It Takes 2 with Jack & Amy (2015-2018)
5 years ago I took the intimidating leap from show producer to show host on KFGO radio.
And, it wasn’t going to be any radio show… It was a collaboration of 2 generations: a millennial and a boomer (or a legendary, veteran host and a newbie). We couldn’t find another radio station willing to do it! It was an out-of-the-box idea… and lucky for me, “my boomer” was Jack Sunday.
Jack Sunday, a legendary radio personality for longer than I’ve been alive! It would have been easy to dismiss me. I was half his age and inexperienced as a host. But, I sensed Jack believed in me and respected my point of view.
I like to believe (and I think Jack would agree), we inspire each other in unexpected ways and, in the end, found a lot in common.
(scroll below photos for more)
From left to right, top to bottom: Jack’s wife, Jane, Amy, Jack 2015, Amy & Jack at the Barnesville Parade 2017, Jack & Amy at Big Iron 2017, Jack & Amy 2015, Amy, her son Bjorn (7 months) & Jack at the Barnesville Parade 2017, Jack & Amy at the Chili Cook-off 2016, Jack & Amy celebrating her birthday!
You don’t know Jack 😉
In the same way Jack Sunday can make anyone love listening to the radio, he makes his colleagues want to produce better radio.
He understands the power and finesse of local radio. Finesse… just another way of saying, he’s “cool”. He’s got a swagger I imagine he learned in the early days as a teenager getting into hit radio. He feels every song played, he effortlessly retells jokes and stories, he makes his guests feel welcome and heard and he’s passionate. Ohhhh is he passionate!
Jack can be lamenting about a topic he’s spent hours researching and wondering about, but can easily flip the script and talk about a story he’s never heard, finding parallels and comparisons and getting every detail.
For Jack it’s not about making things harder than they have to be… this is radio, not war.
Oh, and that reminds me, what a proud patriot. Jack is a fierce combination of someone who not only honors the sacrifice of our military, but cares deeply their story is told. And, he tells the stories well.
Jack’s story isn’t over. He moves away from the airwaves and into the podcasts. On the air, remain people who appreciate his expertise, enjoy his contagious optimism and are comforted by the sounds of his voice.
And, personally, there is no one better to have my back. His expectations are high and his respectfulness, even higher.
I’m forever grateful. – Amy Iler
(Amy Iler is a talk-show host at 790 AM KFGO – and 94.1 FM – in Fargo-Moorhead. She can be heard weekdays 11am-2pm during “It Takes 2 with Amy & JJ”. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKFGO.)
