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Friday, September 03, 2010

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Julie Hein

Thanks for stopping by our site. I'm wicked-proud of all the folks that work to make Z102.9 and 1600ESPN so important to listeners and advertisers. It's a rare and special place to be.

You're probably here because you're thinking about advertising and radio. We work hard to make sure we understand what's going on with you. We want to know where you are, where you want to go and how you want to get there. Your strategy, your brand, your sales message--we love talking about that stuff. We've helped a lot of people accelerate their growth, and we'd love to help you too.

If there is ever anything that you'd like to discuss with me, please holler (319-363-2061x108). By the way, I do most of my office work from a treadmill desk. Some people stare, some laugh. I walk about 5 miles most days.

Glen Gardner

In a media career spanning more than 35 years, Glen successfully operated many businesses including radio companies, concert venues and web enterprises.

Glen started his career at WAAF in the Boston market. After working at several radio stations in New England, Glen moved to Iowa to co-host the morning program on KRNA in Iowa City and to serve as news director of the operation. For more than 12 years Glen was a part of the top-rated "Those Guys in the Morning" program on KRNA.

After Iowa City for 13 years, Glen was named United Press International bureau chief in Madison, Wisconsin. After the stint with UPI, Glen returned to radio in Madison as a program director, on-air host and eventually partner in radio station ownership. Glen was instrumental in launching the Active Rock format nationally while serving as operations manager of a cluster of eight radio stations in Madison, Wisconsin.

Glen served as president and general manager of Long Nine Inc. in Springfield, Illinois. The company operated four radio stations and a concert venue. He was successful in dramatically increasing revenues and cash flow for the many clients he worked directly with, while incorporating new technologies such as streamed audio, database marketing and concert promotions to help clients reach their goals.

Kellie Lala

Kellie and her camel after a ride in the Sahara. Morocco 2009.

I worked in retail for 13 years prior to joining the sales staff at Q103 radio in April, 1992. I have a huge commitment to Z102.9 and 1600ESPN, and I think that radio is a fun medium in which to be involved. Every day is a new adventure! Z102.9 and 1600ESPN are locally-owned which is a benefit for our advertisers as the money they spend with our stations is reinvested in our community.

I believe that radio can help to grow a business if the advertising schedule and the message are on target. One of the things that I enjoy most is working with businesses to achieve an affordable advertising plan that is win/win. I believe that Frequency creates Awareness, Awareness creates Preference and Preference creates Sales!

I was born and raised in Cedar Rapids. I graduated from Kennedy High School (go Cougars!), Kirkwood Community College and Mount Mercy College with Business and Marketing degrees. I have a passion for travel and enjoy big and little trips whenever I get the chance. I am a lifelong and active member of Noelridge Christian Church where I am a Sunday School teacher and Elder. I have also been a church camp counselor for high school youths for 26 years. I say that it keeps me young at heart. I have served on the Freedom Festival Board for five years and currently volunteer at Theatre Cedar Rapids, Brucemore, and Mt. Mercy College.

A little known fact about me is that I have been playing golf since the age of five and was on the Kennedy High School golf team for three years! I am the proud Aunt of two nephews Nick and Sam, who live in Mason City. I love spending time with them. My personal motto is "Enjoy life! This is not a dress rehearsal."

Jeff Taylor

Having grown up in Illinois and getting my degree from University of Iowa, I began my career in radio back in 1995, after having spent five years as the Director of Marketing and Sales for what was then the Five Seasons Center (now the U.S. Cellular Center). My wife is a native Californian and after we met in 1996, a sunnier climate seemed like a good move. After my 11 year dip in the Pacific we decided to come back to the Midwest to raise our 2 boys.

You won’t find me on the weekend without my family. We spend our time out and about. We are huge baseball fans and have enjoyed cheering on our local Kernels and Chicago White Sox. I have studied in the martial arts for 17 years, and am a black belt in Kenpo. My boys and I greatly enjoy training together. We also love to travel, and collect (and enjoy) wines from all the areas of our travels.

I spent my years in California running recruitment firms and consulting businesses in the Silicon Valley. When we decided to return to the Midwest, I was welcomed with open arms back into the KZIA family. It has been a great reunion with Eliot, Rob, Kellie, Julie and the entire team!

I believe in building relationships with my clients that are based on an honest and direct approach. Uncovering my client’s business challenges, and creating effective marketing and advertising strategies to solve those challenges, is incredibly rewarding. Radio is an incredibly powerful tool to reach potential customers. I can help create the right message, schedule and frequency to maximize your investments. I am looking forward to renewing my relationships here and tapping into my experiences to help you get results for your business.

Chris Law

Chris Law.bmp

I grew up in a small town named Lawton in Northwest Iowa. Located six miles east of Sioux City it provided a great mix of the small town life while being close enough to the big city (at least in Iowa terms) to enjoy its perks as well. I come from a fairly big family (I am the oldest of four) and have always felt particularly blessed to live within 5 miles of one set of great-grandparents, both sets of grandparents, 13 uncles/aunts, and 17 cousins.

I first came to the corridor to attend the University of Iowa in 1994. After holding numerous part time jobs while attending school I found a place at GEICO as a property-casualty insurance agent in 1998. In my 10 years with GEICO I held several positions and spent 3 memorable years in beautiful San Diego California.

I joined the Z102.9 and 1600ESPN team in March 2008 and have loved my time here. Everyone here shows great dedication to the community, from the part-time interns to our two hands on owners. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel privileged to be a part of it.

The radio bug bit me at a fairly young age. I spent a good part of my childhood listening to the AM radio in our 1978 15-passeneger van travelling to various family events, youth sports games, and summer vacations. It’s been a blast seeing radio from the inside for the first time and I have really enjoyed using radio to help my clients achieve their goals.

In my down-time I enjoy softball, snow skiing, camping/fishing/boating, disc golf, and anything outdoors. On the weekends I am usually doing something fun and outdoors with my wife Kristi and our sometimes destructive, usually entertaining, always energetic retriever/poodle mix Oliver.

Jill Dennis

I grew up in Iowa City, went to City High School there and then the University of Iowa. I started sales in retail but in 1992 began my career in radio sales. I worked here in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City market for almost 17 years, met new people everyday, made new friends and loved every bit of it. I’ve recently been asked to join Z102.9 and 1600 ESPN and I am very excited for this new venture. I’ve stayed in radio for all these years because I believe that radio is a powerful tool for businesses to reach customers and help grow their business. I feel very privileged to be a part of this locally owned team!

When I’m not working I’m spending time with family, friends and my 3 year old son. I do a lot of bicycling and running in my free time and I’m a big Hawkeye fan…..who isn’t????

Kim Peterson

I grew up in Cedar Rapids the youngest of eight – five brothers and two sisters. After graduating from Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School, I helped a friend move to Gainesville, Florida, and decided to stay there …for 10 years. During that time I started working in retail. I became the youngest manager the company had hired, won several sales contests, and then took a position with Brown Formen, as a sales representative for Bay Distributors, a wine distributer in Tampa. Basically, I sold wine to grocery stores and small boutiques. After working several years putting up 50 case displays I opted for a lighter position. I was hired as the southern account manager for Sunshine Biscuits. I was now selling cookies and crackers and loving it.

I decided in 1993 to move back to Iowa to spend more quality time with my family, all of whom still live in Cedar Rapids and the outlying areas, and to get serious about starting a family of my own. Instead of finding a husband, I fell in love with radio and in 1993 my radio career began. I worked in the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City area markets. Radio was not just a job. It was something I really enjoyed. It was rewarding helping others build their business and feeling like you had a part in it. Not only did I fall in love with radio, but through radio I fell in love and married my husband Brook in 1997. We had our first child, Kiley, in 1999 and made a very difficult decision for me to leave radio and stay home with her. After building such strong relationships with so many clients, it was like leaving a family behind.

Two years later here comes little Taylor, our second daughter, and then Trey in 2004.

So now, 10 years later, we have two girls, one boy, two dogs, three hermit crabs and a fish. It’s been a very rewarding 10 years and I am very fortunate to have had this time with my children. Now they are all in school and somehow out of faith, chance, or pure luck, radio is back in my life. In August of this year, I was asked to join the locally owned Z102.9 and 1600ESPN family. I was and am honored to be part of such an amazing group of people that don’t just consider this a job but really do love what they do as well.

Our family enjoys camping, biking, boating, and the Hawkeyes. I personally love to work out in my spare time (weird huhJ).

I’m back! And I’m excited to reconnect with old clients and ready to meet new ones!

Did you know that what comes through our ears stays in our minds for nearly five full seconds before it begins to fade? Whatever enters your eyes is gone in less than a second. Radio is such a great way for people to hear your message because the mind processes the message even when you aren’t listening.