In May last year, in what could be a national record for a female broadcaster, Kempsey’s Sarah King racked up a quarter of a century in the same shift at the same radio station.
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Sarah, who has called the Breakfast at Central Coast station 2GO for 26 years now, packed up and made her home there in the early 1990s.
It’s an amazing achievement for someone who says she fell into the industry and is a self-confessed “night owl”.
Sarah’s latest recognition has seen her commended in the NSW Parliament for her work fundraising for sick children, with Sarah at the forefront of creating the radio campaign “Give Me 5 For Kids”.
The wonderfully simple radio campaign is now more than 22-years-old and continues to benefit the Central Coast’s Gosford and Wyong Hospitals and local paediatric services.
The campaign has also been picked up by other stations throughout the country, with 34 markets embracing Give Me 5 For Kids and raising funds for hospitals in their respective areas. The Southern Cross Austereo radio network campaign has now raised $2,194,682.96 nationally.
The State member for Terrigal Adam Crouch recognised Sarah’s efforts in September with an address in parliament detailing the creation of the fundraising effort.
“It is with great pride that I congratulate 2GO on its continued success story in fundraising for our sick kids on the Central Coast with Give Me 5 For Kids,” Mr Crouch said.
“It was from humble beginnings when popular morning show host Sarah King tried to pay a parking fee with 5 cent coins and the attendant would not take them.
“Little did the attendant know that she was a force to be reckoned with. Sarah King went on radio with a challenge: that we all collect 5 cent coins for the local children's ward at Gosford Hospital.”
“A staggering $2.3 million has been raised in that time.”
From her unlikely beginnings, Sarah has become a pioneer of breakfast radio after being offered the job by the then 2GO station manager despite having no experience in radio.
Her big personality and bigger belly laugh stood her in good stead as has her bright and quick quips.
Sarah’s parents, Gavan and Lesley King of West Kempsey, said they are enormously proud of her and in particular her charity work.
