KEYN, the first time around...

One of the very few readers of this blog has asked me to reminisce about some of the promotions we did during my time in Wichita radio.  One of the first days I was at KEYN in 1981, the station was having some kind of thing at the 4H building at Central and Ridge Road I believe.  I remember the event as it gave me the opportunity to meet some of the very special people that worked at the station.  Later that Spring I think was the KEYN Lifestyle Fair at Century II.  It was one of those events that advertisers set up booths and try to sell assorted crap to women who have dragged their husband to another event that only certain kind of men would like.  I remember this event because there are some pictures in my scrapbook of it and there were some of us that sat out by the fountains and drank some beers and talked.  When we ran out of beers, we went to my house to fetch some more brew.  Good times!

KEYN blazed the path for radio contesting in Wichita.  We gave away a Porsche, a Rolls Royce, which you may remember from an earlier blog about the winner's cheeky excitement.  We gave away 6 packs of beer, we delivered food to offices for take KEYN to work day, mopeds, cheap cars, trips and concert tickets.  I think my favorite concert of all time was standing in the middle of the floor of the Kansas Coliseum for a Loverboy concert.  Always loved Loverboy! 

All radio station request lines got their own prefix of 436 because of a concert ticket giveaway for Styx tickets.  We announced the giveaway and the phone company's circuits all blew out.  They later told us it takes 20,000 simultaneous attempts to blow out a circuit.  KEYN was very popular!So popular, that a girl I was dating at the time, who I suspected of being a lesbian, and who worked for an advwertising agency told me that the morning show at KEYN alone had a weekly cume of 120,000 listeners.  The other 15 or so radio stations shared the other half of the population.  I know what your thinking....why did I think she was a lesbian?  Just a feeling, along with all the salespeople at the station that had told me she was.  I would like to think it was me that turned her around to guys as she eventually got married and her husband testified against a well known oilman in Wichita, helping to send him to prison. 

My time at KEYN the first time was a great time.  My house became a safe haven for salespeople to come and nap because the rigors of sales made them very tired, apparently.  I hope I didn't turn any of them into lesbians, even though, to this day, I believe I am a lesbian trapped in a man's body.  Think about it.

That is all....Peters out!