Earlier this week I wrote that I would be returning to the airwaves with former Gator football player Hank Rone to call high school football together for the third consecutive season on 106.9 FM “I am Country,” but my fourth straight year.

It’s also a silver anniversary for me as I celebrate my 25th year broadcasting high school football in Gainesville.

It began in 1999 when I was hired as sports director for WWLO/WTMN Radio, also known as “Hot Talk 1430” and I moved from Jacksonville to Gainesville.

I’m thankful to Eric Jewell who hired me, took a chance on me, and helped me launch my broadcasting career in Alachua County.

Also, thanks to Steve Berrey (AKA “Mr. High School”), who I first started broadcasting high school sports with in 1991 in Jacksonville, for recommending me for the job.

I have lots of memories from when I lived in Jacksonville, including the opportunity to eventually be “The Voice of the Ospreys,” and broadcasting Division-I basketball, softball, and baseball for my alma mater, the University of North Florida.

But this is about Gainesville, a place that I loved before I even moved here.

Although it would be a while until my first high school football state championship play-by-play call of an Alachua County team (Gainesville’s loss to Miami Central in 2012 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando), I did get to experience a state championship during my first calendar year in Gainesville (1999-2000).

The GHS boys basketball team won the second of back-to-back Class 5A state championships in 2000. I thought it was cool when after the game head coach Anthony Long asked me if I would hold the championship trophy for him.

One of the players on that team, Ian Scott, is now the head coach of the Hurricanes’ football team. I broadcasted Ian’s games when he was a senior in high school and now, I’m broadcasting his football games again too.

That GHS hoops team was fun to watch/broadcast, was nationally ranked, and was led by Mr. Basketball Orien Greene, who was later drafted by the Boston Celtics with pick No. 53 in the 2005 NBA Draft.

It should be noted that “Hot Talk 1430” was the sister station of Magic 101.3 FM, which is owned by my current employer, MARC Media/Radio.

It’s funny how things come full circle.

Before I left the radio station in 2001 to work as project manager for iHigh, Inc., the official marketing company of the Florida High School Athletic Association at the time, I got to broadcast P.K. Yonge baseball’s title game loss to King’s Academy (West Palm Beach) in the Class 2A state championship game at Legends Field in Tampa.

Some of my fondest memories at Hot Talk 1430 were the people I worked with, getting the opportunity to jump out of an airplane, broadcasting the University of Florida Homecoming parade on top of the old Joe’s Deli, hosting Gator football pregame shows and more.

That’s right, I jumped out of an airplane, and we did it as part of a radio promotion.

I co-hosted a morning radio show with Donny Attilio and Nelson Cano, and I came up with a radio promotion for Valentine’s Day.

On Valentine’s Day we took a limo from Gainesville to Palatka, and with Jay Anderson filling time in the studio when we lost our cell phone signal during the drive, got the opportunity to jump out of an airplane and we broadcast it ‘live’ on the radio.

My slogan was, “While most people are falling in love, we’re going to fall out of an airplane.”

Nelson went first but during my play-by-play of his landing, I announced that he was heading for the forest and nowhere to be found.

Fortunately, he was found and was okay, but the flight instructor said the weather was too bad for us to continue. However, Donny and I got to go back a few days later when the skies were blue, and we completed our mission.

I also got the opportunity to interview NHRA Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher and John Force, holder of more records than any driver in NHRA history, among others, at the Best Western Gateway Grand the week of Gatornationals.

I was on the sidelines for the first-ever overtime game in the Swamp (a wild 40-39 loss to Alabama on Oct. 2, 1999) and I was courtside in the old O’Dome during Florida’s back-to-back NCAA championship seasons.

Former Gator running back Brady Ackerman hosted a radio show on the station and it was there that I got to know former Gators Shane Matthews, Chris Doering, and James Bates, who each joined us weekly on Ack’s afternoon radio show.

I remember Ack and I made an “on air” bet on the NBA Finals, but I went with Reggie Miller and he let me down and I lost the bet, which meant I had to walk from our radio station, which was located above the old Wise’s Drug Store on 249 W. University Avenue, all the way to Ballyhoo Grill.

Keep in mind this is the summer and I had to wear a heavy coat and walk during the ‘live’ show for 3.2 miles. My shirt was so soaked that Ballyhoo gave me a shirt to keep.

As Ack’s role expanded, he hooked me up with Fox Sports Radio updates for Gator football and basketball games, so not only was I covering the Gators for local radio, but I was also doing ‘live’ national updates.

As a season ticket owner of the Gators since I was a kid in 1979, I was living the dream.

I was also a big fan of Prince, so I thought it was pretty cool to meet Morris Day of The Time, who was doing a radio promotion with Magic 101.3 FM.  

These are just some of the many memories of my first years in radio in Gainesville back in, you guessed it, 1999.

There were more crazy things like the time one of our other radio hosts got liposuction ‘live’ on the air, and yes, I did a play-by-play of that as well from the hospital during the procedure. I bet that type of thing isn’t allowed anymore.

Or the time that Donny and I did play-by-play for jousting at the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire.

A lot has happened since then.

I recently returned from Branson, Missouri, where I broadcast 37 baseball games in nine days with my ‘color’ analyst Jim Rivers at the Cal Ripken Major/70 World Series. It marked my fourth straight year doing play-by-play at the event, which had 25 U.S. teams and 14 international teams, plus an All-Kentucky Final in the U.S. Championship Game.

This past Wednesday marked the 14th year of hosting the show at locally-owned Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville.

And next week, I begin my ninth year teaching a play-by-play class at the University of Florida.

Tonight, I begin my 25th year on radio in Gainesville, but in Ocala, as Vanguard hosts Buchholz in a matchup of state semifinalists. Vanguard lost to Mainland (Daytona Beach) in last year’s 3S state semifinal, while Buchholz lost at home to Lakeland in the 4S state semifinals.

You can listen to the game on 106.9 FM “I am Country” and IamCountryRadio.com beginning at 7 p.m. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

I’ll take the booth with great pride as I reminisce and reach a tremendous milestone of my own.

I’ll always cherish those early times on the radio though.

It was easily the most fun I’ve ever had on the air.

We partied like it was 1999.