Mays worked in the investment banking industry and for CapCities Broadcasting before joining Clear Channel, where he is currently responsible for the company's radio, television, and outdoor-advertising divisions. He served as vice president, treasurer, and senior vice president of operations for Clear Channel before being appointed president in 1996. Under Mays' leadership, Clear Channel Communications does business in more than 63 countries, has 50,000 employees, and owns more than 1,200 radio stations, 36 television stations, and 770,000 outdoor advertising units.

Mays holds a BA in economics and mathematics from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Columbia University. A Director on the Radio Board of the National Association of Broadcasters, he is involved in several other industry associations and has been ranked among the Top 40 Most Powerful People in Radio, as listed by Radio Ink magazine, for the past three years.

Mays and his family live in San Antonio, TX, where he is also active in a variety of local civic and professional organizations and participates in the Mays Family Foundation, which supports various community organizations and causes.

The Bayliss Radio Roast, a yearly radio-industry event, marks its 20th anniversary in 2006. The black-tie cocktail-and-dinner affair, at which a distinguished radio executive is good-naturedly "roasted" by his or her peers each year, raises money for the Bayliss Foundation's radio scholarship and internship programs. The 2006 Roast is scheduled for March 23, at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City.

Now in its 20th year, the Bayliss Foundation recently added an internship program to its longstanding scholarship program. The summer internship program, which is a joint effort involving selected schools and broadcasting corporations, was active for the first time in the summer of 2005, placing 32 college students into radio station internships across the United States. Over its two decades, the scholarship program has awarded more than $900,000 to deserving college and university students planning a career in radio broadcasting.

Inquiries about the Foundation's programs, and about advertising and sponsorship opportunities for this year's Roast, are welcome. For more information, or to request an invitation to the Roast, contact The John Bayliss Broadcast Foundation at (831) 655-5229, or e-mail roast@baylissfoundation.org.