CMB Industry Shout-out – Dusty Rhodes
“A shout-out to Dusty Rhodes (President, Mission Growth Strategies), who showed me a simple kindness that changed my life nearly FORTY years ago! I was a struggling PD in a run-down double-wide trailer at an AM/FM Christian station in Syracuse through the 80‘s. I was desperate to get out (my dream job would be to work at a record company!) so I paid my way to Gospel Music Week (GMA Week in Nashville) in April 1987 to finally meet all the label promoters who I’d never met face to face. Dusty (who was at Top 10 station WPIT/Pittsburgh at the time) and Brad Burkhart did a session that week about how the Christian radio format needed to change. Then they split the group into two for further drilling down. I went with Dusty’s group and afterwards screwed up my courage to ask if I could buy him lunch and talk more. He said yes! Dusty was so kind and encouraging. I will never forget that day at Satsuma (a southern meat & three, believe it or not) with him. I was 26 years old. One year later, I was running the radio promo department at Myrrh Records in LA. This is an encouragement to veterans reading this to be available and open to speak into the lives and careers of those much younger than us. (Fun fact – during that time period, a young Aaron Shust in Pittsburgh would sit in his room with a guitar and sing along to songs he was listening to on WPIT, wondering if HE could ever be an artist someday!)”
– Chris Hauser, Owner/President, Chris Hauser Promotions
