CRS 2025 Opens Applications for Rusty Walker Scholarship

The Country Radio Broadcasters (CRB) have officially opened the application process for the 2025 Rusty Walker Scholarship Program. This initiative, named in honor of the late Rusty Walker, aims to support emerging talent within the country radio industry by covering the costs for attendance at the Country Radio Seminar (CRS) 2025 in Nashville.

The program will award three recipients with complimentary registration, hotel accommodations, and airfare to attend the event, which is scheduled to take place from February 19-21, 2025. These scholarship recipients will also be recognized during the seminar.

Eligibility for the scholarship is restricted to full-time radio station employees who are attending CRS for the first time. Applicants are required to submit a 500-word essay explaining their reasons for deserving the scholarship. Submissions are made through the Rusty Walker Scholarship page, with a deadline for applications set for November 1, 2024.

This scholarship is supported by DMR/Interactive and serves as a tribute to Rusty Walker, a former CRS board member, Country Radio Hall of Fame inductee, and a mentor within the industry. The program continues Walker’s legacy of nurturing new talent in country radio.

Additionally, nominations are open for the CRS Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award, which acknowledges individuals in the country radio industry who have demonstrated a commendable level of generosity, community service, and compassion. This award is named after the late Tom Rivers, a celebrated 17-year broadcast veteran.

Past recipients of the Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award include prominent figures such as SiriusXM‘s Storme Warren, Alpha Media‘s Tim Leary, and iHeartMedia’s “Dollar” Bill Lawson. Nominations for this award can be submitted through the CRS website until December 6.