While attending broadcasting school, Shane took another gofer job for KTWN-KANO in Anoka, Minnesota. Shortly after graduating from the Brown Institute, he took the 10 am to 3 pm radio show on KABG-FM in Cambridge, Minnesota, for $680 a month. "I wasn't making enough money to pay my rent, so I made extra money driving a forklift from 3 am to 7 am at Ron's Country Foods in Elk River, Minnesota," says Finch.

Good fortune was soon to come. Shane next took the morning news job at KROS/KSAY in the Quad Cities, Iowa. "That was my first good radio job where I could afford to eat and live. I look back and think about how little I knew and how it must have sounded on the stations." By this point, Shane had struck up a friendship with legendary Des Moines broadcaster Steve Gibbons of KRNT radio and was keeping in contact with him, looking for a chance to work in Iowa's largest market.

When Shane and his father went to the Iowa State Fair, Shane visited Gibbons at the KRNT radio booth and learned of an upcoming evening job at sister station KRNQ (Q102). With the help of Gibbons and Q102 sales manager Don Tool, Shane landed the job and began an 8-year stint doing various radio shows in Des Moines. "The day I accepted that job at Q102 is still the biggest day of my career. There have been many cool moments since, but taking one of the best radio jobs in your hometown always feels like a real score. Shane Finch is my given name and I've really never used anything else. When I went on that station after being gone for 6 years, it was great to answer the phone and visit with old friends. It was just thrilling to do what I had grown up listening to." While back in Des Moines, Shane met his wife, Jana.

Other stops in Des Moines included KDMG-FM and KIOA/KDWZ. While working as promotions director at KIOA for Kipper B. McGee, Shane expressed an interest in a radio management position within Midwest Communications, Inc. "Kipper made it happen for me. He pushed me hard at times and I didn't realize until later why he had done so. Now I know!"

In the early '90s, Shane, Jana, and daughter Megan loaded up and moved to Wausau, Wisconsin, where Shane became operations manager at WRIG/WDEZ. While in Wisconsin, they welcomed daughter Ilanna to the family. "I've been blessed to work with helpful and knowledgeable people and that includes my stay in Wausau. Working for Midwest Communications was a wonderful experience. I'm forever grateful to Duke Wright (Midwest's president) and Jeff McCarthy (Midwest's vice president of operations). These two guys have a special place in my heart for the chances they took and the opportunities they presented. Plus, they love the Green Bay Packers."

After enjoying 4 years of the fresh air in northern Wisconsin, Finch struck up a business relationship with broadcast and WTRS consultant Keith Hill. Thanks to an introduction from Hill, Finch met Asterisk market manager John Rutledge and Asterisk president Fred Ingham in August of '95. Finch and his family then relocated to Ocala. "I've always loved everywhere I've lived, but Ocala is the best area. Being from Iowa and loving rural settings, I find a nice drive out in Marion County very refreshing. Working with John Rutledge has been so rewarding. I don't think I've learned much about radio from John, but I've learned volumes about business. Every year I've been in radio, it's become more business driven. I'm learning just in the nick of time. Working with the Asterisk radio group has been challenging and rewarding."

The Finch family welcomed a third little girl in late April of 2000 and have recently purchased a new home in the Ocala area. Shane enjoys running, fishing, hunting, golf, all music, spending time with the girls, swimming, Iowa Hawkeye sports, Green Bay Packer football, and payday.

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