Remembering Bob McCurdy
• As RAMP went to press tonight we learned that radio sales and management visionary Bob McCurdy had passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. In April McCurdy had announced his retirement as VP of Corporate Sales at Beasley Media Group, closing out an amazing 45-year career.
Radio was actually Bob’s second choice career — he was an All-American basketball player and the leading scorer in the nation while playing for the University of Richmond in 1975. He was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks and anticipated a long NBA career. When injuries curtailed his pursuit of that dream he set his sights upon another career: radio. McCurdy embarked local sales at WLEE-AM/Richmond in 1976, then followed his early mentor and GM, John Piccirillo to Indianapolis shortly thereafter. He eventually joined Katz Radio, holding sales and management positions in Chicago, Minneapolis and New York, working his way up to President of the company in 1990, forming a deep bond with former Katz CEO Stu Olds. Bob gave much credit to Stu for helping him to develop other aspects of his skill set and was crushed when Stu passed away suddenly in 2010.
McCurdy went on to become President of Sentry Radio under the Katz Radio Group umbrella, before being named Regional President for Clear Channel Radio Sales upon Clear Channel’s purchase of Katz. In 2009, McCurdy was named President of Katz Marketing Solutions, a division of the Katz Radio Group. McCurdy served as a consultant for Beasley Media Group and Alpha Media from 2014-2016 and was named VP of Corporate Sales for Beasley in 2016.
In a statement, Beasley CEO Caroline Beasley said of McCurdy, “Bob was a trusted confidant, a valued advisor and an incredible ambassador on behalf of the Beasley Media Group family and the radio industry. His love and passion for the business could be seen and heard in everything he did within our company as well as the industry. Bob will be greatly missed and will be forever remembered as a beloved member of our family.”
McCurdy leaves an amazing legacy in his wife Sydney, daughters Meagan and Ashley, sons Michael and Sean, stepchildren Margaret, Charlie and Will Emerson and seven grandchildren.
