<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3XxZaI_0wBsPypx00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3XxZaI_0wBsPypx00" width="350" height="250" ></figure>Paul Schadt said his decision to retire was two years in the making. "Even now, I don't feel 100% like it's the best deal," said the Charlotte, NC, co-host of iHeartMedia "96.9 The Kat" WKKT's "Paul Schadt and Sarah Lee" morning show, "but I certainly don't want to work until I'm dead."Schadt, who has spent 44 years in the Charlotte market, 27 of them with WKKT, announced his impending retirement on Thursday's show. Schadt will retire in February "because my contract, I had to give, like, a four-month notice," he said. He will continue to serve as a station ambassador and make occasional on-air appearances.The show teased the announcement by playing clips of hits from 1981 — including the Oak Ridge Boys' "Elvira" and Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" — the year Schadt started in Charlotte.Schadt, who entered the Country Radio Hall of Fame in 2014, has been on the air in Charlotte longer than any other radio personality currently in the city."I've had a wonderful, wonderful career," he said."Producer Geoff," the show producer who came to WKKT with Schadt, said he will exit the station at the same time. "I'm done, too," Geoff said. "I can't imagine a better way to go out."Looking ahead to his successor, co-host Sarah Lee said, "I would hate to have to fill your shoes — I don't think they make sizes that big."</div></body>

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Paul Schadt’s Retirement Decision Two Years In The Making.

Paul Schadt said his decision to retire was two years in the making. \"Even now, I don't feel 100% like it's the best deal,\" said the Charlotte, NC, co-host of iHeartMedia \"96.9 The Kat\" WKKT's \"Paul Schadt and Sarah Lee\" morning show, \"but I certainly don't want to work until I'm dead.\"

Paul Schadt said his decision to retire was two years in the making. "Even now, I don't feel 100% like it's the best deal," said the Charlotte, NC, co-host of iHeartMedia "96.9 The Kat" WKKT's "Paul Schadt and Sarah Lee" morning show, "but I certainly don't want to work until I'm dead."