Missouri Dad Receives Complete KICKER Upgrade

What’s the best Father’s Day gift you’ve ever received? Maybe a tech gadget? Something for the grill? Or perhaps a golf accessory or something to cater to one of your hobbies? If you have children and in June they made the effort to remember you in any way, we’ll count that as a win. However, regardless of what you received this year for Father’s Day, Jason Hill has all the dads beat.

As the grand prize winner of the Ultimate Father’s Day Real Marine Giveaway, Jason and his South Bay pontoon received a $5,000 stereo upgrade from KICKER Marine Audio that included the full installation. How’s that for a great way to celebrate being a dad?!

The national contest attracted submissions from pontoon owners across the country who were dreaming of upgrading their own boats with a KICKER Marine sound system. To enter the contest, you just had to go online and submit a paragraph or two on why your boat was the most deserving. Despite owning a top-of-the-line twin-engine pontoon, Jason’s previous audio system wasn’t nearly as impressive as the rest of his boat. The stock stereo wasn’t up to the task, to say the least. The music would cut out most days, only working an estimated 25 percent of the time at best. The frustration reached the point where his wife, Misty, started bringing a portable Bluetooth speaker on board with them.

“It’s pretty boring when you’re sitting on the boat with no music going, and you can’t get the radio to work. So we started using a portable speaker,” said Jason. “But then we’d forget to charge it so we’d still be without a radio on the water.”

All-In With KICKER

The days of remembering to charge the portable speaker are officially behind this couple as KICKER came through with flying colors, delivering a complete install that included running new power wires to give the new system the juice it needed.

The full list of products included eight 6.5-inch MSC speakers, two tower speakers, a Free-Air 10-inch subwoofer, and two amplifiers, all controlled through the KICKER KMC5 head unit. There is even a remote control commander for the stereo on the stern deck. To ensure the new system would deliver the quality, crystal-clear sound KICKER is best known for, accessories and new wiring were also used as part of the full upgrade.

Getting Creative With The Install

Matt Riggins and Austin Chewning from Creative Audio did the full installation, and the best part was Jason didn’t even need to bring his pontoon to one of their seven locations. The hard-working crew completed the installation on the dock right outside of his home on the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.

“We probably do half of our boat stereo installations on the water, which I prefer because I like being outside and on the water,” said Austin during the install. “You just want to make sure you remember everything since it’s a long way back to the shop if you do forget something.”

Creative Audio has retail locations throughout Missouri and Arkansas and specializes in installing KICKER products. The two-man crew went the extra mile when installing the top-of-the-line system to match the rest of the fully loaded pontoon that Jason and Misty purchased in 2025.

During the install, Austin Chewning ran all new wires to give the KICKER system the power it needed.

For The Grandkids

Jason has owned several boats, but the South Bay Super Sport is his first pontoon and his first Lake of the Ozarks boat after buying the house on the water a couple of months earlier. When the couple was out shopping, their biggest priority was to get something the entire family could enjoy.

Jason has two children, and Misty has one, and all three had their first babies last year, giving the couple three grandchildren that are all close to a year old now.

“Having the three grandkids was the whole motivation to buy the pontoon boat in the first place,” admits Jason. “The twin engines were for me, but the rest of the boat is for the family.”

Fate Steps In

After enduring their first summer on the water without a dependable stereo, Jason was close to upgrading to a new sound system when fate stepped in. While attending the April In-Water Boat Show at Dog Days, he met Captain Bob May, who was at the show promoting his BOB CAST podcast at the Missouri show. The Master Captain had teamed up with KICKER to help promote the Father’s Day contest, and after hearing Jason’s frustrations with his current system, Bob encouraged Jason to enter.

“I didn’t realize it until I saw Bob again that he was the one who gave me the information to sign up for the contest,” said Jason. “I went right home after the show and filled it out.”

Living The Dream

Following the installation, Jason and Misty invited as many of their family members as were available to come over for an evening cruise for the maiden voyage. The family laughed, danced, and celebrated the crystal-clear sound of the music as they’d never experienced before, thanks to KICKER.

“It’s really enjoyable to turn the radio on and have it stay on for the whole boat ride,” laughed Jason. “KICKER hooked me up with top-of-the-line everything. I don’t think it gets any better; this is what everybody wants, right? A pontoon, kids, grandkids, some water and of course music.”

Having a new audio system won’t necessarily change how often the family goes out, as they were already fans of spending time together on the water. What does change, however, is the enjoyment. Jason is very appreciative of KICKER Marine Audio for selecting him as the ultimate winner of the contest and looks forward to years of hanging out with his grandbabies, enjoying his amazing sound system, and living what he calls the American dream.