The STAR Morning Show with Skip & Kristen

Mornings with Skip and Kristen on STAR 99.1 are just what you need to start your day off right! Uplifting music, lots of laughs and positive conversation!

Skip Mahaffey

After decades of an illustrious radio career, Skip is grateful to have found a place at STAR where he feels like he belongs.

He loves being part of this community that prays together, praises together, and shows genuine care and love to each other in this crazy, rocky world.

From small-town studios to major-market morning shows to mentoring the next generation, Skip’s 40+ years in radio have taught him that there’s something far more important than fame and achievement:

“I’m at a point where I’ve quit chasing success. I’m striving for significance,” he says.

As a radio veteran, Skip is passionate about investing in young people who are the future of the industry. He also wants to leave a legacy of hope and encouragement in the time he has left in his career.

“God is a God of second chances. I’m on, like, my 53rd chance, but God’s letting me hang around long enough to redeem the dumb things I’ve done. I want people to know that He’ll do the same for them.”

Originally from Orange County, California, he learned to surf at the age of eight. He’s been married to his wife for 45 years, and they have three children, one of whom was born live on the air!

He loves writing, and is the author of several books, including Adventures with My Father: Childhood Recollections of Divorce, Dysfunction and the Summer of Love.

Kristen James

Kristen started her journey at STAR as a promotions intern in 2010 and never looked back! She loves being able to encourage people every day, and finds so much joy in hearing from listeners about how they’ve been impacted by the show.

Her career in radio is an answer to her prayer one night as a teenager: “God, the only thing I’m good at is talking! What am I going to do with that?” She’s convinced that everyone has something inside them that God will use to do great things when you lean into it.

She and her husband, Mike, met in math class in 9th grade and have been married since 2018. They welcomed their sweet son, Noah, into the world in 2023. After a devastating miscarriage in October 2023, little Brielle arrived in early 2025.

She doesn’t have free time (#momlife), but if she did, she’d spend it putting puzzles together or making DIY projects.

Born and raised in New Jersey, she successfully avoided pumping her own gas until she was 33.

Have a story to share with Kristen or Skip? They’d love to hear it: send them an email at kristen@pillarmedia.com or skip@pillarmedia.com!