Michael Bryan, son of Darrell and Naomi Bryan of Greeneville, was one of the inaugural winners of the first Performance Excellence Awards given out by Clear Channel Radio.

Bryan, program director for WXXL-FM, Orlando, Fla., was one of 17 award winners out of the 40,000 persons eligible for the awards.

The awards ceremonies took place Sept. 9 at a kick-off dinner of the 2008 Executive Clear Channel Radio Leadership Summit, held in Atlanta, Ga.

Award-winning Clear Channel CHR/top 40 KIIS/Los Angeles morning personality and host of American Idol, Ryan Seacrest, presented the individual awards.

Bryan had moved to Florida in April 2007, where he was named program director at WXXL- XL 106.7 in Orlando.

In October 2007, he was named regional director of interactive services, overseeing Clear Channel's online properties in 13 markets in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.

Bryan began his career at WSMG Radio in Greeneville at age 14 and assisted in putting WSMG-FM on the air when he was only 16.

His first full-time job was as nights/imaging director at WRQQ (Star 97/Nashville) in 2000.

From there, he went to WNVZ (Z104) in Norfolk, Va., as middays/imaging director from 2000-02.

He then went to New Orleans, where he was assistant program director/middays/imaging director for 2002-04 at WEZB (97).

From 2004 to 2006, Bryan was in Greensboro, N.C., as a program director at WOZN (the Zone) and oversaw a format change to WSMW.

From 2006-07 Bryan was back in Norfolk, Va. where he was program director/afternoons at WNVZ (Z104).

Bryan and his wife, Rachel, and their two daughters, Greta and Sophia, live northwest of Orlando in Apopka, Fla.