Cliffie with his longtime friend and fellow ACM Board of Directors member, Gene Weed. It was Gene - with the help of other ACM board members - who were responsible for posthumously honoring Cliffie by changing the ACM’s Pioneer Award to “The Cliffie.” Several years later, the ACM Board of Directors’ members changed it to the “Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award.” Cliffie first met Gene in the 1960s time frame when Gene was a very popular rock ‘n’ roll deejay on radio station KFWB in Los Angeles, CA. Over the years, their careers crossed countless times in the Los Angeles area. Both of them have served as President of the Academy Of Country Music, which they loyally supported their entire lives. Gene was born in Dallas and he started his deejay career while attending North Texas State University. He worked in a number of radio market areas such Dallas, Miami and finally KFWB radio in Los Angeles. He had a tremendous desire to succeed as a deejay and he worked on weekends and every radio shift that KFWB had. His hard work paid off because Billboard magazine’s ‘Radio Response Ratings’ voted him the ‘Top All-Night Disc Jockey of the Year’ in 1966. A little later in this time frame, Gene also hosted a thirty minute nationally syndicated television show called ‘Shivaree’ which was aired in numerous market areas domestically as well as internationally. Gene then changed course and turned his focus and talent to the ‘behind-the-scenes’ aspect of television. He was at the forefront of producing and directing a new art form of ‘mini-filming’ for recording artists which later became known as ‘music videos.’ His numerous music videos encompassed various music genres which included artists such as Glen Campbell, The Fifth Dimension and Creedence Clearwater. In this time frame, he also produced and directed numerous television commercials. By the time he met Dick Clark, his producing and directing skills were well-honed. When Gene became associated with Dick Clark, it was the beginning of a long business relationship which benefited both of them as well as their viewing audiences and the music industry in general. Gene helped to develop, produce and direct numerous major television series, specials and annual events such as “The Soap Opera Digest Awards,” “Golden Globe Awards,” and “The Academy of Country Music Awards.” Eventually, he became Vice President of Television for Dick Clark Productions, Inc. In Cliffie’s talent show book, he used Gene Weed as the ‘perfect example’ for being courageous enough to explore different avenues in the radio and television industries. In Cliffie’s own words: “If you’re the type of person who enjoys being behind the scenes pulling all the strings, then being a producer may be very appealing to you. But I warn you that once you experience any degree of success, it could get into your blood and could be the start of a whole new career for you. A wonderful example of this is my longtime ACM Board of Directors’ buddy, Gene Weed, who nicknamed me “the Legend.” I remember Gene when he was a rock ‘n’ roll deejay who followed the beat of his own drum to become a premier TV director and producer. His elite producer/director track record includes “Golden Globes Awards,” “Soap Opera Awards,” “Academy of Country Music Awards Show” and TNN’s “Prime Time Country.” Today, he’s Senior Vice President/Television of Dick Clark Productions, Inc.”