A Quarter of a Century of Gratitude

I can still hear the directions.

Take Exit 3 off I-95 and make a left. Proceed through the lights and, going to the left, go up the hill. Just past the traffic light for town hall, turn left on Dayton Ave. If you reach the Food Emporium grocery store, you've gone too far.

The address? 1490 Dayton Ave.

Go to the back door and ring the bell.

So began my first foray into this strange land called WGCH Radio in Greenwich, CT.

I was there to learn how to run their programs. I was there to learn the nuances of their colsole.

I was there to prepare for my first air shift the following Sunday, when I would fill in for Steve Goodwin, who was partially responsible for my being there.

Steve the late Luke Michaels both wanted me to join them at GCH following the demise of WREF, where we had all worked.

So there I was. I learned what I could.

That was 25 years ago today -- March 30, 1997.

I did that fill-in shift the following Sunday. Then? I felt like it would be fleeting at best. The station left a message for me to call them in May 1997 (back when you called your home line to see if you had any messages). I called them back and they asked me if I could fill in again. The problem was that I was in Las Vegas.

I felt like I had missed an opportunity. In truth, I probably had because my phone mostly went dry. It took until late 1998 before I got asked to be the board operator for some football games.

Fortunately, they liked what I could do. They liked that I was reliable and did as I was asked. I also wasn't pushy to get on the air.

Oh, I'd get on the air plenty. Eventually.

Far right, at Boyle Stadium in Stamford

Soon I was the go-to guy. Need a board-op? I'm in. Need an engineer? Teach me and I'll do it. Want me to be the pre and postgame host? Halftime and intermissions reports? Cool.

And, by early 1999, a play-by-play announcer.

Obviously, I haven't looked back since then.

Oh, it hasn't always been easy. Politics, internal squabbles, management issues, crazy salespeople, technical concerns, and so on.

But, on the other hand, there have been 25 years of a lot of games and news and Election Nights and talk shows and Greenwich Town Parties and breaking news.

I know I'm missing things.

I can't even begin to name the names. It wouldn't be fair. I'd forget someone.

But I'll take a shot at Jim Thompson and Dima Joseph and Tony Savino and Bob Small and Joy Marshall and Lindsey Romeo and Sam Romeo and Sean Kilkelly and Mark Rosen and Chris Erway and Chris Kaelin and Ryan DeMaria and Jim Campbell and Mary Anne DeFelice and Amy Beth and Don Russell (rest his soul) and Clark Burgard and Ricky Fritsch and Anthony Karlogrides and Matt Hamilton and Mark Smallwood and Bill Brehm and John Spang and Michael Breed and John Connelly and John Iannuzzi and Tom Kane and Nick Angotto and Zach Fisher, Mark Jeffers, Dave Torromeo, and like I said I'm missing names.

The names include every analyst that stood with me in a booth. Every intern that did stats or reported from the sideline.

The names include salespeople and executives -- some of whom didn't drive me nuts.

The names include the people who kept asking for me to keep coming around.

They include the people who somehow -- often with a string and two cans -- kept the station on the air.

They include every caller, sponsor, and most of all, listener.

Naples, FL 2007

The place -- that radio station -- has driven me nuts. It has infuriated me. 

It has enriched me.

It is one of my great loves. I'm proud of it and proud to have spent a quarter of a century at WGCH in some form or another.

I've been there full-time. Part-time. No time (1997-1998). 

And I've basically been there consistently since 1998. Even when I was at HAN, I still did a Friday sports chat with Tony Savino.

Which reminds me, I've been paid and unpaid.

And the shows? "Spotlight on Sports with Rob Adams," "The Rob Adams Show," "The Press Box," "Coaches Corner," "Inside Sports," "Tee Time," "The Clubhouse."

"Doubleheader."

And many others. Even shows that I've forgotten.

Oh, and the sports I've called? Football (always the king), basketball, hockey (yeah, I could say I was the voice...oh, forget it), basketball, and baseball but also softball and lacrosse. Also Bridgeport Bluefish baseball and GYFL football and, again, so much more.

We covered Greenwich High, Brunswick, Stamford High, Trinity Catholic, Rye, Harrison, and Port Chester. If management let me, I did it.

It's changed since I first got there. It's changed a lot.

Yet I'm still here.

I know more changes await WGCH and who knows how much longer I'll be a part of it? So, yeah, I'll admit that hitting this 25th anniversary mattered to me.

You saw me through life, death, triumph, and tragedy. You welcomed Sean into the world and made him part of the Greenwich scene.

In a town that is protective of its "townies," you've made me an honorary member.

It hasn't always been pretty but it's been a great 25 years.

Thanks, Greenwich. Thanks, listeners. Thanks, friends.

Thank you, wonderful WGCH. May your transmitter light for years to come.

Sean Kilkelly, Chris Kael, me, Chris Erway, and Sean Adams, Oct 2011