Steve Ferguson, an employee at Georgia radio station WTHO, will be shaking plenty of hands when he returns to his home in Thomson in a few days. Steve's business card was pulled in a sweepstakes yesterday during the opening events at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, and as a result, he sang a duet with Garth Brooks that ended up on the air in his hometown.

Steve apparently knew a big moment when he saw it. Arriving on stage after he won the drawing, Steve pulled out his cell phone and, with Garth's approval, had the performance of "Friends In Low Places" broadcast live on the station. The unplanned hookup took the station by surprise. Steve was patched from the reception to the control room, and after convincing them he needed to go on the air, the station still needed to make a quick patch of the signal. Steve and Garth were also forced to wait 50 seconds for a Kenny Chesney record to end.

Steve was a bit apologetic about the delays, though Garth took it in stride. "This is what happens to me when I call your station, too," he joked.

The performance started with the two singing over acoustic guitar, though the audience was surprised when the stage curtain parted and Garth's band kicked in to support them.

The moment was an instant highlight for the 39th annual seminar, which brings together approximately 2,000 radio and music industry executives for networking and education. The bulk of Garth's appearance was actually a one-on-one interview conducted in front of the gathering by Gerry House, the host of the morning show on Nashville station WSIX.

Following Steve's duet, Garth provided the broadcasters with several more songs on his own: "Calling Baton Rouge," "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" and "The Dance."