In our large group of friendly, outgoing people, Jeffy K is truly a standout. This 2006 alum sits down with us today to talk about his journey from Western Massachusetts to Syracuse, then his roles at The Travel Channel, PBS, and AARP. And you'll love how he and classmate T.J. Basalla still manage to endlessly needle each other, 17 years after graduating.
Jeff actually planned on going to Boston University, until he saw the Syracuse campus and fell in love. And it was at an accepted students day in the Carrier Dome that he found out about Z89, from a well-known 2002 alum, Brett Bosse.
Upon his arrival on campus, Jeff immediately found the radio station, where he was greeted by Josh Wolff. Soon, he had an overnight shift. But Jeffy's real passion was the Z Morning Zoo - a place to try test his comedy chops and see how far they could go with different bits. He even tells the story of a bit they did with Jason Benetti, then a sports guy, who has gone on to great success in the industry.
Following a radio internship, Jeff realized he didn't want to pursue this as a career. So he followed his passions for travel and marketing, and got his masters degree in international marketing from St. Joe's. But it was Syracuse connections that would land him jobs after that.
Jeff spent several years at the Travel Channel in the late 2000's, helping mold their social media strategy, and working on well-known shows like Man vs. Food. From there, he went to PBS distribution, where he had to navigate international copyright laws to make sure the smash hit Downton Abbey was released to many different countries on time.
Now, Jeff is at AARP, which might surprise you for a not-yet-40 year old. However, he leverages all of his marketing experience to work for their rewards program, which is open to all ages. They are doing something better than radio is. They realize their population is aging, so they are recruiting younger.
There are countless inside jokes among various classmates in our vast group. But there may not be anything like the tormented relationship between Jeffy K and T.J. Basalla. We get just a small sample of the ways they continue to torture each other, a decade and a half later.
But it's not all ball-busting. Sitting near the mid-point of the 50 year history of the station, he talks about real relationships he's built with older alumni (Scott MacFarlane, Mary Mancini, Chris Velardi), but also younger ones (Jeff Kurkjian, Eva Zymaris, Corey Crockett).
We wrap up by asking Jeff if the rumor is true - is he really the heir to the Friendly's ice cream fortune?
The WJPZ at 50 Podcast Series is produced by Jon Gay, Class of 2002, and his podcast production agency, JAG in Detroit Podcasts.
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