After a day of work, the people of Omaha, Nebraska, walk to their cars and flip on their radios, ready to listen to Jack Swanda’s radio show like they have done many times before. Jack has been a part of Omaha for over 45 years. His dreams of radio started when he was young.
“I was probably 10 or 11, and we had a radio station at Lincoln, KLMS. They had a transmitter site, and their studio site was at their transmitter site. It was probably about a five- or six-mile bike ride for my friends and me, but we rode our bikes to check out the studio. It was the first time I was in a radio studio, and it was one of those things I'll never forget.”
Jack is a man of many talents and gifts outside of radio. He is also a financial adviser, church elder, husband, father, and grandfather to nine grandchildren and has impacted others.
His dreams of radio started when he was young. His radio career began when he was a sophomore in high school.
“I'm a sophomore in high school. I don't know what I want to do, and a teacher goes, well, why don't you think about broadcasting because you have an excellent voice for that, and that planted the seed."
From that moment on, Jack knew what he wanted to do as he started part-time at a radio station his junior year, and it was just the beginning of his career. Like many people going into the radio broadcasting field, there were a lot of ups and downs.
“I've been fired several times. And that is also something you must expect when you get into broadcasting. If there are not a lot of jobs out there, there’s not much job security. The first time I was fired, I lived in central Pennsylvania. We had moved there. We got a morning show on a New York, Pennsylvania station and had been there for a couple of years.”
After that, Jack and his family decided to make their way to Omaha, where Jack again found himself out of a job at a radio station. He had a critical decision to make on what to do next.
“So, at that time, I had two daughters in college, one in high school, and was without a job, and there were no other opportunities in broadcasting full-time in Omaha at the time. And so that's when I had to decide to leave Omaha and stay in broadcasting or stay in Omaha and leave broadcasting.”
Jack decided to leave radio and pursue a career in financial advising. He would occasionally be able to keep his toe in broadcasting, and in 2014, Jack found himself back in radio again.
“In 2014, I was offered a part-time job, a regular part-time job in radio on a Christian radio station of Fish doing three to six. And that's when I committed to doing a daily show regularly.”
Jack also kept his career as a financial adviser. Sometimes, it takes a lot of work for him to be able to balance two jobs in very different career fields. And having to do all that it demands.
“It's a challenge every day. Shifting gears is, I mean because they're two very different activities. So, it is a challenge every day.”
ack has now found his home at Boomer radio station in Omaha, known for playing classical rock, where he hosts several shows where he has had many famous guests over the years, like Chip Davis, Tim Conway, and Henry Winkler. Jack hopes to bring the best out of his guest on the show and leave them feeling better than before they started listening to it.
“Well, I hope they feel better about themselves than when they started listening to that day.”
Jack likes to make his shows very interactive for his listeners, with calls in and requests from listeners. Jack hopes to keep playing a part in radio for years to come, using his talents and gifts to help others be their best.
“Well, I just hope to continue to do what I'm doing, and that’s stay engaged with an audience, have the audience stay engaged with me, and for as long as we can do that meaningfully.”