May 20, 2025 • 33 mins
Meet the new iHeart Media Memphis President, Leon Williamson.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Pulse.
Listen here now today's show, y'all, just buckle up because
I got a special guest like none other and he
just happens to be my boss. Hey there, how are you,
young man?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
I'm amazing. Thanks for having me on this amazing pleasure.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Can I say that, young man?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Of course?
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Okay, yeah, because yeah, we're gonna get into some things. Okay,
I am stormy. It is the pulse. We keep our
fingertips on the pulse of our community. So first, welcome
to the show. Thank you so much, Thank you all.
Welcome to you, and welcome to all of you for listening.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
So here we go.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I heart media Memphis. We've got a new president, y'all.
And here he is, Yes, mister Leon Williamson.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yes, yes, hello everyone in the audio land.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
So I've just met you.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
So I'm a little nervous. It's first time I've done
an interview, and I'm nervous.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
You just call me young man, not nervous young man.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Well now come on now, now I do want to
ask you this, Memphis. I want you to get to
know this young man and this man. Let me just
say man, because.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
I'm at the age where young is complimentary.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
It is absolutely how old are you? If you don't
mind man asking?
Speaker 2 (01:17):
That's nobody's business.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Huh business, nobody's been.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Okay, Okay, we're gonna bag up off that one.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
But at any rate, I thank you for being on
the show because you could have said no, but you
said yes. And I wanted to do this show mainly
because a lot of us don't know who you are yet.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
I don't really know yet.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
And I've seen a lot of things on social media.
But the one thing that I have I can say
that I love the most about getting to know you
is I hear that you are community driven, absolutely that
you love the community.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
And this show is all about out community.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
And that's why I wanted to be on the show.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Yeah, it's all about community.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
And every week we talk to people in our city
that that's doing amazing things, and you're no different. So
I saw an interview of you. You came from, Tell me,
Tell everybody, let's give them your title, Tell everybody who
you are and what it is that you do.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
So I'm the new market president for iHeartRadio Memphis. Okay,
I'm originally from Jamaica, born and raised till the age
of eleven, migrated to Miami, Florida.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Where's your accent?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
I left it back in the nineties, okay, when I
was being picked on. Now it's cool to be Jamaica.
Now it's cool to be from the Caribbean. Shut out
to my Haitian brothers as well. But back then it
was a lot of a lot of names we didn't
care to be called.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
So so you moved from Haiti to move to where No, no, Jamaica, I'm.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Sorry, Jamaica, to where Miami? Miami?
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Okay, okay, okay, So how was Miami? Because I hear Miami.
Miami is kind of a melting pot, absolutely a different cultures.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Miami is the northern Caribbean where Miami is Okay, so
melting pot of Latin and Caribbean cultures as well as
European and even the snowbirds that come from the north
in the Midwest kind of looking for, you know, the
beach life, for the warm weather, and you know two
seasons that's uh, summer and more summer. Right. So I'm
(03:32):
born and raised in Jamaica, like I said earlier, and
raised in Miami from the age of eleven, attended Florida
Atlantic University and quickly got into radio maybe three months
after graduation. I was always at the radio station, though,
like I said in our previous meeting, I was that
guy in the studio that didn't work there. So that
(03:53):
showed my passion for for this medium. As far as community,
I just I'm proud out of who I am and
where I come from. I think that wherever you're at
has a huge impact on how you grow. So I'm
proud that I'm Jamaican. I'm proud that I was in
the suburbs of Miami, growing up in Miami Gardens near
(04:15):
Sunlighte Stadium Joe Robbie Stadium now I think it's called
hard Rock Stadium. But quickly moved up in management from
my ad position at ninety nine Jams to Saint Louis.
Let me know if I'm babbling. Saint Louis for Urban
one and back again with iHeartRadio in Miami and then
(04:40):
Indianapolis and now I'm in Memphis.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Okay, So you started out just kind of hanging around
with radio station and just kind of seeing what everybody's
doing around there.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
And I want to repeat this.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
For the young folks, that's listening, because I think young
people get deterred when they when they, you know, think
about a career in radio. You know what I'm sa saying,
And people tell them, no, you don't want to, No,
you don't know, you don't ever know what's gonna happen.
Never if it's what you won't yep, you know, come
on in, Come on in, if you're if you're welcomed in,
come on in.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Being in the right place is half the battle. Wait
your time.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Yeah, yeah, you said something in our meeting. When you
first started or first came to the radio station, uh
started coming, you sent a letter about something or told
them something about something on the website or something.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Tell me about that.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Well, radio station websites period, we're pretty still new back then.
And I was on the radio station's website just trying
to find some info about who I should contact. I
knew I was interested in radio. I wanted to be
in radio. So I went on the website and saw
some grammatical errors and emailed the webmaster and informed them
(05:50):
what I had seen, and you know, struck a relationship
with him and practically invited myself up to the station.
I didn't actually meet them. When I went to the station,
I saw another DJ that I recognized, but because I
name dropped the webmaster, I was allowed in the building
and I never left.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
See, I tell young people all the time, when you
get an opportunity to hang around one of us, take
that opportunity absolutely, because we pay attention to it and
you never know where you go. You could be market
president one day.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
You know, you guys were also in our shoes, So
there's some empathy there, right, Stormy didn't start off as Stormy.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
No, I kind of started like you.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
I just bugged the crap out of people and I
got in the door somehow.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
And most of the legends started off that way. Yeah,
very humbly. Yeah yeah, no one started off as a legend,
So we all had to start somewhere. I think it's
I think it's will and desire, you know that set
you apart.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
So, but it seems like such a short time that
you grew to where you are. How many years from
when you started, when you first got your job, the
first job you got to now, how many years is that.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
First job was in six so we're talking about nineteen years.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Wow, that's pretty awesome, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
What would you say from somebody who's who's in my
shoes that's been in you know, in this business for
quite some time, I've never had.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
The desire to do what you do.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Let me just say that, But there are people out
there that do have the desire to to to be
you know, president wherever they are at their job right now.
What would you say was the main thing that kept
you going? Because looking at your humble beginnings to now
kind of started from the bottom.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Now you hear right, what kept you going?
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Staying humble? Okay, yeah, I mean, you know, a position
doesn't put you. The position doesn't make you. You make
the position. You know, you're there for a reason. You're
there because you were chosen to lead, because someone saw
leadership qualities in you. And so it's your job to,
(08:13):
you know, work on those skills and hone those skills
in and continue to learn, continue to grow, and also
to help grow the people around you. That's what leaders do.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Do you think that we're in an environment where millennials
and even the ones coming after them don't see the
importance of being humble and staying committed to something.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Absolutely. I think you know, our visual platforms are partly
responsible for that. You know, we see highlights, and.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
When you say visual you mean like TV.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
TV, social media, social media, you know, video, anything that
anything that you can see. You know, we often choose
to show our highlights, and so you know, unfortunately that's
it's a false impression of reality if you're always showing
your best picture or your best video.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Kind of like social media. If I'm showing you the
best of everything I do, I never show you the
hard parts of.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
My life, the struggle.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
You're not seeing the journey.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Yeah, so would you say your nineteen year journey, some
of it has been struggled, without a doubt.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
I've left the business for three or four years and
that nineteen years and had to pick up garbage on
video sets, production sets. That's right. I started my whole
journey all over in a different industry and had to
start from the bottom. As a matter of fact, when
I got back in the business, I had to start
as an AE again. Wow, that's right. Fortunately I only
(09:43):
spent the year in that position. But because I had
prior management experience, I applied for the position in Indianapolis
to manage that cluster and was fortunate that Christy Beebe,
our area president, gave me a shot.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Yeah, So what is it like to be a black
man doing what you do? Do you feel the pressure
of being a black man and the climate and the
culture that we're in today.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
You know, before I'm a black man, I'm a human,
and I approach life that way. I don't think of
myself as a black man. I am black, and so
I assimilate two folks that are like me. But I
am a human first, so I don't really feel a
pressure per se. I understand that they're are biases and
(10:38):
there might be more expectation for me in certain circles,
but I don't pay attention to that. I do my best,
and if my best ain't good enough, then it ain't
for me.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Okay, Okay, I love it. Okay.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
And you know, I asked you that question because I
got you know, black gray kids, a black son, and
and maybe I should be I should take that off
of it, you know what I'm saying, because because maybe
when we say that we are we putting people in
a box.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
I think so boxing them in, I.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Think it's a handicap. I think you're you're putting them
on alert when actuality they need to work on themselves.
And when you're working on yourself, you're not thinking black
or white or Asian and none of that. Yeah, you
think about those you know, intangible feelings. Yeah, those feelings
don't have color. You know. You think about your confidence,
(11:37):
you think about you know, your ability to learn, your
ability to understand. You're thinking about a whole bunch of
human emotions that have nothing to do with the color
of your skin. It's all the inside job.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
So have you ever been in acts or invited to
come and talk to.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
A legend on the radio.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
No? No, young men like young men in prison or
young men at schools, absolu and things like that.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Absolutely, and Sat Louis I was again fortunate and blessed
enough to be in a position to speak to young
men in the juvenile system. I've been a part of
the one hundred Black Men in Saint Louis chapter. Okay uh,
Saint Louis Black Leadership round Table. I've done some events
in schools, some weekend events. Came up with a program
(12:31):
called w t H. This was about ten years ago
that we taught the basic principles and the four pillars
of the one hundred Black Men in schools on Saturday.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
What is the four pillars if you don't mind me asking.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Health, financial responsibility, and two more that I can't remember
at the at the moment, but they were very, very useful.
And you know, you know, I believe in meeting people
and kids and whoever I'm talking to where they're at.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I don't believe in talking over people's heads. You know.
My job is to communicate and if I want to
be effective, I need to break it down if needed,
you need to, you know, simplify. So I'm not one
to use, you know, big vocabulary scenarios where it's not needed.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
I think, you know, when I came up in radio
and I know this is an interviews about you, When
I came up from radio to what you just said,
they told us, you know, there was a certain way
to communicate with people, and generally it was like on
an eighth grade level, because everybody can't always understand all
the big words that a lot of us want to
(13:46):
use and all of that, and meeting people where they
are is making sure that when you are communicating that
as many people understand what you're saying exactly as possible.
You ever been in a room with people who do that,
who go way above, and you're like, I may have
gotten it, but there are a lot of people in
(14:06):
here don't know what you just said.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Without a doubt, I do not want to be that
guy on that stage. Yeah, that's not the guy I
want to be. I want to be profound. I want
to say as less as I need to and to
be as heard as I need to.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Okay, Okay, So when people in Memphis get ready to
call on you to come and talk to these young
men and be a part of these organizations.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
You ready.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Absolutely, I look forward to it.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Okay. I know Boots on the Ground the line dances
real big right now.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
I can't promise you on a dance, but I'll be there.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
And I'm not talking about the dad.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
It's Memphis. I just got here, folks. He said, boot
dancing and lines of I don't know. I just learned
the term Memphis.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
Now, you sound a little Jamaican when you said that
roots don't lie.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
But I mean no, seriously, you are now boots on
the ground in Memphis in a literal form.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Which is where I'm sure boots on the Ground the
song came from.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
You know what I'm saying like, isn't it like a
military term, boots on the ground.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Yeah, I thought you said line dancing, boots on the
ground dancing? You did?
Speaker 1 (15:30):
I did, because boots on the ground the line dance
is really popular now too.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
But I ad meant it suot me off with the
line dance, and I thought you was really talking about dancing.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Now, But do you know how to do boots on
the ground?
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I have no idea. You don't think I even owned boots?
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Can you dance?
Speaker 2 (15:45):
I'm Jamaica and not go wine.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Well, we will be teaching him boots on the ground,
ladies and gentlemen. Okay, okay, so what do you know
about Memphis right now?
Speaker 2 (16:01):
You know what I know that the name Memphis comes
from an African term from a city in Africa, ancient Africa.
So can you educate me on that?
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Well, I just want to know what you know because
we're going to teach you and you're going to be
Amphia before you know it.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
That was the first thing, and I'll get some more
education on that because I thought that was really interesting.
But also know you guys are known for barbecue, rock
and roll. Okay, obviously you know the hotel that our
great Martin Luther King was.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Unfornational Civil Rights Museum, which was or is the Lorraine Motel.
You know what, And I've forgot to do this. Let
me do this now. I'm stormy. It is the pulse,
keeping our fingertips on the pulse of our community. And
my guest today is my market president and his name
(17:00):
is Leon Williamson. And for those of you that are
listening to the show, this is the city's introduction and
even probably the world, because I know a lot of
people listen to this all over the country. Absolutely so
to Memphis. So welcome to Memphis. And I should have
said that in the beginning. I was nervous.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
It's okay, I was nervous.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
I was nervous, y'all.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
I never you know, well, I don't know if I've
ever interviewed any of our market presidents before.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
You might be the first. Yeah, you might be first.
So thank you.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Like I said, I wanted to do this.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Thank you for doing it. Thank you for your yes.
I appreciate that. And since we are big on community
and all that good stuff. What is your passion when
you do come to Memphis, what is it that you
are passionate about when it comes to organizations. Which organization
you know or are you wanting to work with young
young men helping them in the community.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Absolutely, I'm a huge I'm a huge proponent of working
with what's close to you. And obviously I've been a
young man and i know what it is to be
a young man, So I'd love to work with and
re engage with the young men in this community. Yeah,
even in the juvenile system or wherever I can. I think,
(18:19):
you know, I lost kind of lost touch in between,
you know, changing careers and moving to the Midwest. But
I'm at the point where I'm ready to re engage
with those young men, and you know, in in Memphis,
but you know also all of our urban communities across
the country.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
When you look at your social media, because you do
this like I do, I'm sure when you look at
social media and you see the plight of what's happening
with our young men, how does it make you feel.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
We need more leaders, We need more examples of success
and examples of paths that could be that have been
trailed right. I think, you know, we have a lot
of trailblazers, but that's just what they left the trail,
there's nobody to help and guide through that trail.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
So who would be that person for you? Your mentors,
the people that influenced you throughout your career.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
The great Jerry Russian from Miami and w d R
was definitely a mentor and everything he did in radio.
A co worker Mart McKenzie, who the first guy saw
in a in a BMW red seats and three. I
wanted that that inspired me. You know, you never know, yeah,
(19:39):
you don't. He was in sales. I was trying to
be on air and I you know, that's when I
realized I might have the pivot, you know, to UH
to sales. And you know, I have plenty of mentors.
Tony Coles, who's you know, instrumental and b I N
with I Art Radio. You know, just you know, brilliant
(20:02):
men who who have done incredible things despite the obstacles
they had to face, you know.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
And I asked that because you never know what it
is that touches somebody. The fact that you remember that
car and those seats, you know what I'm saying, that's
your that's your story, your testimony, and you never know
what it is that inspires you know, another person, just
(20:32):
you saying and I've been saying this for a minute,
and maybe I sound like a broken record, but I
think that I agree with I believe it was Mayor
Paul Young that I'm sure you'll get to meet very
soon looking forward to it.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
I agree with.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Mayor Paul Young when he said that it's going to
take more than the police and the city and all
of them helping our city. We all have to get involved. Absolutely,
we all and I think each one. Remember back in
the day when people used to say each one, reach one.
(21:13):
It used to be like something real big, and then
it's phased out. Nobody's saying it anymore, really like, you know,
like they used to. But I think if we all
make up in our minds that we're going to take
the time to mentor somebody, or to be in somebody's life,
or to if you see a young person you know
that needs help help them.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
We also need to be clear on what mentorship is.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
What do you mean by that?
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Well, A lot of people think mentorship is giving instructions. Yes,
it's absolutely not.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
That's good.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
That's good because I think my generation, that's Generation X
and boomers, we're so good at telling young people what
to do that we don't pay attention, we don't listen,
we don't There is a lot that we don't hear
because we're so focused on telling and instructing.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
I like that that's good.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
We lead by example and inspire. Yeah, yeah, right, and
being there to hear. Being a soundboard is important. You know,
a lot of these kids don't have anybody to express
their feelings to. They don't even realize they have feelings.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
He said.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Maslow's Mavlow's Hierarchy of Needs, where talks about basically meeting
people where they are. It's hard to get somebody to
do what you're asking them to do or telling them
to do.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
If they're hungry, so.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
You know, you find out what's happening with that person,
and if hunger is the issue, take them to.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
Go get some food.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Take them to get some food.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
So they can hear you, so they can hear what
you say. But the approach about it is something. And
every time I do this show and I talk to somebody,
I realized how much more I need to learn when
it comes to communicating with the you know, younger generation.
I feel like we don't try hard enough. Sometimes we
(23:16):
give up because sometimes it's hard.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
Yeah, how do you keep going? What makes you want
to keep going?
Speaker 2 (23:26):
I'm thankful for God and that he put mentors in
front of me that I didn't necessarily ask for. I
had no idea Jerry Russian, the Great Jerry Russian be
a mentor of mine. Yeah, Or mart Mackenzie, a guy
who is relatively unknown but is an incredible inspiration in
(23:48):
my life. Or Tony Coles, you know who is legendary
and what he's done with Bi n and with I
heart and his position and you know where he's at
and the come And I didn't choose. God did that
for me. So I think it's my responsibility to put
myself in front of folks that I feel I can help.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Yeah, always learning, always, always teachable, always okay.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Always without a doubt. If we want to grow, absolutely, Yeah,
we stopped learning, you might as well turn it in
right right.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Yeah, it's the pulse. I'm stormy. Thank you guys for
being here. Our market president, Leon Williamson is on the
show today, so we're all getting to know him together.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
So family, where's your family? Are they in Jamaica?
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Yeah? A large part of my mom's family. My mom's
side is in Jamaica. A large part of my father's
is on the East Coast and Canada, Toronto to be exactly. Okay,
and as far as family, I'm newly engaged.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Congratulations, thank you.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
For months in so I'll be moving here with my fiance.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Okay, okay, well congratulations. So will you be having the
wedding at iHeart been meaning to ask you that.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
For a seconds. You mean, like turn the turn the
air the airways on and broadcast the wedding.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
Yeah, video, David, maybe we could get it somebody like,
what's the folks that.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
Bravo to do it?
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Mm hmm, yeah, yeah, yeah, I saw her text. We're
gonna edit that out. So, no, I'm just kidding when
I say that. I'm just trying to have some fun
with you, trying.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
To Oh no, I'm fun you know.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Yeah, yeah, for me too, trying to trying to get fun. No,
trying to not be so nervous while I'm talking to you.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
You're not nervous, but you do this. By the way,
Congrats on all your success and an incredible job you've
done for us, and what an incredible journey for you
to share. I'm sure that you're an inspiration as well
to your listeners. So thank you.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Again, Well, thank you, that was a nice turn of events.
I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
I really do always.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Yeah, So what else do we need to know about you?
You're newly engaged, new to Memphis. You are open to mentorship? Absolutely,
are you open to meeting the movers and shakers in
the city that is, and helping to grow other folks
(26:40):
businesses and things like that.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
That has been the number one contributing factor to any
success I've had in any market that I've been in,
is that I get out there and I shake the
hands of folks that are doing good and want to
do good in the community.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
I love it. I love it because that's what we do.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
I've heard. I've heard if you take one step to
a Memphi and they'll take two towards you, And that
makes me feel right at home.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
I love you. Heard that.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Hey, Memphis the city of a boat, Even though people
don't say it as much as they used to, we
are the city of a boat.
Speaker 3 (27:20):
So welcome home. When you come to Memphis, you welcome home.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
So Grizzlies from now on, Tigers Go, Tigers Go, Go, Grizzlies.
Who else do I need to tell him about you guys.
You know what, As a matter of fact, y'all hit
him up and tell him what he needs to do.
Are you looking to find some of the best barbecue
in the city. Are you looking to find the best
places to buy clothes?
Speaker 3 (27:46):
What you need? You want the best of Memphis? Is
that what you're looking for?
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Do you want the best of Memphis? I do have
a caveat. I do not eat red meat or a chicken,
but I will take some really good fish. I know
you guys have really good seafood here. Yes, I've had
the pleasure of having some last night. And I'm looking
for Jamaican spots.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
Ooh, Jamaican spots. Okay, you want Jamaican spots? And what
about your clothes? Where you want to get them? Clothes at?
Speaker 2 (28:14):
You know clothes. I go back to Miami pretty often.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
I'm pretty good gonna get you. Somebody hit him up.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Well, you guys have hit me up. Malls you guys have.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
Here, don't worry about it. We're gonna get you. We're
gonna get you suited and booted.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
You know what, I've noticed that you guys are suited
and booted. That makes me feel good. It also makes
me feel nervous about my my clothing budget. But but
I'm ready. I'm looking for a good tailor as well.
I need a good tailor. I need a good barber.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
I know a couple of good tailors. Yep, you need
a good barber.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
I need a good barber.
Speaker 3 (28:49):
Oh, I know a good barber. How much money you
plan in this pan?
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Or? This is?
Speaker 1 (28:53):
This?
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Is this a fifty dollars cut city?
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Hey, y'all hit him out? Hit him up? Let me
hit him out? How can they hit you up?
Speaker 2 (29:02):
The best way is LinkedIn. If you're not on LinkedIn, LinkedIn,
Leon Williamson, just type that in on Instagram, Leon says
my email. Should I give that out? I'm not sure yet.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
Yeah, you don't have to.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
You don't have to now, but social media Leon Williamson
or Instagram, Leon says.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
You on Instagram, I tried to stop you. I mean,
I'll try to find.
Speaker 4 (29:26):
You today it's private. Maybe i'll uh, okay, well no
on private, okay, next couple of days.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
So it's good to know that you're here.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
And again, welcome to Memphis. Thank you, and y'all welcome him.
Look for him on LinkedIn and all of those social
sites that he just mentioned.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
Facebook, Facebook, Yeah, Leon Williamson.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
Okay, so LinkedIn.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
LinkedIn is probably the best place.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
That's That's more of what you need to know. You
guys don't need to see what I eat, right, and
the vacations that I'm eyeing. That's not important. That's not
important stuff.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Okay, Okay, Well, it's good to know you. You came
here from Miami. You went to college in Miami. I
went to school there. You worked in Miami.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
That's right, But you didn't did you say you started
there in Miami?
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Yeah, you started there and then you left and went
to Saint Louis, Saint Louis, and then you went.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
To back to Miami. Okay, mm hmm, and then to Indianapolis.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
Indy, Indy.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Because you were nominated best and Brightest I was, yeah,
I was, come on here indian and yeah. And I'm
sure before you leave this city you're going to be
nominated for a whole lot of things because there are
a lot of organizations that do a lot of fabulous
things around here. I'm sure before you go you'll be
(30:56):
on those lists as well.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
That's the plan, you know. I don't being recognized lightly.
I think if you do the work, you will be recognized.
So yeah, it's obvious that I've done the work, and
i want to continue to do the work. So I'm
looking forward to being recognized.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Okay, all right, Memphis, Leon Williamson, market president of iHeartMedia Memphis.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
And you've been here how many days on the job?
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Three days?
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Three days on the job.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Yeah, and by the time you guys hear this, it
will be at least a week.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
Yeah. Yeah, So you know where he is. You want
to buy some advertisement, you want to advertise, you want
to grow your business. There you go hit him up
LinkedIn there you go.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
All right, where marketers here, we will ID eight and
help you to find your audience on our abundance of
platforms that we have, including these this great radio station
and the other heritage stations here in the market. The
number one podcast network in America America, the number one
(32:06):
AD enabled streaming app in America where find all radio
stations just about, and our amazing partnership with Amazon Connected Television.
So if you're trying to have your ad on somebody's
smart TV in their living room or on their mobile phone,
(32:27):
I'm also your guy what yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
Wow, Okay, well there you go. You heard it from
our president, my president. iHeartMedia, Memphis, President Memphis and Tupelo,
right those two markets. But yeah, he is here to
serve all of us.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
Thank you. It's been a pleasure going to know you.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Okay, this has been a pleasure.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
So you guys, reach out to him, get to know him,
and keep that radio on this great radio station, and
we'll see you next week.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
I'm stormy.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
It is the pulse, keeping our fingertips on the pulse
of our community. You got any part in words before
we go?
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Peace, love and big smiles. I like that. All right.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
We'll see you next week, same time, same station. God
bless you have a great week.
Well, hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Pulse.
Listen here now today's show, y'all, just buckle up because
I got a special guest like none other and he
just happens to be my boss. Hey there, how are you,
young man?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
I'm amazing. Thanks for having me on this amazing pleasure.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Can I say that, young man?
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Of course?
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Okay, yeah, because yeah, we're gonna get into some things. Okay,
I am stormy. It is the pulse. We keep our
fingertips on the pulse of our community. So first, welcome
to the show. Thank you so much, Thank you all.
Welcome to you, and welcome to all of you for listening.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
So here we go.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I heart media Memphis. We've got a new president, y'all.
And here he is, Yes, mister Leon Williamson.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yes, yes, hello everyone in the audio land.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
So I've just met you.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
So I'm a little nervous. It's first time I've done
an interview, and I'm nervous.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
You just call me young man, not nervous young man.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Well now come on now, now I do want to
ask you this, Memphis. I want you to get to
know this young man and this man. Let me just
say man, because.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
I'm at the age where young is complimentary.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
It is absolutely how old are you? If you don't
mind man asking?
Speaker 2 (01:17):
That's nobody's business.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Huh business, nobody's been.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Okay, Okay, we're gonna bag up off that one.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
But at any rate, I thank you for being on
the show because you could have said no, but you
said yes. And I wanted to do this show mainly
because a lot of us don't know who you are yet.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
I don't really know yet.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
And I've seen a lot of things on social media.
But the one thing that I have I can say
that I love the most about getting to know you
is I hear that you are community driven, absolutely that
you love the community.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
And this show is all about out community.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
And that's why I wanted to be on the show.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Yeah, it's all about community.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
And every week we talk to people in our city
that that's doing amazing things, and you're no different. So
I saw an interview of you. You came from, Tell me,
Tell everybody, let's give them your title, Tell everybody who
you are and what it is that you do.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
So I'm the new market president for iHeartRadio Memphis. Okay,
I'm originally from Jamaica, born and raised till the age
of eleven, migrated to Miami, Florida.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Where's your accent?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
I left it back in the nineties, okay, when I
was being picked on. Now it's cool to be Jamaica.
Now it's cool to be from the Caribbean. Shut out
to my Haitian brothers as well. But back then it
was a lot of a lot of names we didn't
care to be called.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
So so you moved from Haiti to move to where No, no, Jamaica, I'm.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Sorry, Jamaica, to where Miami? Miami?
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Okay, okay, okay, So how was Miami? Because I hear Miami.
Miami is kind of a melting pot, absolutely a different cultures.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Miami is the northern Caribbean where Miami is Okay, so
melting pot of Latin and Caribbean cultures as well as
European and even the snowbirds that come from the north
in the Midwest kind of looking for, you know, the
beach life, for the warm weather, and you know two
seasons that's uh, summer and more summer. Right. So I'm
(03:32):
born and raised in Jamaica, like I said earlier, and
raised in Miami from the age of eleven, attended Florida
Atlantic University and quickly got into radio maybe three months
after graduation. I was always at the radio station, though,
like I said in our previous meeting, I was that
guy in the studio that didn't work there. So that
(03:53):
showed my passion for for this medium. As far as community,
I just I'm proud out of who I am and
where I come from. I think that wherever you're at
has a huge impact on how you grow. So I'm
proud that I'm Jamaican. I'm proud that I was in
the suburbs of Miami, growing up in Miami Gardens near
(04:15):
Sunlighte Stadium Joe Robbie Stadium now I think it's called
hard Rock Stadium. But quickly moved up in management from
my ad position at ninety nine Jams to Saint Louis.
Let me know if I'm babbling. Saint Louis for Urban
one and back again with iHeartRadio in Miami and then
(04:40):
Indianapolis and now I'm in Memphis.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Okay, So you started out just kind of hanging around
with radio station and just kind of seeing what everybody's
doing around there.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
And I want to repeat this.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
For the young folks, that's listening, because I think young
people get deterred when they when they, you know, think
about a career in radio. You know what I'm sa saying,
And people tell them, no, you don't want to, No,
you don't know, you don't ever know what's gonna happen.
Never if it's what you won't yep, you know, come
on in, Come on in, if you're if you're welcomed in,
come on in.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Being in the right place is half the battle. Wait
your time.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Yeah, yeah, you said something in our meeting. When you
first started or first came to the radio station, uh
started coming, you sent a letter about something or told
them something about something on the website or something.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Tell me about that.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Well, radio station websites period, we're pretty still new back then.
And I was on the radio station's website just trying
to find some info about who I should contact. I
knew I was interested in radio. I wanted to be
in radio. So I went on the website and saw
some grammatical errors and emailed the webmaster and informed them
(05:50):
what I had seen, and you know, struck a relationship
with him and practically invited myself up to the station.
I didn't actually meet them. When I went to the station,
I saw another DJ that I recognized, but because I
name dropped the webmaster, I was allowed in the building
and I never left.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
See, I tell young people all the time, when you
get an opportunity to hang around one of us, take
that opportunity absolutely, because we pay attention to it and
you never know where you go. You could be market
president one day.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
You know, you guys were also in our shoes, So
there's some empathy there, right, Stormy didn't start off as Stormy.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
No, I kind of started like you.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
I just bugged the crap out of people and I
got in the door somehow.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
And most of the legends started off that way. Yeah,
very humbly. Yeah yeah, no one started off as a legend,
So we all had to start somewhere. I think it's
I think it's will and desire, you know that set
you apart.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
So, but it seems like such a short time that
you grew to where you are. How many years from
when you started, when you first got your job, the
first job you got to now, how many years is that.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
First job was in six so we're talking about nineteen years.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Wow, that's pretty awesome, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
What would you say from somebody who's who's in my
shoes that's been in you know, in this business for
quite some time, I've never had.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
The desire to do what you do.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Let me just say that, But there are people out
there that do have the desire to to to be
you know, president wherever they are at their job right now.
What would you say was the main thing that kept
you going? Because looking at your humble beginnings to now
kind of started from the bottom.
Speaker 3 (07:50):
Now you hear right, what kept you going?
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Staying humble? Okay, yeah, I mean, you know, a position
doesn't put you. The position doesn't make you. You make
the position. You know, you're there for a reason. You're
there because you were chosen to lead, because someone saw
leadership qualities in you. And so it's your job to,
(08:13):
you know, work on those skills and hone those skills
in and continue to learn, continue to grow, and also
to help grow the people around you. That's what leaders do.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Do you think that we're in an environment where millennials
and even the ones coming after them don't see the
importance of being humble and staying committed to something.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Absolutely. I think you know, our visual platforms are partly
responsible for that. You know, we see highlights, and.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
When you say visual you mean like TV.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
TV, social media, social media, you know, video, anything that
anything that you can see. You know, we often choose
to show our highlights, and so you know, unfortunately that's
it's a false impression of reality if you're always showing
your best picture or your best video.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Kind of like social media. If I'm showing you the
best of everything I do, I never show you the
hard parts of.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
My life, the struggle.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
You're not seeing the journey.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Yeah, so would you say your nineteen year journey, some
of it has been struggled, without a doubt.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
I've left the business for three or four years and
that nineteen years and had to pick up garbage on
video sets, production sets. That's right. I started my whole
journey all over in a different industry and had to
start from the bottom. As a matter of fact, when
I got back in the business, I had to start
as an AE again. Wow, that's right. Fortunately I only
(09:43):
spent the year in that position. But because I had
prior management experience, I applied for the position in Indianapolis
to manage that cluster and was fortunate that Christy Beebe,
our area president, gave me a shot.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Yeah, So what is it like to be a black
man doing what you do? Do you feel the pressure
of being a black man and the climate and the
culture that we're in today.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
You know, before I'm a black man, I'm a human,
and I approach life that way. I don't think of
myself as a black man. I am black, and so
I assimilate two folks that are like me. But I
am a human first, so I don't really feel a
pressure per se. I understand that they're are biases and
(10:38):
there might be more expectation for me in certain circles,
but I don't pay attention to that. I do my best,
and if my best ain't good enough, then it ain't
for me.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Okay, Okay, I love it. Okay.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
And you know, I asked you that question because I
got you know, black gray kids, a black son, and
and maybe I should be I should take that off
of it, you know what I'm saying, because because maybe
when we say that we are we putting people in
a box.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
I think so boxing them in, I.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Think it's a handicap. I think you're you're putting them
on alert when actuality they need to work on themselves.
And when you're working on yourself, you're not thinking black
or white or Asian and none of that. Yeah, you
think about those you know, intangible feelings. Yeah, those feelings
don't have color. You know. You think about your confidence,
(11:37):
you think about you know, your ability to learn, your
ability to understand. You're thinking about a whole bunch of
human emotions that have nothing to do with the color
of your skin. It's all the inside job.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
So have you ever been in acts or invited to
come and talk to.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
A legend on the radio.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
No? No, young men like young men in prison or
young men at schools, absolu and things like that.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Absolutely, and Sat Louis I was again fortunate and blessed
enough to be in a position to speak to young
men in the juvenile system. I've been a part of
the one hundred Black Men in Saint Louis chapter. Okay uh,
Saint Louis Black Leadership round Table. I've done some events
in schools, some weekend events. Came up with a program
(12:31):
called w t H. This was about ten years ago
that we taught the basic principles and the four pillars
of the one hundred Black Men in schools on Saturday.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
What is the four pillars if you don't mind me asking.
Speaker 2 (12:47):
Health, financial responsibility, and two more that I can't remember
at the at the moment, but they were very, very useful.
And you know, you know, I believe in meeting people
and kids and whoever I'm talking to where they're at.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I don't believe in talking over people's heads. You know.
My job is to communicate and if I want to
be effective, I need to break it down if needed,
you need to, you know, simplify. So I'm not one
to use, you know, big vocabulary scenarios where it's not needed.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
I think, you know, when I came up in radio
and I know this is an interviews about you, When
I came up from radio to what you just said,
they told us, you know, there was a certain way
to communicate with people, and generally it was like on
an eighth grade level, because everybody can't always understand all
the big words that a lot of us want to
(13:46):
use and all of that, and meeting people where they
are is making sure that when you are communicating that
as many people understand what you're saying exactly as possible.
You ever been in a room with people who do that,
who go way above, and you're like, I may have
gotten it, but there are a lot of people in
(14:06):
here don't know what you just said.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Without a doubt, I do not want to be that
guy on that stage. Yeah, that's not the guy I
want to be. I want to be profound. I want
to say as less as I need to and to
be as heard as I need to.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Okay, Okay, So when people in Memphis get ready to
call on you to come and talk to these young
men and be a part of these organizations.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
You ready.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Absolutely, I look forward to it.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Okay. I know Boots on the Ground the line dances
real big right now.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
I can't promise you on a dance, but I'll be there.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
And I'm not talking about the dad.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
It's Memphis. I just got here, folks. He said, boot
dancing and lines of I don't know. I just learned
the term Memphis.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
Now, you sound a little Jamaican when you said that
roots don't lie.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
But I mean no, seriously, you are now boots on
the ground in Memphis in a literal form.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Which is where I'm sure boots on the Ground the
song came from.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
You know what I'm saying like, isn't it like a
military term, boots on the ground.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Yeah, I thought you said line dancing, boots on the
ground dancing? You did?
Speaker 1 (15:30):
I did, because boots on the ground the line dance
is really popular now too.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
But I ad meant it suot me off with the
line dance, and I thought you was really talking about dancing.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Now, But do you know how to do boots on
the ground?
Speaker 2 (15:41):
I have no idea. You don't think I even owned boots?
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Can you dance?
Speaker 2 (15:45):
I'm Jamaica and not go wine.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Well, we will be teaching him boots on the ground,
ladies and gentlemen. Okay, okay, so what do you know
about Memphis right now?
Speaker 2 (16:01):
You know what I know that the name Memphis comes
from an African term from a city in Africa, ancient Africa.
So can you educate me on that?
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Well, I just want to know what you know because
we're going to teach you and you're going to be
Amphia before you know it.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
That was the first thing, and I'll get some more
education on that because I thought that was really interesting.
But also know you guys are known for barbecue, rock
and roll. Okay, obviously you know the hotel that our
great Martin Luther King was.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Unfornational Civil Rights Museum, which was or is the Lorraine Motel.
You know what, And I've forgot to do this. Let
me do this now. I'm stormy. It is the pulse,
keeping our fingertips on the pulse of our community. And
my guest today is my market president and his name
(17:00):
is Leon Williamson. And for those of you that are
listening to the show, this is the city's introduction and
even probably the world, because I know a lot of
people listen to this all over the country. Absolutely so
to Memphis. So welcome to Memphis. And I should have
said that in the beginning. I was nervous.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
It's okay, I was nervous.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
I was nervous, y'all.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
I never you know, well, I don't know if I've
ever interviewed any of our market presidents before.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
You might be the first. Yeah, you might be first.
So thank you.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Like I said, I wanted to do this.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
Thank you for doing it. Thank you for your yes.
I appreciate that. And since we are big on community
and all that good stuff. What is your passion when
you do come to Memphis, what is it that you
are passionate about when it comes to organizations. Which organization
you know or are you wanting to work with young
young men helping them in the community.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Absolutely, I'm a huge I'm a huge proponent of working
with what's close to you. And obviously I've been a
young man and i know what it is to be
a young man, So I'd love to work with and
re engage with the young men in this community. Yeah,
even in the juvenile system or wherever I can. I think,
(18:19):
you know, I lost kind of lost touch in between,
you know, changing careers and moving to the Midwest. But
I'm at the point where I'm ready to re engage
with those young men, and you know, in in Memphis,
but you know also all of our urban communities across
the country.
Speaker 3 (18:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
When you look at your social media, because you do
this like I do, I'm sure when you look at
social media and you see the plight of what's happening
with our young men, how does it make you feel.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
We need more leaders, We need more examples of success
and examples of paths that could be that have been
trailed right. I think, you know, we have a lot
of trailblazers, but that's just what they left the trail,
there's nobody to help and guide through that trail.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
So who would be that person for you? Your mentors,
the people that influenced you throughout your career.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
The great Jerry Russian from Miami and w d R
was definitely a mentor and everything he did in radio.
A co worker Mart McKenzie, who the first guy saw
in a in a BMW red seats and three. I
wanted that that inspired me. You know, you never know, yeah,
(19:39):
you don't. He was in sales. I was trying to
be on air and I you know, that's when I
realized I might have the pivot, you know, to UH
to sales. And you know, I have plenty of mentors.
Tony Coles, who's you know, instrumental and b I N
with I Art Radio. You know, just you know, brilliant
(20:02):
men who who have done incredible things despite the obstacles
they had to face, you know.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
And I asked that because you never know what it
is that touches somebody. The fact that you remember that
car and those seats, you know what I'm saying, that's
your that's your story, your testimony, and you never know
what it is that inspires you know, another person, just
(20:32):
you saying and I've been saying this for a minute,
and maybe I sound like a broken record, but I
think that I agree with I believe it was Mayor
Paul Young that I'm sure you'll get to meet very
soon looking forward to it.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
I agree with.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Mayor Paul Young when he said that it's going to
take more than the police and the city and all
of them helping our city. We all have to get involved. Absolutely,
we all and I think each one. Remember back in
the day when people used to say each one, reach one.
(21:13):
It used to be like something real big, and then
it's phased out. Nobody's saying it anymore, really like, you know,
like they used to. But I think if we all
make up in our minds that we're going to take
the time to mentor somebody, or to be in somebody's life,
or to if you see a young person you know
that needs help help them.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
We also need to be clear on what mentorship is.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
What do you mean by that?
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Well, A lot of people think mentorship is giving instructions. Yes,
it's absolutely not.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
That's good.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
That's good because I think my generation, that's Generation X
and boomers, we're so good at telling young people what
to do that we don't pay attention, we don't listen,
we don't There is a lot that we don't hear
because we're so focused on telling and instructing.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
I like that that's good.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
We lead by example and inspire. Yeah, yeah, right, and
being there to hear. Being a soundboard is important. You know,
a lot of these kids don't have anybody to express
their feelings to. They don't even realize they have feelings.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
He said.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
Maslow's Mavlow's Hierarchy of Needs, where talks about basically meeting
people where they are. It's hard to get somebody to
do what you're asking them to do or telling them
to do.
Speaker 3 (22:39):
If they're hungry, so.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
You know, you find out what's happening with that person,
and if hunger is the issue, take them to.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
Go get some food.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Take them to get some food.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
So they can hear you, so they can hear what
you say. But the approach about it is something. And
every time I do this show and I talk to somebody,
I realized how much more I need to learn when
it comes to communicating with the you know, younger generation.
I feel like we don't try hard enough. Sometimes we
(23:16):
give up because sometimes it's hard.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
Yeah, how do you keep going? What makes you want
to keep going?
Speaker 2 (23:26):
I'm thankful for God and that he put mentors in
front of me that I didn't necessarily ask for. I
had no idea Jerry Russian, the Great Jerry Russian be
a mentor of mine. Yeah, Or mart Mackenzie, a guy
who is relatively unknown but is an incredible inspiration in
(23:48):
my life. Or Tony Coles, you know who is legendary
and what he's done with Bi n and with I
heart and his position and you know where he's at
and the come And I didn't choose. God did that
for me. So I think it's my responsibility to put
myself in front of folks that I feel I can help.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Yeah, always learning, always, always teachable, always okay.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Always without a doubt. If we want to grow, absolutely, Yeah,
we stopped learning, you might as well turn it in
right right.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Yeah, it's the pulse. I'm stormy. Thank you guys for
being here. Our market president, Leon Williamson is on the
show today, so we're all getting to know him together.
Speaker 3 (24:38):
So family, where's your family? Are they in Jamaica?
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Yeah? A large part of my mom's family. My mom's
side is in Jamaica. A large part of my father's
is on the East Coast and Canada, Toronto to be exactly. Okay,
and as far as family, I'm newly engaged.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Congratulations, thank you.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
For months in so I'll be moving here with my fiance.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Okay, okay, well congratulations. So will you be having the
wedding at iHeart been meaning to ask you that.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
For a seconds. You mean, like turn the turn the
air the airways on and broadcast the wedding.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
Yeah, video, David, maybe we could get it somebody like,
what's the folks that.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
Bravo to do it?
Speaker 2 (25:31):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Mm hmm, yeah, yeah, yeah, I saw her text. We're
gonna edit that out. So, no, I'm just kidding when
I say that. I'm just trying to have some fun
with you, trying.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
To Oh no, I'm fun you know.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Yeah, yeah, for me too, trying to trying to get fun. No,
trying to not be so nervous while I'm talking to you.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
You're not nervous, but you do this. By the way,
Congrats on all your success and an incredible job you've
done for us, and what an incredible journey for you
to share. I'm sure that you're an inspiration as well
to your listeners. So thank you.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Again, Well, thank you, that was a nice turn of events.
I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
I really do always.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Yeah, So what else do we need to know about you?
You're newly engaged, new to Memphis. You are open to mentorship? Absolutely,
are you open to meeting the movers and shakers in
the city that is, and helping to grow other folks
(26:40):
businesses and things like that.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
That has been the number one contributing factor to any
success I've had in any market that I've been in,
is that I get out there and I shake the
hands of folks that are doing good and want to
do good in the community.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
I love it. I love it because that's what we do.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
I've heard. I've heard if you take one step to
a Memphi and they'll take two towards you, And that
makes me feel right at home.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
I love you. Heard that.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Hey, Memphis the city of a boat, Even though people
don't say it as much as they used to, we
are the city of a boat.
Speaker 3 (27:20):
So welcome home. When you come to Memphis, you welcome home.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
So Grizzlies from now on, Tigers Go, Tigers Go, Go, Grizzlies.
Who else do I need to tell him about you guys.
You know what, As a matter of fact, y'all hit
him up and tell him what he needs to do.
Are you looking to find some of the best barbecue
in the city. Are you looking to find the best
places to buy clothes?
Speaker 3 (27:46):
What you need? You want the best of Memphis? Is
that what you're looking for?
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Do you want the best of Memphis? I do have
a caveat. I do not eat red meat or a chicken,
but I will take some really good fish. I know
you guys have really good seafood here. Yes, I've had
the pleasure of having some last night. And I'm looking
for Jamaican spots.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
Ooh, Jamaican spots. Okay, you want Jamaican spots? And what
about your clothes? Where you want to get them? Clothes at?
Speaker 2 (28:14):
You know clothes. I go back to Miami pretty often.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
I'm pretty good gonna get you. Somebody hit him up.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Well, you guys have hit me up. Malls you guys have.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
Here, don't worry about it. We're gonna get you. We're
gonna get you suited and booted.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
You know what, I've noticed that you guys are suited
and booted. That makes me feel good. It also makes
me feel nervous about my my clothing budget. But but
I'm ready. I'm looking for a good tailor as well.
I need a good tailor. I need a good barber.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
I know a couple of good tailors. Yep, you need
a good barber.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
I need a good barber.
Speaker 3 (28:49):
Oh, I know a good barber. How much money you
plan in this pan?
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Or? This is?
Speaker 1 (28:53):
This?
Speaker 2 (28:53):
Is this a fifty dollars cut city?
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Hey, y'all hit him out? Hit him up? Let me
hit him out? How can they hit you up?
Speaker 2 (29:02):
The best way is LinkedIn. If you're not on LinkedIn, LinkedIn,
Leon Williamson, just type that in on Instagram, Leon says
my email. Should I give that out? I'm not sure yet.
Speaker 3 (29:15):
Yeah, you don't have to.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
You don't have to now, but social media Leon Williamson
or Instagram, Leon says.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
You on Instagram, I tried to stop you. I mean,
I'll try to find.
Speaker 4 (29:26):
You today it's private. Maybe i'll uh, okay, well no
on private, okay, next couple of days.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
So it's good to know that you're here.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
And again, welcome to Memphis. Thank you, and y'all welcome him.
Look for him on LinkedIn and all of those social
sites that he just mentioned.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
Facebook, Facebook, Yeah, Leon Williamson.
Speaker 3 (29:54):
Okay, so LinkedIn.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
LinkedIn is probably the best place.
Speaker 3 (29:59):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
That's That's more of what you need to know. You
guys don't need to see what I eat, right, and
the vacations that I'm eyeing. That's not important. That's not
important stuff.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
Okay, Okay, Well, it's good to know you. You came
here from Miami. You went to college in Miami. I
went to school there. You worked in Miami.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
That's right, But you didn't did you say you started
there in Miami?
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Yeah, you started there and then you left and went
to Saint Louis, Saint Louis, and then you went.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
To back to Miami. Okay, mm hmm, and then to Indianapolis.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
Indy, Indy.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Because you were nominated best and Brightest I was, yeah,
I was, come on here indian and yeah. And I'm
sure before you leave this city you're going to be
nominated for a whole lot of things because there are
a lot of organizations that do a lot of fabulous
things around here. I'm sure before you go you'll be
(30:56):
on those lists as well.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
That's the plan, you know. I don't being recognized lightly.
I think if you do the work, you will be recognized.
So yeah, it's obvious that I've done the work, and
i want to continue to do the work. So I'm
looking forward to being recognized.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Okay, all right, Memphis, Leon Williamson, market president of iHeartMedia Memphis.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
And you've been here how many days on the job?
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Three days?
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Three days on the job.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Yeah, and by the time you guys hear this, it
will be at least a week.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
Yeah. Yeah, So you know where he is. You want
to buy some advertisement, you want to advertise, you want
to grow your business. There you go hit him up
LinkedIn there you go.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
All right, where marketers here, we will ID eight and
help you to find your audience on our abundance of
platforms that we have, including these this great radio station
and the other heritage stations here in the market. The
number one podcast network in America America, the number one
(32:06):
AD enabled streaming app in America where find all radio
stations just about, and our amazing partnership with Amazon Connected Television.
So if you're trying to have your ad on somebody's
smart TV in their living room or on their mobile phone,
(32:27):
I'm also your guy what yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
Wow, Okay, well there you go. You heard it from
our president, my president. iHeartMedia, Memphis, President Memphis and Tupelo,
right those two markets. But yeah, he is here to
serve all of us.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
Thank you. It's been a pleasure going to know you.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
Okay, this has been a pleasure.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
So you guys, reach out to him, get to know him,
and keep that radio on this great radio station, and
we'll see you next week.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
I'm stormy.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
It is the pulse, keeping our fingertips on the pulse
of our community. You got any part in words before
we go?
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Peace, love and big smiles. I like that. All right.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
We'll see you next week, same time, same station. God
bless you have a great week.
Popular Podcasts
Boysober
Have you ever wondered what life might be like if you stopped worrying about being wanted, and focused on understanding what you actually want? That was the question Hope Woodard asked herself after a string of situationships inspired her to take a break from sex and dating. She went "boysober," a personal concept that sparked a global movement among women looking to prioritize themselves over men. Now, Hope is looking to expand the ways we explore our relationship to relationships. Taking a bold, unfiltered look into modern love, romance, and self-discovery, Boysober will dive into messy stories about dating, sex, love, friendship, and breaking generational patterns—all with humor, vulnerability, and a fresh perspective.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com