Monday, July 14, 2008, 04:27 PM EST [
General]
In 2006, I was Promotion Director of 55KRC when we brought Tony Snow to the station to represent us in the Opening Day Parade. I thought I would share with you some pictures and something I wrote for the 55KRC website:
"Working as Promotion Director for a radio station gives me many fantastic memories. I have been able to do and meet many special people. One person who has always stood out in my mind is Tony Snow. I consider myself very lucky to have spent 3 days with Tony Snow around Opening Day 2006.
You knew when you met Tony Snow that he was an extraordinary person. He certainly did his homework. I remember when he was ready to go on the air he told me he left a notebook in his car about a certain topic. I can't even remember the topic. I volunteered to go to the car to get the notebook and it was one of the thickest, heaviest notebooks I've ever held....for ONE topic!
One reason we brought Tony here was to be in the Opening Day Parade, representing 55KRC. We bought 3 Retro Reds jackets, of which I added the 55KRC logo on the front and our names on the back. We had a jacket for me, Program Director Tony Bender, and Tony Snow. Tony was so excited about the coat, he wore it everywhere the rest of the time he was here and promised to wear it in Washington and show off the Cincinnati Reds colors proudly. We bought the jackets at the Reds Hall of Fame. I must have just told him I bought the jacket at The Hall of Fame because when I saw him interviewed on Channel 19 the next morning, they were admiring his jacket. He told them that I went all the way to Cooperstown to buy it for him. I didn't have the heart to tell him I just drove downtown Cincinnati to the Reds Hall of Fame.
One of my favorite pictures is of Tony Bender on the phone in front of Findlay Market with Tony Snow looking on, laughing. I taped the picture on Tony Bender's door, where it stayed for the last couple of years...until this weekend. I titled the picture "Even the Press Secretary waits for the Big Dog." I will always remember Tony for his sense of humor, for his kindness, and for the short time that I knew him I knew he was honest and sincere. Even the President recognized that since he hired Tony...even after he criticized the President on his radio show.
The first night Tony Snow was here in Cincinnati, and knowing he was from this area, I wanted to take him to dinner where he would have a good view of the city. Tony Bender and I took him to The Mike Fink restaurant on the river. It was a beautiful sunset, but with a storm rolling in as the evening went on, kind of like Tony Snow's life. He was a beautiful person who did not shy away from a challenge. Whether it was politics, or his illness, he faced the storm head on. I'm lucky I met him."
