Post by DRL on Mar 22, 2004 9:12:23 GMT -5
Tom was one of the good guys in the local radio area.
He was everything this article said and more.
Thanks Tommy Tampa will miss you.
Former WQYK-FM Host Dies In Sleep
TAMPA - Former WQYK-FM general manager and on-air personality Tom Rivers lived a life like the country songs he featured: a hard-working boy who told his single mother about his radio dreams over macaroni and cheese. Rivers, who joined WQYK, 99.5 FM, while he was a student at the University of South Florida and went on to host its morning show, died in his sleep in his Chicago-area home late Friday or early Saturday. The cause was bronchial asthma, said his mother, Mariellen Maloney Cvetic, a Naples insurance agent. He was 38.
``He was a bright light in the sky,'' she said Sunday. ``I guess extraordinary people don't live as long. I guess God wanted him home.''
Rivers had struggled with asthma all his life, she said. His two sisters, a brother and friends helped Cvetic organize funeral arrangements Sunday.
``I'm just numb,'' his mother said. ``It's a feeling you're going to wake up and it's a rotten joke.''
Rivers had left WQYK, WYUU-FM and the Buccaneers Radio Network about a year ago to become operations manager of US 99.5, WUSN- FM, in Chicago, the largest country music station in the United States, said Charlie Ochs, senior vice president and market manager for Infinity Broadcasting Corp., which owns WQYK.
In 1996, the Country Music Association named Rivers the Major Market Broadcast Personality of the Year, a feat he later repeated at the Academy of Country Music awards.
``He was very caring, very giving to everyone that he touched,'' Ochs said. ``He will be missed by a lot of people.''
Rivers was born in Erie, Pa. His father left the family when Tom was 7. As his mother struggled to provide for them, Tom often boosted her spirits.
``We bonded in poverty,'' she said. ``He was my bud.''
In 1981, she and Rivers moved to Naples, where he graduated from high school. While at the University of South Florida, he applied for a job at WQYK.
Rivers, who resembled country star Vince Gill, had an innate professionalism and easygoing charm, said Ochs, who hired Rivers for the station's 7 p.m. to midnight shift.
``The young man was so sharp,'' Ochs said. ``He was so charismatic. He'd just look right through you.''
As Rivers' career hit the fast track, he left USF. He moved to the midday and morning shifts, where he became known more for his down-to- earth friendliness than goofy skits, Ochs said.
He shied away from wearing cowboy hats, joking that his ears were too big, his mother said. ``I used to kid him about being a button-down kid in a country world,'' Cvetic said.
But listeners recognized his genuine interest.
``I don't pretend to be a cowboy or a farmer,'' he said in a 1992 St. Petersburg Times article. ``I'm not a good ol' boy, but I'll tell you what: I respect the people who are.''
As Rivers rose through the ranks, becoming WQYK's music director, program director, operations manager and general manager, he shared his success.
He bought his mother a house, took her to Ireland and donated money to local charities, his family and Ochs said.
He also hosted segments on country music for WTVT, Channel 13, and WFLA, Channel 8.
He left Tampa in 1992, after Ochs invited him to host the morning show on WMZQ in Washington, D.C., but returned after about a year.
``He loved Tampa,'' Ochs said. ``It broke my heart, but he just felt like he had to leave.''
He loved the Tampa Bay area so much, he kept his home in Indian Rocks Beach, his mother said.
In his spare time, he liked to fish and spend time with Winston and Dudley, his dogs.
``He was actually married to his career,'' his mother said. ``Radio was his life.''
He was everything this article said and more.
Thanks Tommy Tampa will miss you.
Former WQYK-FM Host Dies In Sleep
TAMPA - Former WQYK-FM general manager and on-air personality Tom Rivers lived a life like the country songs he featured: a hard-working boy who told his single mother about his radio dreams over macaroni and cheese. Rivers, who joined WQYK, 99.5 FM, while he was a student at the University of South Florida and went on to host its morning show, died in his sleep in his Chicago-area home late Friday or early Saturday. The cause was bronchial asthma, said his mother, Mariellen Maloney Cvetic, a Naples insurance agent. He was 38.
``He was a bright light in the sky,'' she said Sunday. ``I guess extraordinary people don't live as long. I guess God wanted him home.''
Rivers had struggled with asthma all his life, she said. His two sisters, a brother and friends helped Cvetic organize funeral arrangements Sunday.
``I'm just numb,'' his mother said. ``It's a feeling you're going to wake up and it's a rotten joke.''
Rivers had left WQYK, WYUU-FM and the Buccaneers Radio Network about a year ago to become operations manager of US 99.5, WUSN- FM, in Chicago, the largest country music station in the United States, said Charlie Ochs, senior vice president and market manager for Infinity Broadcasting Corp., which owns WQYK.
In 1996, the Country Music Association named Rivers the Major Market Broadcast Personality of the Year, a feat he later repeated at the Academy of Country Music awards.
``He was very caring, very giving to everyone that he touched,'' Ochs said. ``He will be missed by a lot of people.''
Rivers was born in Erie, Pa. His father left the family when Tom was 7. As his mother struggled to provide for them, Tom often boosted her spirits.
``We bonded in poverty,'' she said. ``He was my bud.''
In 1981, she and Rivers moved to Naples, where he graduated from high school. While at the University of South Florida, he applied for a job at WQYK.
Rivers, who resembled country star Vince Gill, had an innate professionalism and easygoing charm, said Ochs, who hired Rivers for the station's 7 p.m. to midnight shift.
``The young man was so sharp,'' Ochs said. ``He was so charismatic. He'd just look right through you.''
As Rivers' career hit the fast track, he left USF. He moved to the midday and morning shifts, where he became known more for his down-to- earth friendliness than goofy skits, Ochs said.
He shied away from wearing cowboy hats, joking that his ears were too big, his mother said. ``I used to kid him about being a button-down kid in a country world,'' Cvetic said.
But listeners recognized his genuine interest.
``I don't pretend to be a cowboy or a farmer,'' he said in a 1992 St. Petersburg Times article. ``I'm not a good ol' boy, but I'll tell you what: I respect the people who are.''
As Rivers rose through the ranks, becoming WQYK's music director, program director, operations manager and general manager, he shared his success.
He bought his mother a house, took her to Ireland and donated money to local charities, his family and Ochs said.
He also hosted segments on country music for WTVT, Channel 13, and WFLA, Channel 8.
He left Tampa in 1992, after Ochs invited him to host the morning show on WMZQ in Washington, D.C., but returned after about a year.
``He loved Tampa,'' Ochs said. ``It broke my heart, but he just felt like he had to leave.''
He loved the Tampa Bay area so much, he kept his home in Indian Rocks Beach, his mother said.
In his spare time, he liked to fish and spend time with Winston and Dudley, his dogs.
``He was actually married to his career,'' his mother said. ``Radio was his life.''