Questions for Sammy C-50 Years on the Radio

Q A& Questions for Sammy C 50 Years on the Radio

Congratulations, 50 years on the radio is an amazing accomplishment. Not to give away your age, but how old were you when you started on the radio? And what was that first experience like?

First of all, I ‘Thank God’ who allowed me to recognize the gifts he gave me in life at an early age. I started in radio in June of 1969 at the age of 14, the summer of going from my 9th grade to 10th grade. I had my own radio show throughout high school and worked my way to become President of Millennium Media, which is my position today. My dear friend, Ron Bosserman, who worked at KYVA and played in the band ‘Nobody’s Children’ with my brother Dario, got me into radio. And, As I begin my 50th year, I reflect back on my first day with KYVA, and three special people who empowered me to start my journey in broadcasting, Bob and Donna Barnett,... and later in 1977, George Malti promoted me to Sales Manager, ultimately President. Johannah Malti continues to empower me to run her company and to these five influences in my life, I will always be grateful. They believed in me.

Fifty years is a longtime. The world has changed so much and so fast with technology. What do you see as the biggest change in radio over your 50 years?

Technology. I am honored to have been a part of the radio industry at the tail end of the pioneering of radio technology as it was. I then went through numerous generations of new technology. I am excited to see what it evolves to in the future. It has made our jobs easier and created efficiencies plus time for us to spend with other aspects of the business. The only downfall over the years has been to see radio as great as it was with local personalities go to more automation utilizing economies of scale which provided one staff member to cover multiple stations. This all began prior to the downsizing era which became a major part of life in the 90s and has worked its way into the 2000s. This not only occurred in Gallup, but, nationwide. Hopefully one day things will get back to what made radio great in the early days - its personalities. Radio today is awesome, and personalities will continue to grow in the business.

Your voice is one-of-a-kind. Whether I hear it on the radio or out in the community, I immediately recognize it. Your voice was definitely made for radio. Is this something you nurtured in the beginning or your career?

I never attended voice school. I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Accounting from New Mexico State University. My research at an early age was to listen to multiple radio stations along the AM and FM bands. Listening to on-air personalities deliver with their styles, that is how I spent some of my idle time. From listening to a variety of announcers, I cultivated my own style and delivery. I also followed the same process with sports. My passion has been sports play-by-play. Through practice, the voice got better - and the style became polished.

I know you are involved in all of Millennium Media’s programming, but I always think of you as a sports guy. You have a passion for broadcasting sporting events. What do you think has made you such a sports fan?

I loved sports since I was a kid. It was engaging to me. I enjoyed participating and playing a variety of sports. I studied each sport intimately and learned all I could, becoming a ‘student of the game.’ Then, I learned how to create a picture through the ‘theatre of the mind’ and realized the responsibility I had to paint a picture of what I was witnessing then conveying that in descriptive words to the audience. I would record myself to learn if what I was seeing was properly interpreted to convey to an audience. From being a student of sports delivery, I was able to cover all bases; from color to stats, to the emotion of the athlete, team and fans, to the audience listening at home or in their car. I have always had a terrific following because the audience grew accustomed to my style and they knew the thoroughness of what to expect and could always count on me by listening to my interpretation of the game with accuracy.

The other day one of my fellow co-workers asked his buddy if he wanted to meet at Sammy’s to shoot pool. You have become more than radio and many know you for how involved in the community you are. What would you like to see Gallup accomplish over the next 50 years?

We are Gallup. Through the process of life, everyone can become busy, competitive, envious, over-zealous, and the friendships along the way can become impeded. I see this a lot in my daily trek throughout our community and I often feel we do not do enough for each other. I believe we could promote each other, nurture relationships, care for one another, be there for each other, with no strings attached. Our community gets a bad rap all over the State. Who better than ourselves to be there for each other and for Gallup when no one else respects us as they should? For many of us, it is our home town. Let’s become our own caseworkers and make our home town better, doing for one another, ultimately, making it an even better community. We should respect each other’s skills and talents, recognize our own worth, improve on understanding our own shortcomings, and recognizing that everyone here has a role and plays a part in making Gallup what it is. There are a lot of moving parts to our community and everyone brings something to the table. Through our God-given talents, we do our part to make it better. No one has it made. Everyone has challenges, peaks and valleys. No one knows what the other person is going through in their lives. We should never assume anything, just appreciate each other. The community will become stronger.