Dave Thomas Shares His KSIR Memories
Sue and Dave Thomas today
I worked at KSIR twice: as news director from May, 1975, until June, 1977; then again as station manager from February, 1982, until September, 1984. Several of the people who worked there during that period did two separate "tours of duty" like me...some even more! I believe that Bob Gaines worked there three times, and I think Bob Suarez and Gary Hartley may have done the same.
It was a great small-town radio station and we had lots of listeners. During both of my times there, although they were separated by five years, it was a popular local AM...a rarity even then. And we won LOTS of awards, way more than any other small-market station in Colorado. Those were the glory years.
I had the station logo painted onto the tailgate of my Chevy El Camino pickup truck; so did Bob Suarez and Bob Gaines. We were all proud to work there and to be associated with the station at that time. We won awards from the Colorado Broadcasters Association, the Associated Press (AP), and United Press International (UPI). All of them were in the name of KSIR, not the names of individuals who had produced the programming to win them. Many of the awards were for our coverage of two major floods: the Big Thompson Flood of 1976, and the Lawn Lake Flood of 1982. Some of my strongest memories of my years in broadcast journalism are from those two events. Today, I have no idea where those awards might be.
The "New Sound in the Rockies" jingle package was produced by TM Productions in Dallas, TX. The same company produced jingles for many major market stations. I recall that KSIR had a jingle-writing contest and encouraged listeners to write a major jingle for the station. The winner was Marilyn Herrmann who is the mother of Brad Smith, also known locally now as Brad Fitch (“Cowboy Brad”). I thought we had one of the coolest jingle packages! They were better than those of much larger stations. In fact, KSIR sounded like a major market station most of the time (except during Fair Trader)!
We did innovative live programming such as “The Breakfast Club of the Rockies” and broadcast high school sports and did lots of live remote broadcasts. We had experienced announcers, well-produced commercials and promos and a totally professional sound. This was because all of us had worked in many different stations before coming to Estes Park; we weren't beginners, we were seasoned pros, many of whom had worked in larger markets. We were all in Estes Park by choice, and for many of us it had meant getting "off the ladder," that is, we had stopped "climbing the ladder" in the radio industry.
Before coming to Estes Park, I had already worked at eight radio stations in Ohio. I had been offered a full-time job in the news department at WING in Dayton, OH, which would have been another rung on the career ladder for me. But I decided to go to KSIR instead. I suppose that I could have worked my way up the ladder, maybe to Cincinnati, then to Chicago...who knows? But going to Estes Park was a conscious act of getting "off the ladder." Most of us working at KSIR during that era had made a similar choice. The station sounded great because it was staffed by people who were long-time radio professionals. I have to give Stan Pratt credit for hiring good people.
Stan was a graphic designer, and he's the one who designed the KSIR logo. When I had a retail shop on West Elkhorn in downtown Estes Park from 1976 to 1981, he designed a great logo for my store, The Oxen Yoke. Although I was completely opposed to selling T-shirts in my store, I did sell lots of T-shirts with that logo!
When I left KSIR in September, 1984, I got out of the radio game for good and never looked back. KSIR occupied two different spots in my 18-year broadcasting career and left me with unforgettable memories. Unfortunately, I've lost track of most of the people that I worked with during my two turns at KSIR.
I left KSIR on August 31, 1984, and was immediately hired as director of marketing (later director of communications) for YMCA of the Rockies, Inc., a non-profit organization that owns two major conference centers/family resorts in Estes Park and Winter Park. I handled all their marketing, public relations, and advertising...anything to do with their image. When I started there, the organization’s headquarters were in Denver, on West 48th Ave., but they moved up to the grounds of Estes Park Center within a few months. I enjoyed a career of 16+ years in that organization. We went from a $7-million operation in 1984 to a $26-million budget during my time there.
I left the YMCA of the Rockies in January, 2001, and my wife Sue and I accepted positions as full-time salaried mission workers with Presbyterian Church (USA), serving in México. Our first assignment was on the U.S./México border, working in the state of Sonora, where we lived for over 5 years. From there, we moved to Cuernavaca, Morelos, about an hour's drive south of México City. In this second assignment, I was PC(USA)'s regional liaison with México, meaning that I was the primary contact between our denomination in the U.S. and our partner denomination: the National Presbyterian Church of México.
I retired from PC(USA) on March 31, 2012, and we lived in Pasadena, CA, for almost a year of “re-entry” to U.S. culture. My wife returned to her profession as a Registered Nurse and has been working at Estes Park Medical Group (the clinic within the hospital) and at The Harmony Foundation.
We spend about 4 months each year as international house-sitters, and have completed assignments in México (5 times), Australia (twice), New Zealand, Greece, Puerto Rico, and Panamá. Whenever we’re in our home in Estes Park, I teach a beginner class in Spanish and facilitate a Spanish-language conversation group, as well as tutoring English to a Mexican immigrant. I volunteer in the pantry at Crossroads Ministry, and teach their money management class in Spanish.
In the years since leaving KSIR, I’ve been “on the air” on a radio station only once: I was interviewed in Spanish in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, while on a speaking tour of the island in 2011.
Regards,
Dave Thomas
Former KSIR news director and former station manager
It was a great small-town radio station and we had lots of listeners. During both of my times there, although they were separated by five years, it was a popular local AM...a rarity even then. And we won LOTS of awards, way more than any other small-market station in Colorado. Those were the glory years.
I had the station logo painted onto the tailgate of my Chevy El Camino pickup truck; so did Bob Suarez and Bob Gaines. We were all proud to work there and to be associated with the station at that time. We won awards from the Colorado Broadcasters Association, the Associated Press (AP), and United Press International (UPI). All of them were in the name of KSIR, not the names of individuals who had produced the programming to win them. Many of the awards were for our coverage of two major floods: the Big Thompson Flood of 1976, and the Lawn Lake Flood of 1982. Some of my strongest memories of my years in broadcast journalism are from those two events. Today, I have no idea where those awards might be.
The "New Sound in the Rockies" jingle package was produced by TM Productions in Dallas, TX. The same company produced jingles for many major market stations. I recall that KSIR had a jingle-writing contest and encouraged listeners to write a major jingle for the station. The winner was Marilyn Herrmann who is the mother of Brad Smith, also known locally now as Brad Fitch (“Cowboy Brad”). I thought we had one of the coolest jingle packages! They were better than those of much larger stations. In fact, KSIR sounded like a major market station most of the time (except during Fair Trader)!
We did innovative live programming such as “The Breakfast Club of the Rockies” and broadcast high school sports and did lots of live remote broadcasts. We had experienced announcers, well-produced commercials and promos and a totally professional sound. This was because all of us had worked in many different stations before coming to Estes Park; we weren't beginners, we were seasoned pros, many of whom had worked in larger markets. We were all in Estes Park by choice, and for many of us it had meant getting "off the ladder," that is, we had stopped "climbing the ladder" in the radio industry.
Before coming to Estes Park, I had already worked at eight radio stations in Ohio. I had been offered a full-time job in the news department at WING in Dayton, OH, which would have been another rung on the career ladder for me. But I decided to go to KSIR instead. I suppose that I could have worked my way up the ladder, maybe to Cincinnati, then to Chicago...who knows? But going to Estes Park was a conscious act of getting "off the ladder." Most of us working at KSIR during that era had made a similar choice. The station sounded great because it was staffed by people who were long-time radio professionals. I have to give Stan Pratt credit for hiring good people.
Stan was a graphic designer, and he's the one who designed the KSIR logo. When I had a retail shop on West Elkhorn in downtown Estes Park from 1976 to 1981, he designed a great logo for my store, The Oxen Yoke. Although I was completely opposed to selling T-shirts in my store, I did sell lots of T-shirts with that logo!
When I left KSIR in September, 1984, I got out of the radio game for good and never looked back. KSIR occupied two different spots in my 18-year broadcasting career and left me with unforgettable memories. Unfortunately, I've lost track of most of the people that I worked with during my two turns at KSIR.
I left KSIR on August 31, 1984, and was immediately hired as director of marketing (later director of communications) for YMCA of the Rockies, Inc., a non-profit organization that owns two major conference centers/family resorts in Estes Park and Winter Park. I handled all their marketing, public relations, and advertising...anything to do with their image. When I started there, the organization’s headquarters were in Denver, on West 48th Ave., but they moved up to the grounds of Estes Park Center within a few months. I enjoyed a career of 16+ years in that organization. We went from a $7-million operation in 1984 to a $26-million budget during my time there.
I left the YMCA of the Rockies in January, 2001, and my wife Sue and I accepted positions as full-time salaried mission workers with Presbyterian Church (USA), serving in México. Our first assignment was on the U.S./México border, working in the state of Sonora, where we lived for over 5 years. From there, we moved to Cuernavaca, Morelos, about an hour's drive south of México City. In this second assignment, I was PC(USA)'s regional liaison with México, meaning that I was the primary contact between our denomination in the U.S. and our partner denomination: the National Presbyterian Church of México.
I retired from PC(USA) on March 31, 2012, and we lived in Pasadena, CA, for almost a year of “re-entry” to U.S. culture. My wife returned to her profession as a Registered Nurse and has been working at Estes Park Medical Group (the clinic within the hospital) and at The Harmony Foundation.
We spend about 4 months each year as international house-sitters, and have completed assignments in México (5 times), Australia (twice), New Zealand, Greece, Puerto Rico, and Panamá. Whenever we’re in our home in Estes Park, I teach a beginner class in Spanish and facilitate a Spanish-language conversation group, as well as tutoring English to a Mexican immigrant. I volunteer in the pantry at Crossroads Ministry, and teach their money management class in Spanish.
In the years since leaving KSIR, I’ve been “on the air” on a radio station only once: I was interviewed in Spanish in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, while on a speaking tour of the island in 2011.
Regards,
Dave Thomas
Former KSIR news director and former station manager