Meet Mark Nicotra. Town of Salina supervisor, Syracuse University basketball fan and… eligible bachelor?
That’s right. Nicotra is this year’s candidate for the 93Q Five Dates in Five Days, something the station has done for the last five years around Valentine’s Day.
“Every Valentine’s Day, we get a different eligible bachelor in the community,” said Amy Robbins, who co-hosts the station’s morning show with Ted Long. “When you think about how popular dating shows are — ‘The Bachelor’ and ‘The Bachelorette’ — that’s very similar to what we’re doing. The next morning, we do a recap of the date, and that can be great radio, whatever kind of date they had. It doesn’t always go well. Sometimes they just don’t click, and they have nothing to talk about. It doesn’t make for a very fun date, but it’s awesome for our audience to hear about it. That’s why we’ve continued doing it.”
Robbins said she chose Nicotra because both she and her husband have known him for a while, and she thought he’d be a good fit for the program.
“I think Mark will be excellent,” she said. “He’s really media-savvy. He’s a politician, so he’s used to being in front of people. Plus he was in TV for 10 years. It’s the perfect combination. He’s used to meeting new people. He’s very outgoing. He’s everything we look for. He’s good on the radio, and I think he’ll represent the station really well. We’re very lucky to have him. I’m so excited.”
Nicotra said he was surprised when Robbins contacted him, but, after giving it some thought, he decided taking part in Five Dates in Five Days would be fun.
“She reached out and asked if I’d be interested,” he said. “I bounced it off a couple of people I knew and thought about it a bit, and eventually decided, why not?”
Nicotra said he reached out to some trusted advisors first to make sure his participation wouldn’t reflect poorly on his position as town supervisor.
“I would never do anything that would reflect badly on myself and my position,” he said. “That’s why, going into it, I asked the opinion of people I trusted. I wanted to know if it would look hokey or something, and the consensus was no, so I decided to go for it.”
Nicotra’s first appearance on 93Q was Friday, Jan. 27, when he introduced himself to 93Q’s listeners. Potential dates can log onto 93Q.com to submit a bio, including interests and hobbies, and photo to Robbins for a chance to be one of Nicotra’s five dates. The actual dates will take place each night from Saturday, Feb. 4 through Thursday, Feb. 9 with Super Bowl Sunday off. Each morning, Nicotra and the contestant will discuss their date on the radio at about 8:35 a.m.
“The dates will take place at Nestico’s,” Robbins said. “I know Peter, and he agreed to be the host restaurant. It’s not very far from Syracuse. It worked out really well, because they’ll get a really nice meal. Mark’s going to get to try almost everything on the menu — appetizers, desserts — he’ll get to try a really good portion of the menu.”
As an added enticement for potential dates, one lucky girl has the chance to win a room for four at Amy’s Slumber Party Feb. 24 and 25 at the Doubletree Hotel in DeWitt.
“The slumber party is a huge event,” Robbins said. “It always sells out really quickly. So if the chance of a second date isn’t incentive enough, you’ve also got a shot at a room for four at the slumber party. It’s great for us, because it gets the listeners involved. They get to vote for their favorite and take part in the whole thing. It’s a lot of fun.”
Nicotra said he’s excited about participating in Five Dates in Five Days.
“I’m most looking forward to meeting new people and being on the radio, being part of the hoopla,” he said. “It’s something I think you can’t take too seriously.”
Nicotra, who is very close to his family, said his mother is “entertained” by the whole thing.
Robbins said Nicotra is quite the catch.
“He’s close to his family, he’s smart, he’s good-looking, he’s got a great job,” she said. “There’s got to be something wrong with him.”
