In the words of the song "The
Summer of 69" was certainly one of my most memorable.
To understand how I ended up as a DJ in America, you need to have read
the last part of Radio Career.
WNOX, Knoxville,was owned and
operated by the Scripps Howard News organisation. The MD was
Pete Dreyer and programme director, Don Armstrong. Together, they
were a formidable team and persuaded me that the only way to really
learn the business was to work within the system. I was
offered a job that would start me on the road to commercial radio
success back home. I naturally assumed that I would spend time learning
the whole operation before being let loose on the air - how wrong I was.
I was offered a one year contract at a salary five times the amount that
I was making at Manx Radio, that was the first mind boggling event.
All I had to do was acquire a permanent residents visa and the contract
would run from the day of my arrival in the USA. I was over the moon
with this offer and immediately on my return home, handed in my
resignation to Manx Radio. I then applied for my visa. My future
employer nor I did not realise that obtaining a visa, a green card,
would be almost impossible for a DJ. Immigration was tight.
Having resigned, Manx Radio had found my replacement and at the end of
my notice period, I had to say my goodbyes to the audience believing
that my visa would arrive any day - no such luck and pestering the
American embassy was getting me nowhere. I was so grateful when
Manx Radio called and offered me employment on a week to week basis till
my visa arrived. It was only through the intervention of my uncle
George Turnbull that I actually got a visa. (more)
