Scotty Schadler Celebrates 44th Birthday by Sharing His Real Story

KNGT | Lake Charles — If y'all look at the calendar today, you probably won't find it anywhere. Hallmark didn't make a card for it. The government didn't give anybody the day off. But around my house... today is officially International Scotty Schadler Day.

Yep. Today I turn 44 years old, and I figured instead of everybody talking about me, I'd tell y'all a little about the real Scotty.

Who is Scotty Schadler?

Most folks know me as the loud guy on Gator 99.5 every morning cutting up with my buckaroo, Mike Soileau. We spend a lot of mornings laughing, talking country music, sharing what's going on around Southwest Louisiana, and hopefully making your drive a little better.

But when those microphones get turned off around 10 o'clock... I head to what I call my "real work." I'm an Instrument and Electrical Designer for S&B Engineering. So yeah... one minute I'm giving away concert tickets, and the next I'm looking at drawings, cables, junction boxes, and P&IDs. It's kinda funny when you think about it. I live two completely different lives every day, and honestly, I wouldn't trade either one.

I graduated from Sulphur High School with the Class of 2001. After school, I bounced around doing different jobs. I ran equipment. I drove trucks. I worked hard just trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

Then in 2008, I decided it was time to do something different. I went back to night school to get my drafting degree. Looking back now, that might've been one of the best decisions I've ever made. Not just because it gave me a career, but because it's where I met a pretty amazing woman named Laura.

Funny how life works sometimes. You think you're just going to class, and next thing you know, you've met the person you're gonna spend the rest of your life with. A few years later, I asked her to marry me, and we've been married since 2012. Then came our biggest blessing. Our daughter Hannah (Toot).

She's 11 now, and if you've listened to the morning show or followed me for any amount of time, you've probably heard me brag on her once or twice... or maybe a hundred times. Being Hannah's dad is probably my favorite title I've ever had.

Today, we all call Sulphur, Louisiana home, and I honestly couldn't imagine living anywhere else. This community has been so good to me. I've met so many incredible people through radio, charity events, festivals, emceeing, and just being out around town.

Scotty Schadler - TSM

People ask me all the time how I stay so busy. Truth is... I just enjoy people. I like making folks laugh. I like helping where I can. I love being on a microphone. I love country music. I love our local festivals. I love cookouts with family, talking to strangers that somehow become friends, and finding any excuse to support a good cause.

If you've ever stopped me in Walmart, at Market Basket, at a concert, a rodeo, or standing in line somewhere just to say hello, thank you. Those conversations mean more than y'all probably realize. So today, while I'm celebrating another trip around the sun, I just wanted to say thank you Southwest Louisiana.

Thank you for listening to the morning show. Thank you for reading the stories I write. Thank you for coming to the events I get to be a part of. Thank you for supporting this crazy journey that somehow lets a kid from Sulphur talk on the radio every morning and still go design projects in the afternoons.

I don't know exactly what the next 44 years have in store, but if they're anything like the first 44, I'd say I'm one lucky guy. Now... if y'all really want to celebrate International, Regional, Local Scotty Schadler Day, feel free to eat a piece of birthday cake for me. Calories don't count on birthdays... At least that's what I'm telling myself.