Two weeks ago at the 2026 NAB Marconi Awards, the Bob & Sheri Show won for the first time in its 34-year run taking home the award for Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year. Unlike past years, where the show attended, this year they decided not to attend as they focused on their move from syndication to a direct-to-listener distribution model at the end of the year.
We reached out to host Sheri Lynch and her longtime business partner and director of syndication Tony Garcia with the opportunity to provide the acceptance speech they would have given.
Sheri Lynch: Thank you, NAB, for this extraordinary and very surprising honor. So unexpected that I’m home in my jammies instead of here because I had zero expectations of winning. In fact, I didn’t even tell my family or friends that we’d been nominated. This was our eleventh nomination, I think, and we’d long ago accepted that the Marconi would be the one that got away. We made our peace with that because being able to do what we love is already a big win. But to find ourselves now in the same company as the legendary broadcasters who have received this award is amazing and humbling.
A career like ours doesn’t just happen. There’s an entire army behind us and beside us, and without those people, we’re not here. Early on it was Rick Jackson, Clark Brown, and Don Benson, Eric Straus, and Martha Tod Dudman. People with vision and a deep reverence for what this medium can be. If you’ve been in radio for as long as we have – 30+ years – then you’ve survived the turbulence too. Consolidation, the arrival of PPM, ownership change upon ownership change. New technologies that disrupt and in some cases, forever change listener habits and behaviors. And then there was Covid, remote work – all with massive impacts on our business. But here we are, because this medium matters to people. We’ve built an entire community inside it, and we’re so proud of our little corner of radio. There’s such a hunger in American life now for connection. People are starved for it – it’s why we all give hours to scrolling social media – we’re looking for belonging. You know, those little inside jokes and stories that tell us we’re part of something bigger. We’re seeking camaraderie and friendship. Radio was the first mass media to offer that sense of connection and belonging. Radio creates community. There’s no big mystery to it. We don’t need to overcomplicate it. Here it is: people don’t connect with machines or strategies or algorithms. People connect with people. Radio hasn’t lost its power, but we’ve maybe been distracted, lost sight of exactly what that power is.
The Bob & Sheri team has changed very little over all that time. This Marconi belongs to them – my cohost Lamar Richardson, our producers Max Sweeten and Kary Bowser, our Director of Digital, Heather Furr. My longtime and now-retired partner, Bob Lacey owns a piece of this. And of course, none of this happens without Tony Garcia, my business partner, my brother, and the single greatest believer in Bob & Sheri there ever was or ever could be. And most importantly, our listeners who brought us here – how can we begin to express our love and gratitude for you? We’re all doing life together, and what a hilarious privilege that is.
And finally, a very special thanks goes out to every single person who stood in my way. Who challenged me, blocked me, doubted me, argued with me, and counted me out. I learned from you. You taught me how to fight, how to dodge and weave. How to evolve. How to not just survive in a tough business, but to thrive. You made us better. And some of you? We’ve worn you down so hard that now we get to call you our friends.
We truly never expected to win a Marconi, and so on behalf of the whole Bob & Sheri family, are we ever shocked! But so appreciative. Thank you.
Tony Garcia: I would have to echo Sheri. Rick Jackson was the one who saw that the show was special and thought syndication would work. He and Clarke Brown get the credit for greenlighting the project. Back then, investing in syndication meant satellite receivers, dishes, and uplinks. So this wasn’t a matter of “oh what the hell, go for it”. The barrier to entry was significant. As were the costs.
I had no idea about the show when I was hired to build the syndication. All I knew was that Rick was a great programmer and a good judge of talent, so I trusted his judgment.
When I got to Charlotte and saw how listeners reacted to the show — and specifically to Sheri — I realized how incredible the connection she and Bob had with the audience. We traveled three weekends a month to do appearances in affiliate markets in the early years. Everywhere we went, the reaction was the same. Listeners trembled, weepy and anxious to tell their stories about the stories Bob & Sheri told, and brought gifts. Wine, crafts, photos. You name it, someone probably gifted it. We took plenty of photos of these visits, but they don’t quite tell the story.
It’s been my pleasure and my privilege to work with Sheri (my sister and work wife), Bob, and the entire team. It’s really been my life’s work, and I’m incredibly proud of all the show has accomplished and even more proud of what the show has meant to listeners over the years.
Bob & Sheri launched on AC “Sunny 107.9” WBT-FM Charlotte in 1992 when Lynch was brought on as Bob Lacey’s new co-host. The duo would remain together through the station rebrands as “Hits 107.9” in 1996 and “107.9 The Link” WLNK in 1997. After being dropped from WLNK in April 2021, the show moved to “K104.7” WKQC the following month with Lacey retiring from the show in January 2025. The show has been syndicated since 1996; in September it announced it will move to a direct-to-listener digital model for 2027.
