All Things Must End

After seven wonderful and magical years hosting Fox Across America, I broadcasted my final show Thursday (Feb 14) on Sirius 126 and online on?www.foxacrossamerica.com.

If you missed it, please listen below:

I have no animosity or resentment or rage in my heart. Business is business and I am a smart enough capitalist to understand how the world works.

Just sadness.

I woke up and immediately began to cry.

Not out of worry or anxiety or fear.

I’m a warrior at heart and the most determined and enthusiastic person you will ever meet. The future will be awesome. NO DOUBT about it.

But I cried out of nostalgia for this amazing ride I have been on for almost a decade of my life.

My heart aches for the loss of the adventures and the great people I met along the way.

So much has happened in my life during this time that it actually seems like a greater span of time than even seven years: Divorce, remarriage, a new baby, new job, and new friends.

That’s a lot of life changes in a few years.

I will never forget the day I found out about the opportunity at Fox News.

I was working a retail job making $12 an hour and desperate to get back to my dreams of radio.

Although I can’t seem to find that original email now, it was from my current boss and said something to the effect of “We may have an opportunity for you in New York.”

My heart jumped. New York?? New York CITY??

The Major Leagues. The Big Time. The #1 Radio Market in the country.

There was nothing bigger than that!

I will also never forget my first trip to New York City for the interview process.

The flight got in very late at night and by the time I got to the hotel, it was midnight.

But there was no way I was going to sleep. After all, I was in the City that NEVER sleeps!

So I checked into the hotel, left my luggage in the room, and wandered in no particular direction. I think I probably followed the neon glow.

Little did I know that the hotel and Fox Headquarters were just a quick walk to Times Square.

It was right out of a movie. There I was, standing in the middle of Times Square with buildings and billboards as tall and as bright as my dreams.

Although the job was not yet mine, I KNEW in my heart that it was. It HAD to be. The Universe didn’t put me in such a picture perfect place to just tease me.

I interviewed the next day and the rest, as they say, is history.

The job WAS mine.

What’s funny is that the original plan was to try me out for six months. The vision was to have a new Fox Across America host every six months.

That’s the reason my name was never the focus of the show title as with the other shows. They didn’t think listeners would get attached to just one person.

But I performed my radio magic as I always had and it worked.

So six months turned to seven years in the blink of an eye.

Over that span, I have met some wonderful new friends, on and off the air. I have been blessed with working with some of the biggest names in the radio business.

Meeting Bill O’Reilly and John Gibson and others was HUGE. Being able to WORK with them was this radio guy’s DREAM come true.

I was already friends with Tom Sullivan going back to local radio days at KFBK in Sacramento. My new friendship with John Gibson, one of my industry mentors, continues to this day.

The producers and technicians and crew I have worked with the last seven years are the BEST in the business. I will miss them all.

And I will miss all of you–the listeners and new friends who made my show possible for six months let alone seven years.

Thanks to Facebook and Twitter we will always be in touch.

And I do not intend on going away. I have more radio days ahead of me than behind me and that excites me tremendously.

Please listen to my final Fox Across America via the audio link at the top of this post.

I will have two of my biggest mentors on the show with me–Jim Bouchard and Larry Winget. Two men who have kept me positive and upbeat about everything in my life.

Farewell to the last seven glorious years.

And here’s a toast to the next seven and beyond.

Thanks to all of you from the bottom of my heart and soul.

Stay in touch with me on Twitter @Radiospencer.

And “Like” my Facebook page if you haven’t yet: www.facebook.com/spencerfans.

Cheers!