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. Many of the people who worked there during that period did two separate "tours of duty" like me...some even more! 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, even though 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.
Years ago I could have told you exactly who produced the "New Sound in the Rockies" jingle package. But today I just don't remember. I do 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). I seem to recall that the jingles were recorded in Texas, but couldn't tell you the company. 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 stopped "climbing the ladder" in the radio industry. Before coming to Estes Park, I was 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. I sold lots of T-shirts with that logo!
We won lots of awards from the Colorado Broadcasters Association and the Associated Press. All of them were in the name of KSIR, not the names of individuals who had produced the programming to win them. That was frustrating to me; I have no idea where any of those award plaques are today. Sorry, but I can't refer you to anyone who might have the jingles or any tapes of programming. There's a chance that I have tapes, maybe some photos. 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.
When I left KSIR in September, 1984, I got out of the radio game for good and never looked back. KSIR was my 12th station in an 18-year broadcasting career. 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...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, advertising...anything to do with their image. When I started there, their 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 and I accepted appointments as full-time salaried mission workers with Presbyterian Church (USA), serving in Mexico. Our first assignment was on the U.S./Mexico border, working in the state of Sonora, where we lived for 5-1/2 years. We're now living in Cuernavaca, Morelos, about an hour's drive south of Mexico City. My new assignment, as of January 1, 2007, is as PC(USA)'s regional liaison with Mexico...meaning that I'm the primary contact between our denomination in the U.S. and our partner denomination in Mexico...the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico.
My radio listening here is limited to Mexican stations, although I sometimes tune in KYGO in Denver (contemporary country) or WSM, Nashville (country, the home of the Grand Ole Opry) on the internet.
Regards,
Dave Thomas
Former KSIR news director and former station manager