With 40 years of broadcasting and advertising experience in Hancock County, Natalie Knox and Mark Osborne will receive the 2022 Top Drawer Award from the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce
Knox and Osborne’s careers are rooted in the radio business. Both graduates of Searsport High School, they had careers in radio and advertising in larger markets including Portland; Columbus, Ohio; and Milwaukee, Wisc.
In 1982, when they were in their 20s, they decided to go into business for themselves and brought a new radio station, Kiss 94 FM, to Ellsworth.
The station aired programming not previously heard in rural Maine, according to a news release. In its first year, the station won Billboard Magazine’s National Radio Station of the Year for small markets. The first independent ratings taken in the area showed that it had more listeners than the next five stations combined.
In 1993, Knox and Osborne signed on another radio station, country-formatted Lucky 99. Three years later, they expanded their footprint further with the sign-on of 104.7 The Bear.
They sold the three radio stations in 2000, and in 2001 formed Knox & Osborne Advertising and Marketing Strategies.
In 2005, they purchased an under-used radio signal from Clear Channel Broadcasting and built what is now Ellsworth area station Star 97.7.
Through both enterprises, Knox and Osborne have donated hundreds of hours of broadcasting to local nonprofits. Live broadcasts that support programs such as the Hancock County Food Drive and Stuff the Bus, which provides school supplies to local students. The programs include Re-Gift-a-Thon, which supports the Emmaus Homeless Shelter and the annual Trunk or Treat with the Downeast Family YMCA.
Other charitable programs have included Thanksgiving Dinners for Seniors and Christmas is for Kids, which over the years matched listeners with underprivileged children, providing over 20,000 gifts of toys and needed clothing.
Knox and Osborne have employed over 100 people during the past 40 years, many of whom have returned to work with Star 97.7.
The chamber cited them as “making a substantial contribution to the growth and development of Ellsworth, Hancock County and the State of Maine.”
The 2022 Top Drawer Award will be presented at the chamber’s annual awards night, May 18, in a pop-up event center in the Downeast Family YMCA parking lot.