Bryan O’Neal, PD and morning show host at 89.7, KSGN (Riverside) is hanging up his headphones after 48 years. His retirement is set for March 19.
He started in mainstream Top 40 radio in 1972. In 1978 he hosted and produced Portland’s first CCM Radio show on Top 40 62-KGW. It was 1979 when he sat at the kitchen table with his good friend, Bob Anthony, and outlined what a fulltime CCM station would look like.
Bob started the station in Santa Rosa. From time-to-time, Bryan would provide special music programming and visit the station to help them in those early days. That station eventually became K-LOVE. After moving K-LOVE to Sacramento in 1994, Bryan became employee #13.
Bryan moved back to Portland in 1998 to do mornings and be PD of another CCM station, KPAM. In 2001, Bob Anthony founded his second station/network (Air1) and called Bryan to join Air1 as Operations Director, later assuming the PD position.
He left Air1 in 2005 to become PD and morning show host at KTSL (Spokane). His final move was in 2006 to KSGN where he was the Music Director and afternoon host. Soon after, he became PD and landed on the morningshow, where he has faithfully served for 15 years.
“What a ride… I’m going to miss it because I still love it. Maybe I can track a weekend show, vacation fill-in… whatever. I’ll be living fulltime in our motorhome with my wife, Mary. Oh ya… the motorhome will be a rolling radio studio.”