Story by Rebecca West
Meet Matt and Randi Gentry, two radio personalities who’ve joined the quest to improve the lives of rescue animals here in Southern Arizona. We were fortunate enough to have them come out and support us at Woofstock at the end of March, and their enthusiasm was absolutely infectious.
Matt, a 35-year broadcasting veteran, is the Director of Programming and the morning voice of The Drive Tucson weekdays from 6am to 10am on KDRI FM 101.7 and AM 830. He also hosts the popular 2-minute segment within the program known as “Drive it or Park it” at 7:30am. It’s a fun interactive feature allowing listeners to vote on songs played on the show.
His work on The Drive is credited with making KDRI one of the fastest-growing radio stations in town. A Tucson native, he attended Lineweaver Elementary School, Vail Jr. High, and Rincon/Sabino High. In order to further his career, he earned a degree in Digital Media in 2018. Matt regularly regales listeners with stories about people, places, and things over his decades living in the Old Pueblo.
Born and raised on the East Coast, Randi Gentry has been a therapist for over two decades, with her own private practice. She graduated from the University of Delaware with a degree in Sociology and enjoys her work immensely. Her foray into broadcasting began about two years ago after she fell in love with a radio guy—namely Matt! Randi appears with him on the show Tuesdays and Thursdays. Their on-air chemistry has been described as effortless.
The couple met through a rather fortuitous matchmaking scheme on the part of their wily parents. It all started in 2020 during the pandemic. As they tell it, the whole world was shut down (for them to meet, Matt noted romantically). Randi came to Tucson to hang out with her parents during lockdown. Matt came to town to help his parents pack up his childhood home to sell after 50 years.
Their parents have been friends for nearly 15 years, so while Matt and Randi were there, their folks’ made arrangements for them to meet. The couple now laughs at and applauds their collective sneakiness and well-intentioned plotting.
The plan was for dinner at Randi’s parents’ house. Upon his arrival, Matt walked into the kitchen, where Randi was. She turned around to introduce herself, and there was, as she puts it, “This tall, sort of glowing man, and we both instantly fell in love…at first sight. It was serendipitous and cosmic. The kind you think is only in the movies. We knew what was happening. We just kept looking at each other, knowing we were each other’s soulmates. It was insane.
“Keep in mind we were just visiting Tucson. We lived in other states. There was no question about what to do next. We moved here instantly, set up our home, and just got married in 2024.”
Both have a long history of pets and a love of wildlife during their formative years.
For Randi’s part, she was raised in a household surrounded by pups, predominantly boxers. The influence was such that her very first word was “Amos,” the name of the family dog! Her love of canines was so set that once, when visiting a friend’s house as a youngster, she received a severe bite to the face from a resident dog, ending up with 47 stitches. While the incident would leave anyone understandably shaken, she says it didn’t stymie her relationship with dogs or the bond she’s able to form with them now.
Then, when she was in her twenties, she got what she calls her soul dog, a boxer named Roxy, who she had for nine wonderful years before its passing in 2014. Randi admits she’s still not over it and has wanted another dog ever since, but recognizes the need to hold off until their hectic schedules can accommodate the demands of responsible pet ownership.
As to Matt, over the years, they had a bluetick hound named Leroy, two cats, and a turtle, which he says his mom still has to this day. But his first dog was a beagle named Voyja, whose moniker was inspired by a book his dad read written by Charles Darwin. Entitled The Voyage of the Beagle, Matt said his father thought he was being quite clever by combining the words voyage and beagle to come up with the name.
When he was 8, his dad built a jungle gym with an 8-foot platform and an attached slide. Providing a view into the neighborhood, Matt would carry Voyja up as a puppy, and the two would hang out for hours on end. One day, he came home from school to find Voyja perched atop the platform solo. From that day forward, Voyja could routinely be found there, and ultimately, their home became known around the neighborhood as the slide-dog house.
The following is a Q&A The Tucson Dog had with the pair.
TTD: What is your involvement with animal rescue to date, and what made you want to get involved?
Matt: We have a great relationship with Hope of Deliverance, you know, with Bree (Kishman) over there. As a station, we try to help them as much as we can. May 3 at the Fox Tucson Theatre will be our fourth event with Hope of Deliverance, and every time feels like something truly special. Bree is the epitome of a dog lover—all heart, all compassion—and the way she pours her energy into this mission is nothing short of inspiring. What I love most is that Hope of Deliverance isn’t just “another rescue.” It’s a purpose-driven, deeply personal calling that fills a unique and beautiful niche in the world of animal rescue.
And we want to be able to do more. As the morning show gets more and more popular, we want to be able to continue to use that platform as a tool to do good for the common man and animals.
Randi: The audience is growing.
TTD: What about an adoption segment on The Drive to draw attention to shelter and rescue animals in need of forever homes?
Matt: Randi and I are both huge dog lovers, and we make it a point to personally spotlight local shelter pets on our social media and on the air when we can. We’ve worked with local rescues behind the scenes to help get the word out. It’s not a formal segment, but when we can use our platform to help, whether through a rescue or other effort, we jump at the chance. Our listeners love those moments, and so do we.
TTD: What would you like to see more of in cities across the country or programs already in existence implemented elsewhere?
Matt: The nonprofit collecting dog food, Cody’s Friends. I just found out about them recently, and we’re definitely going to give them some on-air mentions. I’d love to see funding for those types of places where the homeless can take their animals to get fed. We’d also love to see more small, everyday programs in cities that empower people to help others in real-time. Stuff like keeping dog food or bottled water in your car to give out when you see someone in need.
We’d keep dog food in the car to hand out. One year, we handed out spray water bottles. We kept a ton in the car, and when we saw a homeless person, we’d hand them one to act like an evaporative cooler. Those are the things we are constantly looking to do. These aren’t official programs, but they could be. We’d love to see more cities embrace micro-acts of service like that, practical, compassionate tools that help folks on the spot.
But the disposable dog food bags were very popular. And it was very easy because you could hand it to them and they could just rip the thing open—
Randi: Except for one dog (laughing). I’ve gotta tell this story. It’s too funny. I stopped at a light and saw this man at the intersection, and he had a dog. I put the car in park. The food was in the trunk. So, I get out of my car, go to the trunk, and I hand him two packages. He’s so stoked. Just overjoyed. I’m like, ‘This is for your dog,’ and he was just so touched by it. He opens it up, the dog sniffs it, and he (the dog) just walks away. It’s like, ‘I don’t want this crap!’
I was laughing so hard. He and I had this sweet moment. I was like, ‘Do whatever you want with it. Give it to your friend.’ It was so funny like a reality-show-type vibe.
Matt: One of the things we’d like to get across is that we are advocates for all animals but specifically dogs. Even though we don’t currently own dogs—
Randi: At the moment.
Matt: Yes, at the moment—which, by the way, we consider responsible dog ownership because of our schedules and how disruptive it can be. It would not be conducive to pet ownership. We make up for that by getting involved with like The Tucson Dog Magazine and Hope of Deliverance and dog sitting as much as we’re able to for friends and family. We basically helped raise Randi’s mom’s puppy from the age of 7 weeks up. She was a monster when she was young (laughter). So, we make ourselves available for things like that.
And I think a lot of people are like, ‘Oh I can’t have a dog,’ so therefore they do nothing. And I think our message is that you can always do something.
All of these local Tucson organizations like the Knights of Columbus, the Lions Club, all of these very Tucson, local, been-around-forever organizations that do all of this stuff for people, there’s still plenty of volunteer opportunities for animals. And I think a lot of times they don’t think about crossing over from people to pets.
If you’re only for people, then a pet organization is a no-brainer to be a part of that because pets are such a huge part of people’s lives. It makes so much sense to me. Every organization that deals with people should have some sort of extension to pets within that program because of how interwoven pets are into our lives.
Randi: And Tucson has such a high percentage of pet owners. A day doesn’t pass where I don’t go by a shelter and want to bring home at least three dogs. It doesn’t help that my husband is always texting me actual pictures and listings with their doe eyes (laughter).
TTD: We are so grateful to have had the two of you volunteer to give us a hand at our spring adopt-a-thon. Any thoughts on your involvement or experience there?
Randi: What makes Woofstock so special isn’t just the dogs. It’s the people who show up for them. It’s a community built on muddy paws, shared laughs, and a quiet understanding that we all just get each other. At the heart of it all is, of course, Heather pouring her love, heart, and soul into it with the detail that reminds us all how much this community matters.
That pretty much wraps up our interview with Matt and Randi, but we wanted to share a quote from Bree Kishman about her experience with the two. Honestly, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
“Matt and Randy are more than just voices on the radio. They are true champions of our rescue and a shining example of what makes Tucson such a special community. Tucson may be a big city, but at its core, it thrives on connection, compassion, and support. Hope of Deliverance is a village, and we are incredibly grateful to have Matt and Randy as part of it. Their unwavering support and genuine friendship remind us that when a community comes together, lives—both human and animal—are changed for the better.”
