Their love didn’t bloom right away. In fact, she didn’t have any interest in him at first…but as the story goes…their friendship grew into a partnership in business and in love.
“We are both second generation radio,” states Carl. “I knew Jeri’s mother and father for about ten years before I knew she even existed.”
“And when I first met him, I didn’t like him at all,” interjects Jeri.
“We worked together. Carl ran the Specials Division at Westwood One Radio, and I was the Director of Finance and Human Resources.”
It wasn’t until the Laker playoff game in 1989 where the two hit it off…their love blossomed and their journey began.
But before tying the knot and making it official, Carl and Jeri decided to purchase a radio station together.
“We always wanted to buy a radio station,” states Carl. “This station (now known as KHTS) had gone on the air as KBET and became available a year later.”
In July of 1990, Jeri and Carl purchased AM-1220, KBET, the SCV’s only local radio station. “After purchasing the station, we realized we needed to relocate and live in the SCV,” states Carl.
The summer of 1990 proved to be very busy for the couple as they not only purchased a radio station, but also moved to the Santa Clarita Valley. Just a year later, the two married. “We didn’t have a big ceremony,” states Jeri. “In fact, we ran away to the Santa Ana Courthouse and made it official.”
The next decade didn’t slow down as Jeri left Westwood One to take over the management of Saddleback’s KBET, while Carl was actively starting up radio stations in Oxnard/Ventura and Lancaster/Palmdale. They sold the station in 1998 to Clear Channel, but later bought the station back in 2003, which is now known as KHTS.
Now in its 10th year operating as KHTS, Jeri, Carl and their staff continue to bring you local news, weather, sports and more.
“I work upstairs at the office, and she works downstairs,” states a smiling Carl. “It’s the only way we’ve survived.”
“A lot of boundaries between work and home have to be set up,” states Jeri. “Every day it’s a new set of boundaries and every day it’s an ‘okay, let’s try this again,’”.
“I also learned the three magic words,” interrupts Carl. “The three magic words are ‘I was wrong’.”
As they both continued to smile, Jeri continued, “Carl is very much out in the public, and I’m better working behind the scenes. He’s out all day, I’m in the office. As long as we do things right, we’re cool.”
“We don’t need to be at all the events together,” adds Carl. “We choose our passions and utilize our strengths…it helps.”
One passion they do share is their commitment to SCV Habitat for Heroes, a Habitat for Humanity project helping veterans in our Valley get the assistance they need, helping local veterans and their families with home-ownership opportunities. “The first phase consisted of us helping veterans and fixing up their homes,” states Carl. “The second phase is to create a whole veteran village, not just housing, but full support services in Santa Clarita. We have had an incredible series of opportunities and it’s taken off. This is the first of its kind in the country.”
This new journey began in December of 2011 and the veteran village is expected to break ground in June of 2013. “The beauty is not just handing over the keys to the veterans, but rather providing them with a full array of services. This village will be supporting an estimated 87 to 89 families. It’s the first of its kind in our country.”
“We want to create another generation of powerful leaders,” states Carl. “We had a generation of leaders who talked the talk and walked the walk and became mentors for us, and we want to be that for others. Working together with my wife, being involved in non-profit organizations and raising kids; we have found success with utilizing each other’s strengths. It can be a hard transition to separate work from our personal life, but we try our best.”
Carl and Jeri Goldman will be honored on Friday, March 1 at the Habitat for Humanity SF/SCV Builders Ball for their dedication to helping the Habitat’s mission in creating a brighter future for veterans. Southern California Gas Company will also be recognized for their involvement with the project.
For more information about Habitat for Heroes or tickets for the Hearts for Heroes Ball, visit www.habitatscv.org.
 
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