have been able to help in a small way towards their mission!
We were on the radio live Friday morning 6am until 7pm, then again Saturday 8am until 7pm. It was absolutely intense.
Friday by 6pm, our team was starting to think about dinner. They asked if I knew anyone at The Irish Cottage Inn and could call in a reservation for them. Not a problem at all! I called The Cottage and made my reservation (might be the first time I've ever called to make a reservation instead of just going, lol.) They were very helpful. I was honestly too tired and fried to eat, but I joined my coworkers for a quick drink at the table before I went home. Everyone had terrific meals, whether it was french onion soup or Sheppard's Pie. Success!
I went straight home and was on my couch by 8:01pm. I was just parked on my couch watching the NFL Draft. I like what my Patriots did. While we never know who will work out or not, at least they seemed to take players that we could really use. Yes, before the draft I was obnoxious sending my friends the Justin Timberlake "It's gonna be May!" meme, because the Patriots drafted Quarterback Drake Maye with our third overall pick. He's the one I liked the best, so hopefully he works out well. If he doesn't, my friends in New England will never let me hear the end of it about my guy LOL.
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Saturday morning I was back in our radio station at 6:59am and ready to rock. We had such a wonderful time bonding with all of our coworkers as we all kept trying to keep each other up. We shared fun stories, memories, and made some rather amusing social media posts. I have received some positive feedback on my sleeping at the station video, which you can see on my Instagram @SteveAllanRadio. We had fun doing videos together and it really helped break up the long weekend.
I also want to shout out Marina Riklin (or as I nicknamed and have her in my phone as "Marina St. Jude.") This native Texan is an absolute rock star who works for St. Jude. She was also a great sport about coming on the radio with us, letting me give her a tour of our stations, how we do our radio shows, and doing funny social media videos with her. She cracked up when I told her to get ready for me to start "TikTocking," as I jokingly called it. St. Jude is lucky to have her, as we were this weekend too! I hope to continue working together with her.
We had a wonderful first ever local St. Jude Radiothon.
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Saturday night by 7:45 I was able to swing by Kite's and have fun with besties Brad and Steve. It was a delicious victory drink after learning that we helped raise $30K!
Sunday I was still wiped out. These radiothons can really take a lot out of everyone. We're looking forward to a normal week this week to help us rest and recharge.
I went to Rockaway Mall and enjoyed a delicious Dulce De Leche caramel cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory. Marina was staying at a hotel nearby there the previous night, and I recommended she get it. Well, I bragged about it too much and after showing her pictures of it I had, it made me crave one for myself.
I then enjoyed a solid half hour at Industry Kitchen & Bar in Sparta enjoying their gorgeous outdoor patio. I can't wait to make many more fun memories there this year.
I saw a couple of buddies at The Irish Cottage Inn, Artie, Margie, George and bartender B Rad. I was able to dodge craziness of the Spartan Race happening all weekend. I caught one episode of Bar Rescue, then got roped into watching WWE specials. It was on 80s/90s wrestling special behind the scene shows, how could I not? Please don't answer that. LOL.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my Epic Weekend In Pictures. Time to start planning next weekend. New Jersey Wine & Food Festival at Crystal Springs...bring it on!