Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Heric.

Hi Karen, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

My story started many years ago in the Traffic Department of KOMO Radio. Jobs were hard to find at that time and climbing up the corporate ladder was slow in the early 80’s, so I got impatient and jumped to the Tri-Cities to work at KNDU-TV/NBC. This position was a mix of production, traffic and eventually on-air work. I hosted a weekly talk show and did the weather for the evening news 5 days a week. I learned a lot in this role.

Next my husband was transferred to Houston, TX so I went to work at KHOU-TV as National Sales Assistant. I had the best boss and she taught me everything about TV Sales, negotiating makegoods, keeping pristine records and strong communication skills. This job was a springboard to my lifelong career in Media Sales.

When we moved back to Seattle, I took a poisition in Cable Advertising Sales. It was grueling initially then as the medium grew, I had incredible success. I was top Sales person many years in a row before becoming Sales Manager. After 11 years in this role, I needed a change and left to go to work for KING 5 TV.

At KING 5, I worked so very hard. It was tough but rewarding. The hours were long but the pay was incredible. After 10 years there and several promotions, I left after being passed up for the promotion I really wanted. I moved on to Fox Sports NW as Sales Manager for 5 years. At that point, the company was going through layoffs and 20% of the staff were let go. I was a casualty of this restructure and moved into Radio.

I spent 2 years at CBS Radio before shifting to iHeart for 3 years. Then Hubbard for 3 years. All in all, 8 years in Seattle Radio prepared me to own and manage my own stations in Chelan. I am now close to retirement and we are in the process of selling these stations.

My career has been long, intense, fun, and allowed me to meet hundreds of incredible people and master the art of negotiation!

Alright, 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?

Not always, Media is a very competitive, cut throat industry. I was good at it and had wonderful relationships in the business so was always able to land on my feet but at times it was tough.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?

Our Radio Stations serve the Chelan community and I own and operate the Stations. Our relationships with the local business community are strong and our listeners rely on us year around for local news, community information and fire updates throughout the summer.

We are proud of the tradition of KOZI serving the community for over 65 years. We keep people informed, businesses promoted and non-profit organizations supported.

What are your plans for the future?

Our ownership group is in retirement mode so we are currently selling the Stations. We want to find a local owner who understands the community, the local businesses and the relationship KOZI has with our listeners.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kozi.com
• Facebook: KOZI Radio