By Gary Spinnell
If you would have told me nearly 50 years ago that I’d be having lunch with this group, I’d have thought it was just an incredible, unbelievable dream! It is, however, reality. I’m talking about the annual OFC luncheon. The OFC (or officially, the “Old Farts Club”) is a who’s who of Seattle radio personalities—disc jockeys and entertainers who were my idols growing up.
As I sat at the luncheon, I thought back over the hundreds of hours I’d spent listening to these radio legends and how, at my first job in radio on the college station at Eastern Washington University, I would copy their styles.
If you grew up in the Seattle area in the ‘60s and ‘70s, you probably listened to either KJR or KOL. Those two stations are the trunk of the OFC tree. The idea of “stay-in-touch” started with Lan Roberts, Tom Murphy, Mike Phillips and Jerry Kaye, radio personalities who had worked at KJR or KOL, or both. It now has spread its branches to include personalities from FM stations KISW, KYYX and KXRX.
Because Seattle also was known as a ‘break-out’ market for new music, radio had a strong connection and special relationship with the record industry and the live concert scene. Promotional people from the record and concert side of the Seattle entertainment business also are part of OFC membership.
I’m sure you can imagine some of the stories told at the OFC luncheons every August. When I was asked to join in 2014, I knew I’d have to give an update on what I was currently doing in life in my acceptance speech to the members. I still remember my opening line: “I learned a long time ago not to try to be funny in a room full of comedians!”
The room at Salty’s, looking across at the city that moved to every beat of KJR and KOL, was filled with the most creative minds imaginable. Minds that brought smiles and crazy promotions and a connection to the music that you fell in love with. There’s camaraderie within our group that exists throughout the year, mostly via emails. But once a year, at Salty’s, there are tears of laughter as stories old and new fill the afternoon.
It’s a special time with special people who all, somehow, had a way of making life better for those who listened to the radio. It was so much fun—and 50 years later it still seems like a dream.
Gary Spinnell (whose on-air name was Lee Chase) worked at both KJR and KOL radio and was a television sport anchor/reporter at KIRO-TV and CNN for eight years. He received the AP and UPI Sports Reporter of the Year awards three consecutive years. Following his broadcast career, Gary was VP/marketing and sales for the SeattleSupersonics for five years and regional VP/marketing for Blockbuster Video for three years. He also was public-address announcer for the Seattle Mariners for 10 years and the Sonics for three years. He’s been president of Spinnell and Stwan Marketing and Media for the past 20 years.