Yesterday was a rough day for a lot of people. Jerry Wayne (co-host of WNCT's "Breakfast Club" morning show, PD of WXNR) passed away due to complications from liver cancer. He was only 38 years old.
I first met Jerry about 5 years ago when I started interning here at The X. He worked out of our Greenville office, so at first I only knew him in passing. In January of 2007, he was promoted to Director of Programming and took over as Program Director of X (making him my direct boss).
Now I won't lie and say things were perfect. He had never worked in a new rock format and (having done oldies for 15 years) had a very different way of doing things than we were used to. We butted heads, disagreed on ideas, typical things coworkers do. But there was a lot of mutual respect. I knew he had years of experience in radio beyond what I knew and he understood that I knew the music and the format better than he ever could.
On a personal level though, he was a great guy. Always fun to bullshit with. Always had a wisecrack for every situation. Always very upbeat and positive.
He was a good boss, a great friend, and a respected and adored radio personality. He will be dearly missed by all of us here at WXNR, Beasley Broadcasting, Eastern North Carolina, and beyond.
Keep rockin my friend. We'll see you on the other side...
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