Special Awards

Bill Mayne devoted his career to Country radio, along with dedicating more than 35 years of service to the Academy of Country Music’s Board of Directors. Mayne studied radio, TV, and film at the University of Houston, and his interest in radio carried him to Austin, Texas, where he worked as a disc jockey and a program director for KNOW. Subsequent stops included KASE in Austin, KSCS/WBAP in Dallas, and KZLA/KLAC in Los Angeles. In 1988, he accepted a position at Warner Bros. Nashville working in promotion, then rose to become Senior Vice President and General Manager of the label. During this time Mayne worked with artists such as Holly Dunn, Faith Hill, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt, and Dwight Yoakam. After that, he held an executive role at 903 Music, the label launched by Neal McCoy, prior to establishing his own firm, Mayne Street Consulting.

In early 2010, Mayne’s company provided consultation to Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc., during a sensitive time for the Country Radio Seminar. Through Mayne’s leadership, CRS experienced a growth in attendance, sponsorship, and engagement. He had been part of the CRB’s Board of Directors when he accepted the role of Executive Director, a position he held from 2011 until his retirement in 2019. That same year, he marked his 50th anniversary of working in the music industry. Mayne has served as Chairman of the Board for the Academy of Country Music as well as ACM Lifting Lives, the Academy’s charitable partner, in addition to every other officer role.

Charlie Cook is an award-winning disc jockey, an accomplished Country radio executive, and a former Chairman, President, and Radio Committee Chair of the Academy of Country Music’s Board of Directors, where he still serves as the longest-serving ACM Board Member in Academy history. Cook started his career at WMBN in Petoskey, Michigan, and built his résumé with stops in KLAK/Denver, WWVA/Wheeling, West Virginia, and WHN/New York City. In 1977, he was named “DJ of the Year” by Billboard. After a short time in Miami, Cook relocated to Los Angeles in 1980 to flip KHJ-AM to Country, then accepted a job offer at another L.A. Country station, KLAC. After a management change, Cook found an opportunity to join McVay Media, a position he held for 13 years. However, exhausted from the traveling it required, Cook opted for a role at Westwood One, where he stayed from 1996 to 2006.

Cook brought those diverse experiences to Cumulus from 2006 to 2008 as Vice President of Programming. His career path then led him back to Los Angeles as Senior Manager of Programming at KKGO for two years, followed by three years at West Virginia Radio Corporation, where he served as Director of Programming. Regarded for his leadership and mentoring, Cook received the CRB’s President’s Award in 2010 and was inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame in 2011. Cook returned to Cumulus in 2014. He currently serves as Vice President of Country Music, Programming Operations Manager for Cumulus Nashville’s five-station cluster, and Program Director for WSM-FM and WKDF-FM.