“I feel like I”™m reliving ”˜WKRP in Cincinnati,”™” says Kerry Potter, recalling the situation comedy that she feels is replaying at Rockland County radio station WRCR.
Director of broadcasting development for the station, based at the Provident Bank Park home of the Rockland Boulders baseball team, Potter can”™t contain her enthusiasm for working with what she terms “a colorful group of co-workers.”
“We are a small group running a privately owned station,” Potter says. “Most radio stations today are owned by companies running multiple stations. We are unique. We operate on advertising dollars and show leasing. Pairing them up is my main responsibility ”” to bring in advertisers and show ideas.”
Potter says the station is revving up for expansion during the next year.
“From 1300 on the dial, we will move to 1700 and will expand our reach to cover additional mid-Hudson communities, New York City”™s five boroughs, and parts of nearby New Jersey.”
The station is the brainchild of Alexander Medakovich. “He is an internist who was first bitten by the radio bug during high school in Serbia,” Potter says.
Potter herself came into the broadcasting world by a circuitous route. A graduate of Suffern High School who earned an associate degree in business administration from Rockland Community College, she was a stay-at-home mom of three when her middle daughter was attacked by dogs. She helped bring a nonprofit organization into the area to prevent future mishaps of that kind. From being active in Doggone Safe Inc., ”” she is national vice president, ”” she became an activist, leading to Leadership Rockland in 2010 and ultimately to applying for a sales position at WRCR.
Potter would rather talk about her co-workers than herself.
“There”™s Steve Possell, blind since birth. He has 40 years in radio,” Potter says, “cohosting the ”˜Steve & Meredyth”™ morning show with Meredyth Glover. He operates all the radio broadcast equipment and keeps listeners up to speed on local issues.
“Neil Richter is a ”™70s hippie DJ that rocks your drive home from work,” Potter says. “Mark Hanok is our quirky and very accurate meteorologist. George Dacre is a sales executive with a long history in broadcasting. Liz Possell, Steve”™s daughter, is also a sales executive.”
“Our morning drive show is a call-in talk show with scheduled segments featuring Rockland elected officials.”
Potter herself initiated several community-focused shows, such as “Crosslands of Rockland History” with Clare Sheridan and “Rockvets” with Jerry Donnellan, director of Rockland County”™s Veterans Service Agency. “His current sponsor is the Marine Corps League, which wanted a way to announce their events,” Potter says.
Potter herself fills in for morning hosts as needed, “which is a lot of fun but involves being at the station at 5:30 a.m.,” she says. “I moderate some of the leased shows, host the annual St. Patrick”™s Day parade in Pearl River and host my own monthly radio show called ”˜Dying to Bloom.”™” Potter is an advocate of green burial promoted by the program, “along with upbeat urging to live life and enjoy it” she adds.
“We all pull together to serve the community. A great example of that was when Hurricane Sandy hit Rockland. We ran on generators and coffee to keep people informed throughout the storm,” Potter says.
“WRCR has an amazing location,” Potter says about the ballpark that opened in 2011. She also works part time at the park, emceeing the 2014 summer concert series and introducing major artists such as the Beach Boys.
Challenging Careers focuses on the exciting and unusual business lives of Hudson Valley residents. Comments or suggestions may be emailed to Catherine Portman-Laux at cplaux@optonline.net.
