In July of 1998 my Dad and I traveled to Alliance Nebraska, where I would be starting a new job at KCOW. As we approached the city, I heard KCOW for the first time. And the first voice I heard was that of Mike Glesinger.
I’ve worked with Gles for 25 years. He’s a coworker, and a friend, and he’s retiring. God knows he deserves it! Gles has been in radio for over four decades. Not just the fun parts…but also the oftentimes infuriating moments when transmitters don’t transmit, and he has to pass mud, snow, snakes, spiders and God knows what-all to get the station back on the air. For facing that particularly unceasing challenge, Gles deserves retirement like nobody else has deserved retirement.
All of us at KCOW are going to miss Gles like crazy. His ability to remain positive when things go wrong is awe-inspiring. His presence in the building is a sign that everything is okay. His “Gles-isms” are legend: “Whatever works!” “Good stuff Maynard!” “Nobody’s going to prison.” And as play-by-play man his “Oh my!” is iconic.
I should point out here that our pal Alex Benzegala is doing a stellar job as News And Sports Director, and I feel great about the future of our radio family. It’s just going to be very, very weird for a while…but change is inevitable. You don’t have to like every change…you just have to adapt to it.
Having just returned from holiday travel, I am in no shape to present a carefully curated sample of some of the fun things Gles and I have recorded together. We’ll save that for the 75th anniversary special in February. (We expect that Gles will be willing to pop back in for that.)
But I did find a few things that made me smile.
As I’ve said on the air more than a few times, having over a year’s worth of advance notice about Gles’ retirement does not make it a lick easier to know that when I walk into Radio City Friday morning December 29th, it will be Mike’s final day. But I know Gles, and his bride Sarah, will really enjoy slowing down a bit; traveling more, going to high school ball games without having to haul 3 bags of equipment…and making more visits to his family in Spalding. These are all great things.
Happy retirement Gles!
