By Wendy Pearl

© 2007 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc.

Country radio learned exciting news on Oct. 1 when CMA Horizon Award nominee Jason Aldean called to inform the CMA Broadcast Awards winners of their wins on their station's studio lines. CMA Broadcast Personality of the Year and CMA Radio Station of the Year recipients will be recognized during the "The 41st Annual CMA Awards," which airs live Wednesday, Nov. 7 (8 - 11 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network from the Sommet Center in Nashville.

"The Country radio format is alive and well thanks to these guys who work so hard to help get our music played," said Aldean. "I owe them a tremendous amount of credit for helping me get my career off the ground the past several years, so being able to give them their big news earlier today was a real honor. Congrats again to all of them."

"CMA is proud to recognize these outstanding Country radio stations and broadcast personalities," said CMA COO Tammy Genovese. "Having one of our most exhilarating CMA Awards nominees, Jason Aldean, surprise the winners with the news just adds to the excitement."

The CMA Broadcast Awards finalists were announced at a press conference in Nashville in late August by Montgomery Gentry and Taylor Swift. Many of the radio stations and personalities were first-time finalists for a CMA Broadcast Award. Nineteen percent of the stations and 45 percent of the radio personalities had never made it to the final ballot and that was reflected in the winners.

"It is very thrilling to see so many new faces and stations on the list of winners," said Genovese. "Having several first-time winners speaks to the creativity, talent and dedication of the format's radio professionals."

CMA Broadcast Awards winners are not eligible to enter in consecutive years. For National CMA Broadcast Personality of the Year, syndicated, short-form, hub-tracking and satellite radio personalities heard in at least three markets with a minimum of 40 shows per year were eligible. In addition to the National CMA Broadcast Personality of the Year Award, winners were selected in four market categories (Major, Large, Medium and Small) for CMA Broadcast Personality and CMA Radio Station of the Year. Complimentary CMA lifetime memberships were awarded to all CMA Broadcast Personality of the Year winners.

The categories are established by market size based on Arbitron rankings. Entries for broadcast personalities were judged on aircheck, ratings, community involvement and biographical information. Radio stations were judged on airchecks, ratings history, community involvement and leadership. CMA members who are full-time, Country on-air personalities and CMA member radio stations in the United States and Canada were eligible to enter. Winners were determined in two rounds of judging by a panel of broadcast professionals. The accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP tabulated the scoring by the judges.

Major Market: Chris Carr, KEEY, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.
"I'm honored to be the CMA's Major Market Broadcast Personality of the Year. The positive reaction by everyone around me after winning the CMA Award, including people I haven't met face to face, has magnified the reasons why I love Country Music, our listeners, the staff of K102, CMA and my job." - Chris Carr

Large Market: "Jim, Deborah and Kevin," (Jim Denny, Kevin Freeman and Deborah Honeycutt), WFMS, Indianapolis, Ind.
"It is an honor to be recognized for doing something we love. We all grew up in Indiana, and couldn't be more thrilled to share this award with Country Music fans across the state. Thank you CMA." - Jim Denny, Kevin Freeman and Deborah Honeycutt

Medium Market: Dan Tooker in the Morning with Jon Watkins and Colby Ericson (show was formerly on KFDI, Wichita, Kan.)
"I want to thank KFDI, Journal Broadcast Group and PD Beverley Brannigan for giving us the platform to impact our listeners' lives as well as obtain this great honor. This was a great way to end our three-year run there. If anybody is interested in hiring a CMA winning morning show host feel free to check out dantooker.com. And I'm not joking." - Dan Tooker

Small Market "Gator& The StyckMan," (Gator Harrison and Greg "The StyckMan" Owens), WGSQ, Cookeville, Tenn.
"Everyone likes to be encouraged and have someone tell them 'good job,' but this is the ultimate back pat and the highest praise given to a Country Music personality. It's something that we can all share, as a radio station and as a community. There are no words to express what I'm feeling, other than thankfulness." - Gator Harrison

"Even though our names are attached to this award, it's as much our listeners as it is ours: because without them, Gator and I are talking to nobody. It's because of them that we do this. I can only hope that they have as much fun listening to us as we have talking to them." - Greg "The StyckMan" Owens

2007 CMA Radio Station of the Year Winners

Major Market: KYGO / Denver/Boulder, Colo. 

"KYGO has been fortunate to win several national awards over the past several years. However, this CMA Award is the most gratifying. At KYGO, it's a total team effort and it's not just the music but a commitment to make a positive difference in Colorado."
- Joel Burke, Program Director, KYGO

Large Market: WMIL / Milwaukee/Racine, Wis.

"Congratulations to the entire FM 106.1 staff for picking up the win for CMA Large Market Radio Station of the Year. Although we've been nominated more than a few times, this is our first win ever. It's a great honor to work with everyone on this staff. I appreciate your passion and desire for greatness. This truly is one giant team effort." - Kerry Wolfe, Program Director, WMIL

Medium Market: KXKT / Omaha/CouncilBluffs, Iowa

"Kat 103 is so proud and so blessed to become a part of the legendary list of radio stations to win a CMA Award. We've come close before, but to actually win one really justifies all the hard work it takes to get here. I am so proud of the KXKT staff and they deserve all the credit. Thank you." - Tom Goodwin, Program Director, KXKT

Small Market: WKXC / Augusta, Ga.