A 20 Year Grateful Broadcaster, Dave Says So Long & Thanks
Well, here it is. My final post as a member of the Townsquaremedia team.
20 years - gone by in a blink of an eye. I'm the TV News has-been who stumbled into the radio station at KIT and spent the next 20 years encouraging the Yakima valley to think, to put logic and fact before emotion, to laugh, to share, to cultivate common sense, to give to the important causes and for you to be able to talk to a couple of guys who pretty much see the world as you do and who say what you would say if you were fortunate enough to have had the job.
It has been a fantastic time. So many memories of all the great people with which we've had the privilege of speaking, the community challenges, and the successes we've talked about. City Councils good and bad, Olympia bad and worse, National Politics worse and whatever it is that's worse than worse, 9/11, Shock and Awe, Afghanistan War, George W, the "fundamental change" of the Obama Years, Trump derangement syndrome, and the disaster that is Biden.
Bad jokes and good folks, plates of food and some words misconstrued. Pegasus Ponies and calling out the phonies, making Miracles for the kids, that's exactly what YOU did, laughing every day as we sent you on your way, the wisdom of our peeps, the homeless on our streets, love and support for our amazing vets, going the extra mile for all our family pets, cheerleading for our city, and pushing through when things got...messy.
All the KIT characters that made this thing work. Lance Tormey Newsman to the Stars, Jacksonian on loan from the Smithsonian, Brian Teegarden, Mike Bastinelli, Denny Hostetter, Pam-Tastic, Tamara the Torch, K-Dawg Kevin Rounce, Blue Riggs, Jon Raccoon Boy, Rick "G-Money" Gleason, Steve Hubbard, the late Jim Trapp, Andy Winford and all the other great Townsquaremedia broadcast professionals up and down the hall and in the sales department deserve my thanks.
A few notables that made my 20 years as special as they are special as people include Cheryl - Always my Boss- Salomone who took the first chance, Aimee the Amazing Yoerger, Jessi The M-V-P!, former Mayor and Ceefus on the Bull Micah Cawley, Todd E. Lyons Esquire, D-Man Darren Uceney, Gary The Great Myhre, and the oh-so- supportive current management team of gentleman Nik Krastins and Brian-Too- Dang-Funny-Stephenson.
And how do I thank the thousands of KIT listeners? Most never call, which is the way of talk radio and some become regulars and famous in their own right. I won't get them all and for that, I apologize but I have to mention Byron and Manson, Angelo and Larry, Janet and Good Karen, Colleen, a couple of Randys, the only Casey, Fred, and Ed and so many many more.
And Stephen. I don't even know who you are but I so enjoyed the challenge posed by our loyal liberal caller Stephen. He helped make for interesting radio and allowed me to fine-tune my thoughts and arguments in order to better articulate my positions on the issues of the day so thanks.
Let me wrap this up by saying that next Friday, August the 5th, will be my last Morning News show. We plan to have one of Lance's classic Beer Fridays from 3:30 to 6:30 that afternoon at the Sports Center in Yakima so come on by if you are up for it.
After that, I will spend August prepping for my new job as a High School History teacher at Riverside Christian School. Time to stop complaining about how kids aren't taught history and why they should love the unique American experiment in self-governance and become part of the process that presents accurate info to the next generation of America's future leaders. This is part of God's plan for me and I and super excited to get it going. The students have no idea what's coming!!
So there you have it. 20 years in about ten paragraphs. That's about as brief as I ever get. Thanks for the love and laughs, input, and support. I hope it's been at least half as fun for you as it has been for me...but if that's all it's been, well, sorry, no refunds!!
I don't have a "see you in the cafeteria" sound effect button here so let me just say a very sincere "Thanks For The Ears" and for sharing some of your important time with me. Lance is way too young to quit so he and KIT will be rolling on and I hope you will stay tuned in to see what he and the mighty KIT at 93 morphs into as she rolls on toward 100 years of serving the Yakima Valley. Thanks and God Bless - Dave Ettl
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