Twenty-Five Years: Holy Crap!

July 27th is the 25th anniversary of my first day at KCOW Radio. In the summer of 1998, with college behind me, I sent out cassette tape demos to several stations that had openings. One of them was KCOW. I had a telephone interview with General Manager Mike Garwood and Kevin Horn. They also talked to Warren Kozireski, my Faculty Advisor at student radio station WBSU-FM. I’m fairly certain that whatever Koz said to Mike and Kevin had a much bigger impact than anything I mentioned in our conversation.

Once I got the word that I was hired, the rush was on to say goodbye to the many friends I’d made at SUNY Brockport. My summertime housemates Ryan and Adam threw me a blockbuster farewell complete with a “This Is Your Life”-type cavalcade of familiar voices and faces from the past four years. After returning home to South Otselic, NY I had two days or a little less to say hello, and goodbye, to a parade of aunts and uncles and other well-wishers.

My Dad drove me and my humble posessions 1,554 miles to my new hometown. After a vapor lock incident sidelined us in North Platte for a spell, we eventually made it to Alliance. We got some end tables and a dresser from the late Centsible Shop, and a bed from Bruce Furniture. I met my landlord, Marine veteran Bob Hall, and unpacked my stuff into the same two-bedroom apartment I still to this day call home.

The first person I heard on KCOW Radio was Mike Glesinger, hosting “Open Mic.” The first person my Dad and I met at the studios in person was sales account executive Dennis Klinker. Dennis was friendly and welcoming. Everybody there turned out to be that way. Kevin Horn, not more than a couple days after Dad left for New York, offered to drive me around on a tour of my new hometown. His daughters, Kacey and Christa, napped in the back seat during our drive. They are now both married, and Kacey and her husband have made Kevin a Grandad. Kevin’s greatest gift to me was his decision to let me host the 8:00am hour of what was then his morning show. This gave the people of Alliance the chance to get used to “the new guy”, and gave me a fun hour in a workday that in those early years was sometimes mundane.

My first job title at KCOW was “FM Programming Coordinator”. I had to “catch the feeds”–record network features like Paul Harvey, ag reports, ABC Business News and the like as they were sent down the various satellite channels. I anchored “news blocks” at Noon and 4:00pm on Double Q Country, and I babysat a program we used to air on KCOW called “Agritalk.”

I was also, under part of that title, commercial production director. I had taken a class in college on Radio and TV Writing and the professor praised my work, which gave me the confidence to write and produce commercials with comedic characters, unique sound effects, and unusual approaches to selling the product. I’m still doing that today. Once in a while I get plaques for it.

One year after starting at KCOW, our News Director, now Nebraskaland Days Director David Fudge, left Alliance for a TV gig in North Platte. Kevin Horn was moved into the News Director position, and I was moved into KCOW Morning Show Host and Program Director. To this day I feel like I should send Fudgie a bouquet of roses every year. But his family runs a flower shop so that would be redundant. Worth noting is that after my friend Pat Adriance and three other people (none of whom lasted more than a year) held the role of “FM Programming Coordinator”, it was eliminated. Maybe I should send Fudgie a bottle of cognac every year.

My boss from 1998 to 2007 was Mike Garwood. I’ve written in great detail about Mike before. He was an inspirational figure, a great broadcaster, and a great boss. I try very hard to do what I think he would want in decisions of programming and the like. When Mike became ill that final year, our parent company’s rock of gibraltar, Mark Vail, came to our rescue. He was our interim manager and also a shoulder to lean on during the final days and weeks of Mike Garwood’s life. All told, I have had seven people who I called “boss” in my first 25 years. My two favorites are the first and the current occupant of the job. But they were all very nice people.

So many of my KCOW memories hang on the faces, voices and names of people who have meant the world to me.

Our high school night and weekend announcers–even the ones that forgot to show up, played out-of-format music, played video games with headphones on while they were supposed to be engineering a football game–those types were karmic payback for all the teachers I infuriated with my slacker ways back when I was a teenager. Others, who weren’t quite that space cadet-y, became close friends.

I remember the many familiar faces who have shown up over the years to record commercials. Larry Ring, Shaun Black and now Becky Maser of the Grocery Kart; the late Ron Kelly “speaking for Alliance Tractor”; Josie Mantooth, who did commercials for Steph’s Studio from infancy to college years (when she was a baby I would get a cassette tape of various gurgles and goos and mold it into a spot); Charles and Ellen Lierk’s children for the annual Thieles Christmas ad; Greg Sanders from Jack’s; Del Penlerik from Midwest Farm Service; and many more I’d remember if I sat here for another half-hour or so.

I remember the KCOW employees who left their mark on me in one way or another: traffic goddess (and one of my two “second Moms”) Jennifer Schmid; John Axtell, my friend in Freberg fandom; Helen Iossi, a sweeter and smarter person I don’t believe exists; John Jones, who procured a Chadron State Basketball jacket for me to replace the Coca-Cola jacket I had been wearing (Alliance is a Pepsi town!); Pat Adriance, my coworker for three years and my friend for life; Terri Friesen, who gave me the chance to be a game show host not once but twice; Tammy Griffee, one lady you definitely want in your corner; and many others.

Saving for last, the two guys who, with me thrown in there, have made up our on-air team for over a decade.

Mike Glesinger is retiring at the end of this year, and boy is that hard to comprehend. Gles was there in July of ’98. He’s here now. On December 31st he’ll be retired. Nobody deserves it more. But it’s difficult to imagine the place without him! Gles is the friendliest, most likeable person you could possibly ask for as friend and coworker. He and I have done a mess of remotes, parades, Coffee Talks and commercials…also, we saw John Mellencamp and Donovan in concert in Rapid City a few years back. Lots of good memories.

Kalin Krohe. Well, let’s see. He’s Bob S. Bestos. He’s the secret weapon to any commercial he takes part in. We’ve seen countless fantastic concerts together. And he saved my life. Twice. I believe this is what you call best friend material. The fact we can be such good friends after he breaks wind in my office daily, and I compare him to notorious serial killer Charles Manson, is just a testament to the strength of our bond.

So there it is. A brief review of 25 years. I like to think I’m pretty good at adapting to change…but my hesitance to go on-camera during our video coverage of the Heritage Days parade is revealing. I do try to keep up with new things, because I don’t want to be the old guy in the office who says “Well, back in my day, we’d have cracked open the razor blades and splicing tape and cut that sucker together! Forget this newfangled computer nonsense!” I will say: I am a voracious defender of KCOW traditions. “War Of The Worlds” on Halloween, the Cinnamon Bear at Christmastime, Casey Kasem on Sunday mornings. One of KCOW’s greatest strengths is its loyal listeners, many of whom listen literally from the cradle to the grave. People want some things to stay the same.

I take great pride in celebrating my silver anniversary with KCOW. Frankly, I’m just stunned that I’ve been able to hold any job for 25 years. But I’m glad it’s been this one. And I hope I’m still doing it in 25 more years!