Guys on the Radio was founded in 2011, but it was the product of a life-long friendship that started long before that.
JC ‘Phillips’ Heerdt met Jon ‘Shap’ Shapiro back in 1996 at North Central College in Naperville, back when one was a goofy freshman kid from Rock Falls, and the other a weird, skinny kid wearing a train hat from the south suburbs of Chicago, who was entertaining the entire dorm floor with his Atari 2600.
The two both worked at the college radio station (WONC) and became roommates. Following graduation, they followed other WONC alumni to LaSalle-Peru to begin their dream careers working in small town radio.
Small town radio didn’t pay all the bills, so JC and Shap supplemented their incomes with bar gigs and other occasional DJ events starting in the early 2000s. A few years later, they did their first wedding events working for Mike Sabatini’s Music Machine.
When Mike sold his business in 2010, they finally struck out on their own to found their own company — “Guys on the Radio” — on January 1st, 2011.
(As veteran broadcasters in the Starved Rock area, the name of the company reflects their plan to bring familiar voices from the airwaves to weddings on the weekends.)
From the start, JC and Shap made a commitment to making sure every event is ‘stress-free.’ With all the time and energy required to plan a wedding, your day should be your day. So, you can relax, knowing the Guys and Sisters are on your team, planning every aspect, so you can enjoy your day.
Steve Goodwin joined the team in 2016 as our Chief Financial Officer. He is also an owner of the company.
Jon “Shap” Shapiro retired in 2019. He does assist us with weddings — when he wants to work. (That’s the joy of retirement. You work when you want to.) Plus, he and JC are still best friends, and consider each other family.
Stress Free Event Group Brands
- Shap and JC created “Sisters Stress Free Planning” in 2017 filling a void in event coordination in the Illinois Valley. After working several events in backyards and barns, it became evident that there is a big need for families who are planning events to have someone to execute their vision. They were witnessing overflowing garbage cans, dirty dishes left by caterers on dancefloors (attracting bugs), bathrooms/port o potties without toilet paper, bars running out of ice and beer, as well as events that lack the flow and organization that the top area venues provide. All of this, falls on the family without a coordinator. JC and Shap have sought out former venue coordinators, as well as former clients, to help execute the Sisters mission – STRESS FREE EVENTS.
- 2018 – Partnership with Totally Kreative Video. Tyler and Amelia Kern have partnered with our team to offer video services for your wedding through our Stress Free Event Group brand. Additionally, wedding officiant/celebrant Adam Jamsa also can be booked through us.
- 2019 – Shap and JC started a live party band project with Kevin Kramer called “Something Borrowed.” Serena Armstrong joined our team originally as a vocalist for the group. The plan was for a 2020 launch, but now we are launching in fall of 2021. Look for video, photos and pricing information soon.
- In 2020, JC and Steve purchased “Flash Foto Photobooth” from Cheryl Illman. Cheryl built an amazing reputation for photobooth services in the Illinois Valley – we made a commitment to deliver the same level of service with this photobooth.
Awards/Notable Achievements/Charity & Civic Organization
- JC and Shap were named to the “40 Under 40” by the Small Business Development Center.
- Guys on the Radio are continually named in the Knot’s Best of Weddings (2018, 2019,2020, 2021) and the knot’s Best of Weddings Hall of Fame.
- JC is very active in the community, volunteering with Special Olympics , North Central Illinois ArtWorks & President of the Judy Thome Memorial NFP.
- Guys on the Radio and Sisters Stress Free Planning are both members of the Illinois Valley Area Chamber of Commerce.
