Elgin radio legend signs off

You've heard him on both clear and gloomy commutes during "The Morning Wake-up Call."

And probably during Elgin's Fourth of July parade.

Heck, you might have even been interviewed by him -- live on-air -- during the two-mile Elgin Fox Trot on a Memorial Day weekend.

On Monday, that era of Elgin radio ended.

Jack Davis, 10-year veteran at WRMN 1410 AM, told listeners at the end of his show that it was his last broadcast.

"Have a great Monday and a great life," Davis said after thanking listeners and co-workers and acknowledging that his impending departure was "Elgin's worst-kept secret for the past few weeks."

The 58-year-old Elgin man will begin exploring other endeavors.

"I've always been kind of a restless guy," he said during an interview with the Daily Herald last week, noting his 10 years at WRMN were the longest he's ever spent at a job. "I just got to the point where I felt I needed something different, a new challenge."

Davis said being on air, behind a microphone and interacting with listeners never grew old. What did was some of the paperwork and administrative tasks that came along with being the station's operations manager.

"He's going to be missed around here," said Mike Hunziker, who takes over as operations manager. "Working with Jack has been outstanding. He's a real standup guy. He's very calm with his demeanor, which helps during stressful times."

Over the years, Davis has gone one-on-one with many of Elgin's movers and shakers, but one of his most memorable interviews was in January 2002 when then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert called the station.

Davis wasn't expecting a call from a man a couple heartbeats from the presidency.

"My jaw dropped for a split second and I thought, 'How am I going to do this?'" he recalled.

Davis quickly reviewed President Bush's State of the Union Address from a few days earlier for some talking points.

They ended up chatting for 15 minutes.

Davis moved to Elgin in 2001 and he's been heavily involved with community events and Rotary Club.

He was born in Flint, Mich., and spent the first nine years of his life there before moving to Delaware where he landed his first radio job in 1969.

He also was a musical director for a theater and his wife, Nancy, eventually wound up living on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

But radio opportunities there were scarce, and they eventually moved to Ohio and later Illinois when Davis accepted a data entry job at the WRMN.

Six weeks after Davis started, the morning host signed off and Davis landed the job.

Davis said he wasn't going to prepare his remarks for Monday.

"I'd rather have said whatever I said from the heart, even though it's not glib, so to say," he said.

George Rawlinson, an Elgin resident and longtime listener, said he was sad to hear Davis was leaving, but added he surely would go on to bigger and better things.

Rawlinson has listened to the "Morning Wakeup Call" since 1995 and knew five minutes after hearing Davis' first broadcast that the station had a winner.

"His show, in my opinion, has become the ultimate town meeting," Rawlinson said. "Jack has an expressive, enthusiastic, yet laid-back style. Jack is a really cool guy and it shows on the air. If you want to find out what's happening in Elgin, all you have to do is turn on 'The Morning Wakeup Call.'"

Jack Davis

Hometown: Flint, Mich.; Elgin resident since 2001.

Age: 58

Family: Wife, Nancy, of 23 years; one daughter, one grandchild.

Hobbies: reading science fiction and fantasy, collecting Elgin watches from 1867 through 1875.