Welcome to JJ-365 Salutes. Over 2018, we pay tribute daily to one of “The Good Ones”. Today we shine the light on Erica McGee (Hodge).

I started talent coaching with Southern Cross Australia Radio in 2017 and Erica was one of the first people to work with there. I love working with the ‘switched on’ ones and that is a good way to describe Erica, and all the folks at SCA. I just appreciate so much how much they are into the medium and the innovative nature of the programming down under. No inhibitions in Aussie radio. It’s all about the content and they are not afraid to do new things, take chances and have a heap of fun. Erica handles her Content Director duties at top rated Mix94.5 in Perth with smarts, charm, class and while being a veteran, she still has a quench for learning.

Erica holds a Bachelor of Arts in English, a double major in Journalism & Theatre Arts from Curtin University in Perth Australia.

She started her radio career in news as breakfast news editor at 6NR (the University station and now Curtin-FM) after graduating, and then 6iX in Perth in 1992. She started in the newsroom at PMFM 92.9 in 1993 and read breakfast news and got chances to fill in on the breakfast show when the opportunities presented themselves. She remembers working through a complete building renovation there and having to blow an air horn to get workers to stop while they read news bulletins (because the temporary news booth was the old stationery cupboard and had very little sound-proofing!) and hearing builders singing in the roof above her head and yelling at them to be quiet during an audio cart when her mic was off.

Like most Aussies seem to do, she decided to do some world travelling and in 1996 packed up and headed from Perth to Atlanta for the Olympics. She spent 6 months in the USA (lived in San Diego), then moved to the UK. It was a year in London and then a year in Derby (an English city on the banks of the River Derwent in Derbyshire), where she got back into radio as the breakfast news presenter on RamFM. It was there that she started to do regular shifts as part of the breakfast program, not just reading news.

In November 1998 it was time to go home to Australia for a role as breakfast co-host on FM104.7 in Canberra, the capital of Australia, eighth-largest overall and the largest inland city. From there in 2003 she and her co-host Marty Haynes moved to do the show in Wollongong. Wollongong is a coastal city in Australia, south of Sydney along the Grand Pacific Drive with fabulous surfing beaches and rock pools lining the coastline. There they started a charity fundraiser called the Illawarra Truck & Motorcycle Convoy, where almost a thousand vehicles hit the road to raise money for cancer. This has gone on to generate a million annually and over $11.45 million since 2005.

I was lucky enough to get down under a few times in 2008 and do a bit of work with the Triple M brand. Guy Dobson, Chief Content Officer of Southern Cross Austereo and CEO back then Michael Anderson brought me in and I had a chance to hang a bit with top Aussie guns like Guy, Rex Morris and Mike "Fitzy" Fitzpatrick who is Erica's boss today. I was also a speaker at their annual radio/music conference called ACRA held in Sydney. Aussies know have a good time but work hard at their craft, and it has been an adopted country for me since.

In 2009 Erica joined the Triple M team in Sydney, deciding to change track and explore producing as a next stage. She accepted a role as the Executive Producer of the Grill Team in August of that year. One of the highlights there was dropping a custom Harley Davidson from a 40 metre high crane as part of a contest. The winner of this crazy contest ('competition' as they call it) took his chance by pressing one of two buttons at the Triple M Grill Team remote broadcast. One button would see a brand new Harley Davidson slowly lower to the ground, the other would would have it fall. Triple M listener Steve Lound had a 50% chance of keeping the bike if he won, but luck was not with him and he watched his dream Harley Davidson smash into pieces when he pressed the wrong button. The bike was suspended by the rear tire and onlookers were amazed when the bike was released and plummeted nose first into the ground, bouncing and smashing into hundreds of pieces. Steve sadly went to inspect the customized motorcycle remains in the dirt and still accepted the keys from the owner of Harley Davidson Blacktown.

Another crazy contest came from management pranking her morning team around the phenomenally successful "LOST" TV series. If you remember on the show the characters had to keep pressing the reset button to ensure safety on the island. With this radio competition, they had selected a listener and the job was for members of the breakfast show to keep pressing a button every 60 seconds for 24 hours. If they missed the listener lost the $10K. Bleary eyed they pulled it off but then found out they were pranked by management when they told them at the end that they should have read the fine print which said they really didn't have to do that after all.

Erica worked with Triple M until October 2011, when she moved back home to Perth to be the Executive Producer of The Bunch Breakfast show at Mix94.5.

In 2012 Erica added Assistant Content Director to her role and was appointed Content Director in November 2013 where she continues to do a splendid job. To put that into perspective, the station is one of Australia’s most successful, recording an unbeaten run at number one in the ratings for 100 consecutive surveys (which amounts to about 12 ? years). Some of the highlights include successfully transitioning a 21-year heritage breakfast show ‘The Bunch’ out of the timeslot and moving the drive show ‘The Big Couch’ into breakfast without losing a ratings point. Also working with the current breakfast team Clairsy, Matt & Kymba to get the show back to number one after the loss of Shane McFarlane who was beloved by the audience and had passed away.

Eric sums up: “I feel extraordinarily lucky to work – and have worked – with some of the absolute superstars of Australian radio. Guy Dobson, Craig Bruce, Brian Ford, Rex Morris, Mike Fitzpatrick, Jamie Angel and more.

My advice to young talent would be:

? Don’t be afraid to start in the smaller markets.

? Don’t feel the need to rush – you will hopefully have a long career, you don’t need to achieve everything in the first 5 years.

? Treat everybody around you with kindness and respect – no matter your pay grade or theirs."

I have had the pleasure of working with Erica since 2017 and I can tell you that she is a very talented broadcaster. She is a formidable competitor, astute, smart, talented, has a great work ethic, and is all about the team and her family. Erica is not only one of Australia’s top Content Directors, she is world class material. Atta be Matey and Happy Birthday!

Thank you, Erica McGee (Hodge), for being one of “The Good Ones”. Feel free to like and share Erica’s positive story. Who is the subject of tomorrow’s JJ-365 Salutes? As they say, stay tuned.

Jim JJ Johnston is the CEO, President and Chief Talent/Content Coach for JJIMS INC. and works with talent in many different industries worldwide. He can be reached at JJ-IMS.COM.