Coast radio stations prominent with seven ACRA awards won

GOLD Coast stations have clocked up seven wins at radio’s night of nights – the 29th annual Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs).

The awards were handed out a gala dinner for more than 1000 members of the radio industry at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday night.

Leading the hometown charge were Hot Tomato favourites Sean Flanagan, Emily Jade O’Keefe and David Christopher, who won Best On-air Team Country and Provincial for their Flan & Emily Jade with Christo breakfast program.

90.9 Sea FM took home awards for Best Music Director for Trent Towson, Best Program Director for Corey Kay and Best Station Promotion for its Fertility Week promo.

92.5 Gold FM’s Chris Crickmay won Best Achievement in Production while Southern Cross Austereo also won Best Marketing Campaign and Best Music Special for Joseph Groth’s A Coldplay Kind of Christmas.

Hall of Fame inductee Ray Hadley was the night’s biggest winner, claiming three awards to become the most celebrated announcer in the history of the awards with a total ACRAs tally of 30.

Hadley won Best Talk Presenter for The Ray Hadley Morning Show on 2GB, Best Sports Event Coverage and Best On-Air Team for his work on rugby league show the Continuous Call Team.

WSFM host Amanda Keller also locked in a piece of history as the first female on-air presenter inducted into the Hall of Fame.