Tuesday, October 1, 2024:

Mark:

We are here today because for 44 years while I was building and repairing radio stations, Paula was in Brainerd talking with customers on the phone and running the business. Interestingly, we never had a Plan B.

We are living in our second architect-designed residence where the electronics shop and office are on the first floor with living quarters above. That made it possible to design and build electronic equipment for the broadcast industry.

Some items were manufactured nearby while hundreds of custom items were hand-built in our shop.

I thoroughly enjoyed being out in the field where I realized things could be done to make stations run better. Then it was back to the shop to design and build something to do just that.

In addition, broadcast equipment for repair came to us from across the nation AND other countries. The money came to Minnesota.

It was not work; it was a lifestyle. Retirement came at age 70. However, this lifetime in broadcasting has not ended. We mentor five radio broadcast engineers. The reward…well…a free lunch now and then.

Paula:
A fun story, Mark was at the WYRQ transmitter site on a farm when a bull  thought Mark was competition for the Heifers. The bull forcefully butted Mark to leave, which he did in a hurry. Next time Mark showed up in town, Chris Grams greeted him with a cape to simulate bull fighting. Farmer later told her the bull could have killed Mark. There is NEVER a dull day in broadcasting!

I used to type articles that Mark wrote for Radio World magazine. That is how I learned he was packing up his gear at a radio station at three in the morning and was suddenly held at gunpoint by a policeman while the station owner was awakened to verify Mark was innocence. How many executives do you know who work in the middle of the night?

Only in radio do you get awakened at 2:00 AM to go downstairs to read a schematic for a transmitter Mark is trying to repair hours away or get called to meet someone at 3:30 AM in northern MN at the halfway point to bring an extra piece of equipment Mark just happened to have in the shop.  That’s why we had our shop where we live.

Our motto was, Take care of the customer and the customer will take care of you.  It was the people like you in this room who made this such a fun ride.  We are very honored and humbled to be receiving this award and thank you very much. 

Mark:
We are honored to have worked with some of “America’s Great Radio Stations!”

The team of Mark and Paula Persons are from Brainerd where they ran their radio broadcast engineering business for over 44 years. Both are Extra Class amateur radio operators.

Mark started in broadcast engineering as a pre-teen at his family owned WELY Radio in Ely, Minnesota. He did most of the wiring for the family’s KVBR Radio in Brainerd in 1964 at age 17. Mark enlisted in the U.S. Army, taught electronics at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, then spent his 21^st year in Vietnam high-tech electronic repair.

Paula was closing secretary at a real estate firm when Mark, now a civilian, was buying a home to set up an electronics shop. They threw her in with the deal! Their marriage in 1978 was a perfect match to be radio broadcast engineering contractors.

They touched most radio stations in the central and northern part of the state. Twelve new radio stations, including six AM directionals, were built from the ground up with Mark’s hands including one in Florida and one in California. Many more were upgraded.

Paula was a full half of the business. While Mark was out in the field building and repairing stations, Paula was in the office telephoning customers and making sure the financial part of the business was being taken care of.   

Mark spent time in his shop designing equipment, such as the Programmer 3A Live Assist Controller, for the broadcast industry. He was one of six installers of Motorola AM Stereo in the 1980s. Mark repaired broadcast equipment for local and international customers and is often called the “Radio Doctor.”

Mark continues as a mentor to three radio broadcast engineers and writing for Radio World, with over 200 articles published.

Mark was honored as the 2018 Engineer of the Year by the Society of Broadcast Engineers. Then their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. That was only the tenth such award in the 4500-member association’s 55-year history.

SCUBA diving has occupied much of Paula’s time in retirement with over 1000 dives world-wide.

Mark served as Chaplain at the Brainerd VFW post and continues to write their website, which has received five state awards.

While working, Paula felt it was important to give back to the community.  She served on the board of the local humane society, a youth director of their church, a girl scout leader, on the board of the Northland Arboretum, trustee of the VFW Auxiliary, and is past president of Brainerd Rotary. She has also been involved in cleaning over 600 military graves.

Mark has spoken at the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas and at the Wisconsin Broadcasters Clinic, which is now paired with the MN Broadcasters.

Mark and Paula are supporters of Rotary International, the Northland Arboretum, the Pavek Museum, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Habitat for Humanity, and the Salvation Army, among others.