Today we’d like to introduce you to Candy O’Terry.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Candy. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
It was November of 1990. I was a single mom with no heat in the house and no way to pay the mortgage. As a recent graduate of the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, I was sent out on a handful of job interviews and was seeking a job at a radio station where I could use my degree in English from Boston College, and my experience as a recording artist and voice over talent. The job interviews went well and I was offered three opportunities. One was as an overnight reporter at WKOX in Framingham, another was as a news anchor for WGAW in Gardner, and the last job was as the temporary secretary to the Program Director at Magic 106.7, WMJX in Boston. I took job #3. Why, you might ask? Because I reasoned that if I could just be a fly on the wall at a big #1 FM radio station in Boston, learning about the business of radio, I’d be better off than being on the air, out in the sticks.
And I was right. The woman I was filling in for never came back from her maternity leave and my temporary job in the programming department became permanent. About a year later, I got my shot when an overnight disc jockey fell asleep on the air and got fired. Don Kelley (my boss and radio mentor) took a chance on me and put me on the air. Trust me, I was terrible, but he heard promise in my voice and knew that I would work hard to succeed. Radio became like air in my lungs. Like wind beneath my wings. (Sorry, that was cheesy) but it’s true. I spent the next 25 years on the air at Magic 106.7, loving every minute of it. Along the way, I created a 30-minute show called Exceptional Women and it became the most successful public affairs program produced by and for women in commercial radio. I took on every air shift and rose to Assistant Program Director. In 2013 I accepted the challenge of moving from afternoons to morning drive and during those last 2 years, learned the true meaning of the word “exhaustion”. When my contract was up in April 2015, I exited the station with tears in my eyes. My bucket list called for lots of experiences and I wanted to make them happen. I built my website: www.candyoterry.com, released my first full-length CD “Dream Come True”, landed a couple of small parts in 3 local feature-length films (blink & you’ll miss me) and continued to lead Boston Women in Media & Entertainment with Co-Founder Dayla Arabella Santurri. What has become very clear to me since leaving Magic 106.7 has been the deep need to shine a light on women doing great things with their lives, just like I had done with through my Exceptional Women show. This is my life’s purpose and passion. In January, 2018 I followed my heart and launched The Story Behind Her Success podcast series, my 16 Life Lessons public speaking platform, and on October 19th, we’ll celebrate some of these exceptional women and their stories with The Story Behind Her Success luncheon. The weekly podcast series will soon launch on radio stations throughout New England. #storybehindhersuccess #16LifeLessons.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road is never smooth and obstacles are there for a reason. This is something I know for sure. When we are faced with hardship or adversity, we are called upon to find courage, gather strength, and have faith that when we take that leap, our feet will find the ground. My biggest hurdle as a woman in radio was overcoming the perception that being the secretary to the program director was where I should stay. There were people, early in my career, who didn’t understand my passion to succeed or even appreciate that I had talent. This was a big obstacle for me to overcome, but I did it with hard work and I NEVER stepped on anyone to get to where I wanted to go. That was always key for me. You must be ready to meet every opportunity when it happens. If you are the understudy, be ready for the spotlight. Say “yes”, be humble and kind (thank you, Tim McGraw). I knew that success in radio would take time, talent and incredible sacrifices, like working 7 days a week, overnights and holidays, but I was willing to try and try again. I had two children to raise on my own and we had big dreams to fulfill.
My Dove Productions – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Story Behind Her Success podcast series is a weekly dose of inspiration, featuring interviews with exceptional women who are doing great things with their lives. The 30-minute program can be downloaded on any smartphone and is heard around the world. For a full library of the show, just go to www.candyoterry.com.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Funny story: In 2004 I recorded the song The Gift with Grammy nominee Jim Brickman and David Corey. Every singer has a lifelong dream of hearing their song on the radio and that dream came true for me. Magic 106.7 has a love songs show called Bedtime Magic, hosted by the legendary David Allan Boucher. When my boss heard the song, he loved it and told me he was going to play it on David Allan Boucher’s show. When I got off the air, I drove him, ran to the kitchen, poured a glass of wine, dimmed the lights, and turned on the radio. When my song came on, I was over the moon. I jumped up and down, I laughed, I cried, I spilled my wine. It was quite a moment. I was alone when this happened, which in retrospect, was a good thing!
Pricing:
- Candy O’Terry, Dream Come True (featuring The Gift with Jim Brickman & David Corey) $15.00.
Contact Info:
- Website: candyoterry.com
- Email: candy@candyoterry.com
- Instagram: candy_oterry
- Facebook: candy.oterry
- Twitter: @candyoterry
Image Credit:
Dream Come True CD: RLR Studio
Story Behind Her Success: RLR Studio
Headphones shot: Kate Zurenko Photography
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
