Full circle is starting to feel like an every other day occurrence for me, and I have started to not only embrace it, but also be grateful for it. Most of my life, no one would call boring, but there was a stretch of time in there where it was just that. I’ll never fully understand what that time was for, but I suppose there’s a reason in there somewhere. Well, it’s safe to say that since 2019, it has certainly been anything but boring; scary perhaps, but never boring.

This latest full circle adventure began last year. I was doing a promo shoot for the dance studio’s upcoming performance, and I was introduced to John Willyard. He was helping out with narrating the show and even playing a part in it. He was very kind and asked me about getting some headshots done, took a card, and said he’d be in touch. None of that was out of the ordinary.

A week or so ago, I got an email from John that he had something coming up that he needed headshots for, so we got them done for him. What a fun session. He has lived such a fascinating life and he has so many neat stories. Finding out that he was the voice of the CMA Awards was pretty cool. Talk about full circle. I remember watching that award show with my dad every year. He loved country music so we never missed it.

I love hearing people’s stories when their lives have been anything but boring. I love seeing their faces light up when they talk of the things they have experienced. I feel like you give them an opportunity to relive a time they enjoyed, and you kind of get a chance to experience it as well.

The day of John’s session, he told me the photos were for the biggest thing he’d done so far in his career. No pressure on me, right? Well, he was able to share the news with me this week because it had been formally announced. He is being inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame! I would say that is a HUGE achievement! You can read a great article about that here.

Once I found out, I knew this experience had to be my next post. I reached out to John to get a few more details about things he has done.

John voiced the CMA Awards from 1996 to 2015, 20 years, spanning from Vince Gill hosting through Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley. What an accomplishment! Can you even imagine all the memories he has tucked away just from that one job experience for all those years? I was happy to listen to them for sure.

When I asked if there were any other things he would like to add about things he has done, he answered, “Having been the Nativity story Scripture reader for several years at The Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, which gives me great joy! Plus lending my voice to Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef.“

He was very kind to add, “I was knocked out by your work for the past few years and when it finally was necessary for me to get great headshots I booked you, after not having had any professional photo work in well over 20 years.”

I was so excited to be able to document this part of John’s journey, and to know he used my photos for this monumental moment. These are the things I live for.

One thing is for sure, my job has been anything but boring.

~Alisha