Conroe’s queen of the airwaves Mary McCoy has another jewel to cherish among her crowning accomplishments in the city.
McCoy, 86, will be inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in Nashville in September.
She has been on the radio in Conroe for 73 years and the personality at KVST K-Star Country 99.7 FM, holds the Guinness World Records title for having the longest career as a female radio presenter as of February 2023. In 2010, she was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame.
In April 2023, she was a presenter at The Grand Ole Opry.
“It’s been a journey,” she said. “I knew what I wanted to do and I was determined. Every time someone tried to bring me down I would not listen and I became more determined.”
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Surprise phone call
Her daughter, Kim Stout, said it took a few days for the news to sink in after she received the call.
The initial email came to the radio station and she printed it off to show to her radio co-host Larry Galla.
She wondered “Is this legit?” Galla confirmed it was indeed a legitimate honor.
Hall of fame induction process
In the spring, 2,800 individuals were either suggested or reviewed with 24 people selected for nomination. The group was narrowed to six and nine people were announced as inductees June 17.
Other 2024 inductees include Crook & Chase featuring Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase, who have hosted radio and TV shows together dating back as far as 1983; news anchor Lee Harris, a recognizable voice for New Yorkers; radio personality and actor Phil Hendrie; Ecuadorian-born American sportscaster Jaime Jarrin; Matt Siegel, an American retired radio personality who was the host of the Matty in the Morning Show in Massachusetts on KISS 108 for 41 years; radio executive Kraig Kitchin and retired radio executive Barry Mayo. In 1981 he helped launch WRKS in New York as the first station to play rap.
“The Radio Hall of Fame welcomes eight new members that have made a lasting impact on the industry. This class, like the ones before it, exemplifies the highest standards of excellence that radio broadcasters have upheld throughout radio’s rich history, making this medium so special to generations of listeners,” said Dennis Green, co-chairman of the Radio Hall of Fame.
Early Conroe years
When her family first moved to Conroe, they lived in a tent for four years while her dad worked at a local sawmill. Still today she has emotional memories when she smells sawdust or shavings.
She started working at Wacker’s store on the downtown Conroe square at age 11 to help the family.
McCoy began her time on the airwaves shortly after she entered a talent show on KMCO AM on April 21, 1951. She was asked to sing in a 15-minute program. She mentioned she wanted her own record show and about four months later, the 12-year-old got her wish. She cried after she heard her first show, thinking it was bad, but got a call to return because her show received a sponsor.
She received $15 from that first sponsorship. A few months later, the station owners put her to work filing records where she made $3.25 a week.
When her dad, Tom, became sick in 1956, that’s when she was added to the station’s payroll making $30 a week for being an on-air personality.
In her seven decades in the business, McCoy appeared in 1955 on the Louisiana Hayride sharing the stage with Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves, The Browns and other stars. She released her first record, “Deep Elem Blues,” in 1960 and signed with the Jin label.
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No plans to stop
She was so popular in the 60s that when the Owen family was trying to establish a FM radio station in Conroe, Rigby Owen Jr. tried to hire McCoy away from KMCO, but she would have none of it.
Over the years the KMCO station became KIKR and in 1992 was changed to KVST and McCoy has had a seat in the DJ booth through all the sales and mergers.
Today she continues her longtime radio show with co-host Larry Galla from 10 a.m. to noon weekdays on KVST K-Star Country 99.7 FM. Even through a neck injury and hospital stay a few years ago, she continued to host the show from her hospital bed.
She has no plans of stopping anytime soon. The people and the many relationships she’s built over the years are what she loves the most.
“There are just so many wonderful memories,” she said. “I can live the rest of my life on all the wonderful memories I have.”
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