Stan and Haney To Retire After 33 Years On Krock

In an announcement during their show today, the duo dropped a bombshell on us with the news that Stan and Haney to retire at the end of the month. Even many people within management at the Beasley Media Group were taken off guard by the surprise announcement on the Fort Myers, Florida station. Their final show on 96Krock is expected to be on August 30th.

Stan Nawalaniec has been on the air at 96 K Rock forever!  He loves to travel, play golf, and the New York Yankees.  Stan has a daughter and an Alabama wildcat and resides in Ft. Myers, FL. 

Mark Haney’s been on the radio since he was 15 years old!   He is a lover of music, especially the blues.  Mark plays guitar in his band, Mark Haney and the Buzzards.  He also loves to play video games, drink Red Bull and sleep until it’s time to come to work at 2pm for the Stan and Haney Show! 

Stay tuned for more details on what to expect on the duo's final month of shows. One listener, Jeff Davis, summed up the announcement "It is a sad day in southwest Fl! I have been listening to the show since 1995. This will leave a big hole in my day and much sorrow. But I wish them well."

Full transcript of announcement:

So I have to, talk to you guys. Seriously. And I'm not talking about the guys here because we're all, aware of of this. I'm talking to our audience who has been so loyal to us over the last 33 years that when things are about to change, that we will let you know and try to keep you informed.

I'm sitting here. Both Haney and I are sitting here right now, and this is a conversation that I could not envision in my radio career having to do one because most people in radio don't stay in one place for for decades. Most people in radio do not have a true family, not only of in the building, but listeners who are the most loyal listeners two guys could ever, ever want.

We have had our ups. We've had our downs on this show. We've faced a lot of things. You've always, always, always, always have been there for us. The last couple of years have been, to say the least, trying ones for us. And you guys have stood by us.

I had, my heart attack in November of 2022 and before that time. And Haney knows this because he and I talked about it. I said, I'm getting tired. I don't know how much longer I can keep going. Both Haney and I came to this radio station. We were in our 20s, and when I got into radio, Haney got into radio when he was 15.

When I got into radio, I said, If I'm doing this when I'm 40, drag me away. There's no way I'm going to do this at 40. Well, I turned 40 in this building and I turned 50 in this building, and I turned 60 is building. And I look back and I said, Holy cow, what an amazing ride. But it had crossed my mind.

And. After I had my heart attack. And I'm not speaking anything out of turn because Haney and I had this conversation. Yeah. After I had my heart attack and five stents put in.

I had my cardiologist, my general physician all the time said to slow down, Stan. Or you're not going to… you're not going to make it. And to Haney's credit, and little did we know how truly sick you were at the time. But Haney said at the time, when I came back to work after my heart attack, he said, that's it.

There's no more pressure going to be put on, Stan. It all goes through me now, meeting Mark Haney, because I, I put the load of the show on my shoulders and he said no. And he said that that's not going to happen that way. I'll take the load. How were we to predict that three months after my heart attack, Haney would have a stroke and when I say the word total cruelty in the way fate happens.

Haney could have lost his arms, and Haney could have lost his legs. Haney could have had anything in the world happened to him. But he lost the one thing that he needed the most by being on radio. It was his voice. And. Two things happened. Haney wasn't able to do to his fullest abilities and everybody knows Southwest Florida's most respected anchor man.

He wasn't allowed to his fullest abilities to do what he had to do anymore. And me, while I'm trying to recover from a heart attack, I just got the weight of two more people put on my shoulders, and having to work and doing stuff where this is not a come on at 2:00 and leave at 6:00 job every day.

I'm up at 6:00 in the morning reading and editing and working and trying to do everything I possibly can. I go home, have dinner, I go to bed, and it starts over again. And Haney and I realized that.

What we had and what we were trying to do. And the level that we wanted to do it at was not there.
Now, there are going to be some people that before I make the complete announcement of this, there's going to be some people who say, oh, I guess Stan and Haney's ratings after 30 years went down the tubes after the two of them got sick, especially after hitting As I speak to you right now, we have some of the strongest ratings we've ever had.

We're number one or number two in every one of our demos. And we have been. But when you do this with he and I for.

When you do this for 42 years. And here for 33. You know when it's time. The guts that it takes every day for a Haney to come into this studio and not say what he has to say is excruciating to me. And him.
I know, and I joke around with him. He has a lot to say, but he can't say it the way he wants to. And I. Cannot for my health handle the the workload like I used to. I'm 62 years old. I've got diabetes. I've had a heart attack. I've got high blood pressure, high cholesterol. And I don't think I'm speaking out of turn.

Not only did Haney have a stroke, but he, had a stent put into his heart. He had to have, about a year ago, cancer surgery in his neck.

And. This company has been so good to us. Not once in the last year and a half. Two years, did we miss a paycheck because he made sure both of us, despite being down. I didn't know that this guy was going to live.

We didn't miss a paycheck.

And. We're both right now. Okay. Haney's voice is is getting stronger every day, but his primary concern with his voice is to be able to communicate and socialize, then broadcast me. I'm tired. I'm tired.

So. Through the grace of these people that we've worked for for four decades, they understand. And. That all of that is irrelevant to you guys, the listeners who have been here with us for this entire time.

We will be stepping back at the end of the month. August 30th, 2024 will be our last show.
It's time. And I didn't know. And I still don't know if I'm saying the right things.

If it means anything to anybody other than the two of us, I think I'm wrong in assuming that that it matters to people who have listened to us for three generations over the last four decades.

In doing something that we are so used to doing. And we were having this discussion today. We hate change. Yep. We edit. We know it's time. We hate change. Can you make it a little bit longer? Can we go to the end of the month. Can we go to the end one more month? Can you either do it or not?

And we said we got to do it. It's time. Over 7400 shows. He and I have come in here and and done it. And we've got this 1 in, 19 more shows to go. And I'm telling each and every one of you. Then we're going to have fun. We're going to do the show. And when it's done, it's done.

That's not to say that you're not going to hear best of shows. They'll probably play some of those for a while. That's not to say that some of our fine sponsors who have been with this show, yeah, for a long time that I would gladly continue to do their commercials and do anything for them that we possibly could, because they've been loyal to us and the company, and you know who you are.

This is a decision that we, as the Stan and Haney Show, had to make. It wasn't always how we wanted it to go, but life's circumstances and life's twists and turns. Dictate a lot of it. And I'm going to tell you right now. Did Haney and I say that this was how it was going to come to a close?

No. Well, you know what? It could have come to a close a lot worse in many other ways, in a lot of things over the years.

We still have four more weeks. I just want you guys to know we love you. Thank you for just the best. Just the best audience that we could ask for. Thank you. And know that we're not going to stop until the end of the month, and we're going to do the best job that we can. And who knows?

Maybe, you know, like the Corleone. It pulls me back in. It pulls Haney back in. My biggest wish is that a year from now, two years from now, he's back to his old self and and comes back on the radio. My thoughts are that maybe after a period of time and not having the stress of the show, I may want to go and do a little something.

This company has also told us our office will always be here. My key card. His key card will never be turned off.

That's how good they are.

And we just thank you and. That's all I have to say. Thank you. This is the the first opportunity that we've had. the ink is still was still wet on the paper.

And it was a lot of thought and a lot of discussion and a lot of tears and a lot of pressure. Of. Are we doing the right thing? I think a lot of it even going up north to see my mom and my stepdad, I said, I want to at least have a few years to still live and not worry about that.

I have to go get up at 6:00 the next morning to start prepping another show. Just for a little while.
I love this show. This is this is who we are. It's our identity. We've done it our entire adult lives. And for most of our adult lives, we've done it right here. Thank you. And, we'll keep doing the show. I'll. I'll remind you as we're getting closer. I'll give you the the countdown. And I'm sure there's going to be, people stopping by and people coming in, and we'll do it.

I won't, I'll try not to cry again until the last show. Maybe that last show. Cry like a baby.
A Baby. They'll have to have me crying so hard that that's when they shut the mics off. And then, Roj comes in and puts a cape on Haney and I and leads us out of there. Something like that. But, Thank you.