BUSINESSES OF THE SKOOK: Kasey Owen from T102 Radio
I always had an interest in broadcasting, it’s something I wanted to do since I was a kid. My childhood superhero was Kim Supon from the news, a news anchor in the 90’s. I never really thought I would be able to get into this field. I think I lacked the confidence to actually do it. I ended up getting into higher education and wanted to get out of it after 10 years. I saw T-102 was hiring for marketing and applied/got it. My first day they tried me on a commercial, and I ended up with getting a shift overnight, and then before we knew it I was on the morning show. It’s been a lot of fun to actually get to do what I’ve always wanted to do.
There is a huge jargon/language in this field that is different from anything that I have ever done. I am only now coming into feeling that I can be more genuine and be myself, and people still want to tune in! It’s a mental hurdle, but we are at a point where people want to tune in and listen to my stories now! It was a whole learning curve of figuring out what buttons to press, and not press.
Some things that T-102 do, that people may not know what we do, there is a lot that goes on that is not just listening to music all day long. We try to broadcast local sports such as football, basketball, baseball, and softball games as much as possible– so people from Florida, Colorado, all over the place can tune in because they have family here. I have something called a community spotlight which is dedicated to business’s, non-profits, or anything anyone is doing in the community. They can come in to talk, which is totally for free! I like also doing businesses in the area, because there is so much in the area of Schuylkill County that people just don’t realize. Schuylkill county has so many manufacturing in this area, for example all the potatoes to make instant potatoes for a major company are made in this area, and people don’t know that! My goal is to get more and more of our businesses and nonprofits on the area, because there is so much here and sometimes you don’t know where to look. My goal is to bring the things you don’t see to the forefront. There are also events where we go to different taprooms and bars in the area. We just try to engage the community and try to do fun things as much as possible.
Don’t discount the are we live in. We all go through high school, and I remember a lot of people saying, “I’m leaving and never coming back.” It took me leaving the area to realize that there are still a lot of things in and surrounding the county. You don’t need to leave the area in order to be successful or be something in your life. Do your research, see what is around our area. Sometimes you need to be creative.
Follow the Kasey at T102 on Facebook for more information.
Photos by Jocelyn Barrett /People of Skook /Danie Mae Photography, LLC
