Who knew announcing a special price on canned corn or a need for a clean-up on aisle seven would lead to an illustrious broadcasting career? Back in the day, the sixteen-year-old grocery checker sure didn’t, but fast forward through 53 years of record-setting industry accomplishments and it’s easy to see why Michael St. John is one of this year’s ABA Hall of Fame inductees.

“That’s a true story. I was a checkout clerk at Bruno’s in Huntsville,” laughs St. John. “I wasn’t shy, so I was the one to get on the in-store microphone … sort of the blue light special guy.”

Seems M.D. Smith III, owner of Huntsville’s 1550 WAAY, and his wife were Bruno’s customers and happened to hear one of St. John’s announcements. While ringing up the Smith’s items, the radio executive asked St. John to stop by the station after school. That appointment led to sitting in on a six to midnight shift where he was taught how to use the board. After only an hour’s worth of instruction he was left to run the rest of the shift by himself, and he did so well that he was offered a part-time job.

After high school his decision to attend Vanderbilt University in Nashville was made in part because the school had a student-run radio station. In addition to volunteering there, he worked the midnight shift at WMAK – all while getting a double major in Psychology/English.

After graduating, St. John moved to WERC AM/FM in Birmingham where he created the “Love Hour”, a two-hour program that scored a 72 percent share of audience, the largest Arbitron rating ever in Alabama, a record that remains unbroken to this day.

St. John went on to hold just about every management position possible including Music Director, Program Director, Operations Manager, General Manager and Vice President of Programming in a number of major markets including Memphis, Hartford, Nashville, Phoenix, and St. Louis. His business acumen and creative flair produced incredible success stories all along the way.

In 1997, St. John and his wife Melanie purchased 92.7 WAFN-FM in Arab and have added WAFN-AM, Somerville, an FM translator in Priceville, WRAB-AM and an FM translator in Arab to their properties. They’re also partners in FUN Media group Tennessee, which owns WTNK-AM and two FM translators in Hartsville, TN.

St. John says being inducted into the Alabama Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame is a great honor, “Anytime that you are recognized by your peers or by an organization in the field that you have been in for 53 years, it’s a great, humbling honor.” He added, “And to think that people hence forth will look at the names in the ABA’s Hall of Fame and learn from the great job and the wonderful work that all of the members have contributed to broadcasting not only in Alabama, but nationwide … to join that elite fraternity is a very, very humbling honor.”

But when asked about his contributions to the industry, St. John turns the topic from business accomplishments to his goal of passing on his passion for broadcasting to those coming up behind him.

“I just want to get into the hearts and souls and minds of these young people, encouraging them to get into a wonderful field that not only provides a means of survival in life, but also, a lot of happiness and a lot of reward personally,” says St. John.

“That’s the secret, you know. The secret’s always been people. And I look forward to anything if it is about creating an environment where young people can enter and grow and leave for green air pastures,” explains St. John. “And maybe they come back in ten or 20 years and say, ‘hey, you know, by getting my start with you and learning how to do this, I’ve become successful.”

Talking about the future, St. John sounds as amped up as that sixteen-year-old grocery checker.
“To this day, if I produce a promo, or if I come up with a promotion that makes the audience react and promotes the radio station, it excites me,” smiles St. John. “I have no plans of retiring from my love because it is changing. And I am learning new tricks of the trade … new ways of doing things every day.”

St. John also cannot hide the fact that he’s already grooming a very special young person for the broadcasting field … his grandson. “He was over on Saturday night, and he picks up the microphone off my desk and he looks at it and immediately starts talking knowing exactly what it is. And so, to me at 22 months, that’s a great sign,” laughs St. John. “I want to continue to develop that. I’m so lucky.”