I used a short, snappy headline for this story. I’ve been guilty sometimes of ludicrously unkempt headlines. But a very important gentleman once told me that it’s important to lead with a strong, bold opening thought. His name was Ron Pesha and he was in charge of the radio and television program at what was then Adirondack Community College. I’ve written about him before. I’m not sure I ever shared a picture of him though:
By the time I got to know him in 1990, the beard was silver white. Mr. Pesha taught classes in radio (a business in which he had spent many moons) and television (a medium that fascinated and motivated him in a way that radio no longer had).
Mr. Pesha had a variety of unique character traits…a wicked sense of humor, a sonorous voice, and the ability to communicate to young people in an honest and meaningful way. Perhaps most memorable was his concise way with a memo or letter. Typical of his style was this email sent to me in 2014:
Hi, Jason. Haven’t heard from you for a long time. Would like to. I’m running late this holiday season…then my captioned-photographs-greetings just became corrupted. Two thing if you had’t heard,: We have moved from Lubec ME to Fair Haven VT. And the easternmost museum in America, in Lubec, has been named the Ron Pesha Museum of Lighthouse History. I still don’t do “social media,” nor travel anymore.
“Haven’t heard from you for a long time. Would like to.” This is what is known in the radio business as “word economy”. And I learned it from the best. Several years earlier, I had written the following to Mr. Pesha:
Those years at Adirondack, and later at SUNY Brockport, were the greatest times of my life. From you, I learned good spot writing, editing principles–the foundation of everything I do here at the office. At Brockport I refined my D.J. technique, entered the exciting world of digital production, and basically tried everything and anything.
Having what can only be described as a fair-to-middling radio voice, it is clear to me that my success here is founded in my creative abilities…spot writing, production, promotions, and the ability to say something witty every now and then. I have never forgotten how much of it all came from you…whether in classes or just in casual conversations around the radio station. A simple “thank you” doesn’t seem like enough, but it’ll have to do. I lost my cassette tape with the “Pesha” rap on it years ago. (“We need Pesha just to make it today!”)
Look forward to hearing more about what keeps you busy these days. I still chuckle at the letter you sent me several years back which read, in your usual typeface,
“Wentworth–Doing fine. -Pesha”
Of course, there was a longer letter attached…as I hope there will be this time.
Ron Pesha died in December of 2018. I am glad I had the opportunity to thank him in a substantive way for the role he had in my radio journey. I also feel fortunate to have said thanks more than a few times to Warren “Koz” Kozireski, the man who taught me how to edit reel-to-reel tape. The man who heard me drop an accidental F-bomb on-air, called me at 2:30am to wake me up in the middle of my own show and–despite all that–said to me in his office, “You will work in this business” and made me believe it. There have been others, and I have reached out to many of them.
So why am I talking about this now? Well, because I have a semi-janky webmail account and I had to go in and trash a bunch of emails to make room for more storage. That brought these and other old emails, and old memories, back to me. (They didn’t get deleted.)
Everybody has a Pesha in their life, or a Koz, or a Carvin Eison, or Mrs. Bulciewicz. Who’s yours? Tell me their story. Better yet, tell them, then tell me. And know that someone thinks of you in that same way.