Countryfest 2016: A Milestone For Sean McMaster

Wow, I don't know how to feel about this, but I was walking through the halls of WGNA this morning and glanced at the Countryfest posters we have on the walls and a realization shocked me. Countryfest 2016 will be my 20th Countryfest while working at the station.

When it hit me, my first thought was, "How can this even be possible considering I am only 34 years old?" Then part of me felt a little sense of accomplishment. In the radio business, longevity at ANY radio station is just unheard of. I would think 10 years would shock most people. I have been here for 20 years! It still doesn't seem possible.

At some point I may have to sit down and think about which ones were my favorite Countryfests and really they all were awesome but I know that that first one in 1997 has to be No. 1. Not only was it my first Countryfest but it was headlined by my all time favorite country band at the time, Sawyer Brown.

I remember begging the promotions director at the time to let me intro the band even though I had only been with the station less than a year and for some reason he said yes. That was the first of many times WGNA made one of my dreams come true, but far from the last.

So as I walk down memory lane and think about the last 20 years here, I have to take a minute to say "thank you" so much for being such a big part of my life for the last 20 years.