When work was fun *to be assessed*

When I finished high school I had no idea what I wanted to do. I was lucky enough to get an offer from a friend to work at her Dad’s radio station. I was young and wasn’t very out going, but because of the nature of the job, I had to become approachable and talk to a variety of people. There was an opportunity to work on remotes, which were in store set ups where a DJ would broadcast live as part of an in-store promotion. I would set up a booth to give away merchandise and conduct games with customers. After a lot of remotes, which were usually early in the morning, I would join my friend on the road as part of the Roadshow. We would drive around the city to give away products we had on board the van and attend events to promote the station.

My morning would start at about 8:00. We would head to Kent Building Supplies, one of our more frequent sites, and set up our booth before customers entered the store. The promotion that particular summer was hitting a golf ball on a putting green for a chance to win a power washer. I would set up the putting green and get the golf balls and putters ready. Then I would get all the promotional gear ready to give away, such as license plates and stickers. That’s when we would go on the air.

I was never actually on the air but my partner in crime, radio DJ Paul Magee, would start the morning by calling into the station to do his first live report. It seemed like every weekend would start the same way. Paul would call into the station to go on air, which is controlled by an automatic switchboard, but only as long as no one answers. But every weekend, without fail, this particular woman who worked at the station would answer the phone. She knows that she’s not supposed to because he’s calling in to broadcast but she conveniently forgot every time. Paul did not appreciate this.

Once Paul’s face cooled down from being red with frustration, he would go over the airways to let people know we were at Kent, and anyone could come in and putt with me for a chance to win a power washer. It was exciting to have my name on the radio. I would give away the stations promotional material and chase golf balls around Kent all morning. I was surprised how many people really couldn’t putt very straight.

Paul and I would be set up in front of the main entrance. People would come in and walk straight for us, giving us the impression they loved the station and wanted to show it by getting a license plate. Then they would ask us where the doorknobs were and burst our bubble. Luckily, Paul knew the store quite well and would act as part time Kent employee, showing people where to find items. Things usually went smoothly the rest of the morning and before we knew it, Paul would sign off with the station and we would pack up our gear. That’s when my afternoon with the Roadshow would begin.

My friend would pull up in the station’s van to pick me up and we would map out our day. We would pre-record our station breaks which meant we had to be careful not to steer off track and be in one place when our station break would say we were somewhere else. We would spend most afternoons driving from park to park, giving away chips, bars and pop to kids and adults all over the city. One afternoon in particular, we ended up at a motorcycle association’s pig roast. The people there were great and it turned out to be a fun afternoon, minus the pig on a stick over an open fire. After hours of driving around and eating almost as many chocolate bars as we gave away, we would head back to the station and pack it in for the day.

The days would be long, starting early in the morning at the remote and ending at supper time with the Roadshow, but they were fun. I was able to meet a lot of great people and go to a lot of amazing places. I started out as a shy kid just out of high school, to finding this whole new personality that could be outgoing and friendly with complete strangers. Without my experience with the radio station, I might not have gone on to do the things I have done. Public relations might not have been an option for me without the confidence boost that this job gave me at such a young and vulnerable age. My only regret is that it didn’t make me a better golfer.