Dear Quincy: Thanks For A Great First Year, Here’s To More

Dear Quincy/Hannibal:

Officially, I started at KICK-FM on January 4th of 2016. But that first week was spent filling paperwork, learning the office work side of the job, and getting acclimated to my new surroundings. I don't consider myself becoming a part of the KICK family until I cracked a mic, welcomed you to the Drive Home (I was doing afternoons), and said "That was Jason Aldean, Gonna Know We Were Here on Today's Best Country, KICK-FM, 97-9 KICK-FM dot com! Welcome to your Drive Home, I'm Brodie with some Chris Young on the way, right now, let's hand things over to Chris Stapleton and Nobody To Blame... it's KICK-FM." Or something to that effect.

First and foremost, thanks to everybody out there for making KICK and Quincy a wonderful new home. It's been a weird few years for me, so settling into some sort of normalcy over the past year has been relaxing. You guys have been a big part of that. You welcome me to your airwaves every morning to talk nonsense at you for four hours, and play music I dig, and I hope you're digging, too. Let me know if you're not, I'm kinda in charge of that sort of thing round these parts so we can tweak it. Thanks for making Quincy a town I never thought of before, but now I'm glad to call home. Though considering how temporary I've been over the past five years, I still slip up and refer to going to my sister's in Wichita as "going home." But I'm slowly getting more comfortable referring to Quincy as home.

Not to repeat myself, but it really is the people that make this town great, and this career move so fantastic. All the fine folks who walk into my studio every morning are just as warm as they are when I walk into their establishment. Even the ones I don't chat with on-air, if I walk into a pub or restaurant or shop, I'm in for a nice hello and a friendly conversation. For a guy who has been so temporary and felt like an outsider, being welcomed like that has an effect.

I do want to give a shout out to Hannibal, too. I live in Quincy, so it's obviously where I spend a bulk of my free time. But I love heading down the river and exploring all that Hannibal has to offer. Right there, downtown on Main Street, is such a wonderful atmosphere, and the times I was there for Down By The River was just super fun. So while Quincy is my main stomping ground, I dig what Hannibal has.

So to everybody at my favorite hangouts, my favorite restaurants, my favorite bars. To everyone at the Gems, the Y, the DRDC. To all the friends I've made. To all the people I've met. To my wonderful coworkers... thanks for making Quincy a home.

Over on KICK? It's been a fun year getting a handle on everything and talking with you in the morning. I look forward to chatting with you some more, and getting to know you better in 2017. I've got some exciting things in the works over there to bring more of Today's Best Country to you, some more of your all time favorites, and some stuff I think you'll really dig. I've got an awesome slate of Breakthrough Artists lined up for you already, and I'm looking forward to exploring more cool new country acts for you.

Nothin' but love for you

- Brodie