04/28/2016
This last Saturday, I attended a reunion of my former co-workers from Phoenix radio station KMLE 108 FM. In November of 1997, I was hired by the station to my first “real” job as a Broadcast Technician and it was there that I had the good fortune to work with a man by the name of H.G. Listiak.
A Valley radio legend since the 1970’s, he was KMLE’s traffic reporter for the last 15 years of his career. For those that had never heard one of his reports, H.G. literally delivered them with a limerick quality that could rival Dr. Suess. Though there was a computer for him to use, H.G. chose to type his reports on the typewriter shown here. He was intense about how he performed his job. Before the mics would go hot, he’d tell everybody that it was “Time to fire up and focus!”
Being a kid fresh out of college, I found him to be an overwhelming personality to deal with at first. However, the more I worked with H.G., I found him to be a grateful person, constantly praising me for my hard work and thankful for any little favor I did - even for something as simple as knowing where we kept the replacement typewriter ribbon. I shared my coffee thermos with him on a few remote broadcast events and he paid me (and the promotions crew) back by buying coffee for the next few events. If H.G. ever caught me standing in front of the breakroom vending machine trying to make a decision, he would quickly slip a dollar bill in the machine before I could object and tell me it was on him. I left the station two years later when my wife took a job in San Diego.
Even though he and I never kept in touch, I was actually saddened a bit when a friend called to tell me that KMLE had announced H.G. had unexpectedly passed away (12 years ago to this very day). At the reunion on Saturday, many us brought whatever KMLE paraphernalia we had as keepsakes - jackets, hats, shirts, backstage passes, various broadcast awards, photos, etc. - that brought back a flood of memories. However, when I saw H.G.’s typewriter carried into the room, I admittedly got choked up. In tribute, one of the former DJ’s led us in a short memorial to our departed colleague. A couple of stories were shared about H.G. and the typewriter he used to compose his body of art. Raising our glasses, we toasted him with the only the most fitting words possible - “Time to fire up and focus!”
H.G. - Wherever you are, thank you for being one of the most memorable people I will probably ever encounter in my career.
