Feb 15, 2008 7:44 pm US/Eastern
Inspirational African-American Radio Personality
FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
-
-
In 1973, he began his career at WEDR (99Jams Radio) as "Super Jerry J," a part-time announcer.
CBS
Radio station general manager Jerry Rushin, 60, was the first African- American in South Florida to operate a radio station, and recently received an honor recognizing his work in the community from "Who's Who in Black South Florida".
Rushin was born in Georgia, and grew up in Ft. Lauderdale. He graduated from Dillard High School in 1965. He served two years in Vietnam, where he rose to the rank of Sgt. 1st Class in the U.S. Army. When he returned to South Florida, he hosted yearly turkey drives, he collected shoes for the poor, and even helped authorities for the missing college student Stepha Henry.
In 1973, he began his career at WEDR (99Jams Radio) as "Super Jerry J," a part-time announcer. Two years later, he became the program and music director and sales representative.
In 1996, he led WEDR from a 16k watt, two-room structure with a $100,000 operating budget to a modern facility with state-of-the-art equipment powering 100k and producing millions annually in cash flow.
In 1980, Rushin was offered the position of general manager at WEDR and WHQT, both owned by Cox Radio.
As GM, he said he always believed the station should be part of a platform to discuss the news as it relates to an African-American audience as opposed to just reporting it.
Rushin's prestigious awards include the National Black Programmers Coalition 1995 General Manager of the Year and the "Living Legend Award" from Black Radio Exclusive.
"I feel pretty good, but as a rule day to day I don't think much about accomplishments to myself, but sometimes when I talk to people they start saying things, and I say, wow I guess I've done okay and done quite well," Rushin told CBS4's Shomari Stone.
Former congresswoman, Carrie Meek, admires all that Rushin does.
"He is one of the leaders that is a well kept secret, Jerry doesn't get a lot of publicity," said Meek. "I never seen anyone better than Jerry than solving problems."
Rushin says he has no plans to retire anytime soon, says he loves his job and love helping the South Florida community.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
I-Team: Tracking The Florida Stimulus Money Trail 
Stumble It!
