We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rick Netzel a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Rick, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea
I would like to share the journey of our radio show, “Life in the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast with Rick and Christie” Eighteen years ago, we inherited the program from the Executive Director of the Palm Beach County Tourism Development Council while at a small AM station in West Palm Beach. Given our shared background in the hospitality industry, my wife, Christie, joined me as co-host. Our mission was to promote to County in Tourism. The Palm Beach County Television and Film Commission is our major sponsor.
After a successful two-year run, we moved to iHeartRadio, where we expanded our reach through live Facebook feeds and hosted larger audiences in-studio. Following our time there, we rejoined our former General Manager at Coast 101.3 FM in Stuart, Florida, where we enjoyed three years as a community-based program.
When the pandemic hit, we transitioned to a home-based studio. We eventually sold the show to MoneyTalk Radio, which was later acquired by the True Oldies station in West Palm Beach. Following a series of mergers, our signal now reaches an audience of over 6 million people across Florida.
You can tune in to “Life in the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast with Rick and Christie” every Sunday morning from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM. Our episodes are also available as a podcast on all major platforms.
Best regards,
Rick Netzel
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Rick and Christie Netzel relocated to Palm Beach County in January 2010 after spending nearly 20 years in Orlando. Rick and Christie have been together for 27 years. The Netzel’s are both hoteliers and serve as Directors of Sales and Marketing for their respective properties. Rick is at the Best Western Palm Beach Lakes across from the Tanger Outlets and Christie is at the Residence Inn Palm Beach Gardens. The Netzel’s have been in hospitality and have over 80 years of combined experience. Life in the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast with Rick and Christie offers insights on the people, places, happenings and landscape of Palm Beach and Treasure Coast. It is a glimpse of our paradise with informative dialogue and a bit of husband and wife humor. We interview a who’s who of the Leaders of the Community and the County on our weekly syndicated Radio show.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Christie, my wife, and I are best friends. We have been together for 27 years which means we have been known as “Rick and Christie” in the Hospitality Industry here in Palm Beach County for almost 20 years. We have been successful within the Industry and have had stellar reputations during that time. We feel people listen to us because they respect us for the hard work and dedication we have shown and the relationships we have built and developed over the years.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
Thirty years ago, before hotels had the technology to easily display rates and availability, Christie and I both worked at different hotels by the Orlando airport. We had to call each other constantly to ask, “Rates and availability?” Through those calls, we became friends.
I asked her out for months, but she always said no. We had never even seen each other in person; we only knew each other’s voices. Eventually, she finally said yes and suggested we meet at a Chili’s. She asked what kind of car I drove and arrived early to get a table with a clear view of the front door. She wanted to check me out before I even saw her.
I suppose I passed the test. She met me at the door, we had lunch, and we have been together ever since.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Rick Netzel for the pictures