Allow myself to introduce... myself.
I'm Dana McKay, the new co-host of AM Tampa Bay with Jack Harris and The Ryan Gorman Show.
While I didn't grow up here in Florida, I consider Tampa Bay to be my home now. This is my third time moving to the Sunshine State and I have no plans to leave again. I live in Riverview with my husband Rick and our 10-year-old son Rocco. I also have an 18-year-old daughter, Kyla, who lives in Boston where she's a student at Emerson College.
My radio dreams first brought me to Tampa in 2002 when I was hired to be the midday DJ at our sister station 93.3 FLZ. During that time I got to know former WFLA host, the late Tedd Webb. I thought it would be cool to share what he had to say about me on his "Where Are They Now?" radio website. I believe this was written in 2003.
"Catty, sharp, and a wit to match, without par in the bay area, perhaps the entire country. You can hear energy in her voice, she loves what she is doing.
This Waltham, Mass native got the radio bug at age 13. She started calling a station in Boston, ended up touring the station and was hired to be an intern when she was 14. She quit radio to do a college trip in accounting of all things !! That dream ended after 2 years when she realized radio was her first love.
She was a board op at a Sports Station in Worcester, and got her first on air job in 1999 at WJBQ Portland. She worked at Mix 98.5 in Boston before coming to 93.3 FLZ.
This pretty lady is at the top of her game, and can be expected to go far, the sky is the limit for Dana."
I am excited and honored to have this opportunity to work with Jack Harris. After spending some time behind the scenes over the last few weeks, I can tell you - Jack is as genuine and kind off the air as he is on. Two of my favorite things in life are laughing and learning interesting new things, and I look forward to doing both each morning on the show.
Ryan Gorman and I have known each other since we worked together at 93.3 FLZ. We'll have to dig up the picture of us at Banana Joe's at Channelside and share it with you soon. Do you remember Banana Joe's? Or Channelside before it became Sparkman Wharf? I'm excited to learn from him as I make the transition from a music dj to a talk show co-host.
A little more about me...
I'm wearing red on my first day on the air.
I forced myself to miss the first episode of the new season of Yellowstone last night because I had to get to bed early so I could wake up at 3:30am and make it to work on time.
I just filled a shopping cart with semi-professional dresses on the Loft Factory website, but I haven't bought them yet because it's probably only a matter of days before morning radio = showing up for work in leggings and a messy bun.
I play Bunco with a group of friends on the second Saturday of every month. We laugh so hard our faces hurt. I haven't always had "a village" of friends, but I'm so grateful to have them now.
One of my greatest joys right now is watching my 10-year-old son Rocco get really into Tampa Bay sports. We just moved back to the area from DC about a year ago, and he's developed a real passion for the Rays and the Bucs. He definitely knows more about sports than I do at this point, so I may share his takes on things from time to time.
Another of my greatest joys is witnessing my 18-year-old daughter Kyla mature into a passionate, kind, empathetic young woman. I love that she calls me for advice about "grown up" stuff but the next minute she'll send me a picture of the newest American Girl Doll and ask if it's ok that she's officially an adult now and she still wants a new doll.
My husband and I just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary at The Melting Pot on Dale Mabry. It's almost an hour away from our house, but he insisted we enjoy our favorite restaurant together to celebrate the fact that we're still together. Marriage is not easy, but we didn't give up. We talk about it on our podcast, Married on the Mic. It's been a while since we've done any episodes, but if you really want to get to know us, you can check it out on the iHeartRadio app.
While this full-time position as Executive Producer and Co-host on WFLA is a new role for me, I've been working on other iHeartRadio stations across the country for the last four years. I'm on our sister station Mix 100.7 every Sunday afternoon, and I'm also on music stations in Las Vegas, San Antonio, and several others. I've always done music radio, but being part of a morning show and getting to talk for more than 15 seconds at a time has always been a career goal for me. I'm thrilled to get started!
Thank you for reading and for listening!
Dana