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The Steve Gruber continues to grow and I’d like to thank you personally for your continued support. When I first walked into the studio in April 2012 things were not in good shape. The previous morning show had left abruptly after a battle with management that left the show and the Michigan Talk Network in jeopardy. I began with just four affiliates but with the support of men and women across Michigan we started building something together, common sense radio.

Today we are close to securing our 20th affiliate and I expect to announce that very soon to our loyal listeners.

There have been many changes over the three and a half years as well. One of the people who hired me and quickly became a close friend, Dave Minock, died unexpectedly in February of 2013. That left our MTN ship without a captain. I also watched as Cumulus sold our network to Townsquare and the new owners pared down the winning team I’d grown so comfortable with. Change can be difficult to say the least.

I’ve considered many different options during my tenure as your host but I’ve always returned to the support, you, the listeners, have continued to give. I could never walk away and leave my job here unfinished.

So, I’ve kept the course. I began the rebuilding process in March with the one person I knew I could trust. She was also the one person I knew could pull it off, my wife. Ivey who became the programs Executive Producer, delivers a background in International Relations, bilingual abilities and an incredible work ethic every day. Not to mention she has a way of communicating with me that truly makes me better. She also delivers on the mic from time to time in a way that only she can and the listener’s love. And frankly, why wouldn’t they? Rob Burkhart joined the team a few weeks later as our Assistant Producer and has put together a solid list of high quality guests and stories ever since. Rob rolled in on a TV news refugee train and I reached out my hand to begin the long road to recovery. Though he’s not all the way back we have all seen real progress in Rob and remain very hopeful. Alex Clarke, is our Engineer held deep in the bowels of the MTN mountain. He is quick witted, a bit dark and the perfect mad scientist to bring this eclectic brew to a boil each morning well before the sunrises and he retreats to the shadows.

As we have reinvented the show over the past few months I’ve added a few more twists as well. My brother Shane, whom I cleverly call, Brother Shane has become a regular contributor on the program. He uses his many years of additional experience on the planet (compared to my youthful years) to show off the pieces of lint that rattle out of his brain and onto the floor from time to time. His insight into the hot topics of the day brings a valuable new dimension each morning he slides into the room. And of course there is the Wild man himself, Duran Martinez, who has become a regular fill-in host on the show with his remarkably smooth and unflinching delivery. He can even stand tough when confronted by BW about his ethnicity and his obvious relationship to my wife. He is well respected and well received.

I guess what I am saying is thank you for supporting me and the entire team! It takes a big team to build The Steve Gruber Show each day. There is a lot more to going live at 6:06am each morning than just rolling in and opening the mic but I’m guessing you knew that already.

There are a host of others that also make it possible like Jeff Fuhrman, the GM of MTN, Zoe Burdine-Fly the regional GM for Townsquare- who I think finally understands what we are up to- or at least she smiles a lot (which means she’s making cash) and that’s good enough for me, Rick Sarata the Sales Director for the Townsquare mothership cluster who was also responsible for bringing me in the door and Nick Chase, my program director and a raging liberal I locked horns with many times early on but whom I’ve come to appreciate and respect. Nick really does work more than anyone else I am pretty damn sure. That doesn’t mean he’s right about politics but hey you can’t have it all.

There are so many more but really it’s about you, the listener. Again thank you for being there each morning and keeping me honest. It’s you that I do this for and that is the bottom line.

By the way you can find archived interviews on PodBean and you can listen live by downloading the RadioPup App on your smart phone. Find WJIMAM and dial us in. You can listen live by clicking right here too http://wjimam.com/listen-live/popup/ .

Thank you, again. I just cannot say that enough!

Oh, you’re right Mad Dog, I really did learn it all from you. Ha.

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