Meet Carl: 9 Things He Loves About Being Back In Central New York

Let me tell you, it is amazing to be back home in Central New York.

My name is Carl and I am going to be joining Polly for mornings on Big Frog. Co-hosting a morning show has been a life-long goal for me, and getting the opportunity to do it here in Utica is unbelievable. I truly grew up listening to Tad and Polly every morning on my way to school. Tadpole is leaving huge shoes to fill. Precisely around size 13 last time I checked.

Jokes aside, I look forward to continuing to grow with the station he’s helped build for over a decade.

So getting to more about me; I grew up in West Winfield and went to school in Mount Markham. There I was heavily involved in what my school offered; from sports to theatre, to the morning announcements… I did it all.

The first opportunity to get my feet wet with radio was during my senior year of high school on a morning news/talk show. From there, I went to SUNY Oswego to study broadcasting. That following summer, I became an intern at Townsquare Media and eventually a part-timer, getting to connect with everyone on Big Frog and its sister stations, 96.1 The Eagle and Lite 987.

Since graduating from college amid the pandemic and selling mattresses for two years, I got my first full-time radio position as a Host/Reporter at a news station in Ithaca in March 2020. It was a great experience working out there and understanding the amount of work news reporters put in every day.

Now I’m here and back in Central New York, living my dream job. There are so many reasons as to why I love this region.

Here’s a list that I think you may agree with that makes our home in Central New York worth it all and why it's so easy to come back home.