Happy 45th, Mark Robertson!

• It’s an increasingly rare instance in this era of free agency that a pro athlete spends his or her entire career with one team. And that same situation certainly applies to the modern radio personality, especially in an era of deregulation, consolidation and overall shrinkage…

Which brings us to the very special subject of Mark Robertson, who on Wednesday, August 3, 2022 celebrates 45 years at the same radio station! Robertson is the PD and morning talent at iHeartMedia AC WYKZ (98.7 The River)/Savannah, GA, and his very proud boss, Bob Neumann, Georgia Area SVP of Programming wanted to make sure that we could help spread the word about this remarkable achievement. “Mark is an awesome human being as well as first-class air talent and PD,” said Neumann, who did us a solid and cleverly chatted with Robertson and made some notes, never letting on what he was doing…

The Brooklyn-raised Robertson (seen here sometime in the ’90s), arrived in South Carolina in 1977, hired by a college buddy to do Country radio for what was then a local Beaufort, SC AM/FM combo. “I didn’t know a damn thing about Country other than Johnny Cash when I came down here,” he said. The station later transitioned to Talk, then back to Country and finally, ended up as Soft Rock station when it has remained for the past four decades. Over that time, he has also managed to survive several ownership changes as well. Robertson said his plan was never to stay there, but rather, just take the gig and see where it led.

Among Robertson’s many accomplishments, is his “Christmas Wish on The River,” which to this day remains The River’s yearly benchmark event and has so far raised over $1 million for the Dwaine and Cynthia Willett Children’s Hospital of Savannah. Robertson is also an animal advocate and is involved with several animal-focused charities in the area. When asked to sum up his 45 years of service to The River in a few words, Robertson said, “Unusual, challenging, but most of all, rewarding.”

In closing, Neumann said, “From my chair, Mark is a pleasure to work with — always eager to pitch in, talented and creative. He’s got a great sense of humor and is the kind of guy who has never met a stranger.  He’s also a huge asset for our sales effort as you can imagine. It’s my honor to be working with him, and I know everyone in the building feel the same way.”