SAN ANGELO, Texas — A West Texas radio legend's voice will no longer be heard live on the airwaves. Boomer Kingston, the voice of KGKL 97.5 FM for many years, and more recently KMLS 95.5 FMand KPEP 106.5 FM, died Tuesday morning.
Shock, disbelief and sadness have been the primary emotions we've seen at the news of Boomer's death.
We have lost not only a voice from the radio, but a voice for many in the community who would not have otherwise had one.
I was fortunate enough to be mentored by the great Boomer in my early broadcast days with West Texas Broadcasting, now TownSquare Media. He was the operations director, I was brand new to broadcasting. I was scared and thought I was in over my head, but Boomer knew better.
As I sit at my desk, with radio family member Thomas Stubbs (aka Tommy Boy from Kickin 103.1) and reflect, we have so many Boomer stories to tell. One such story, we just shared with Tim O'Brien and were advised it was not suitable for this piece.
When Thomas and I started with West Texas Broadcasting, we learned many things, not only about the radio business, but about Boomer and his beginnings in radio, his family and his passion to help the community that he so loved.
Along with Tracy Scott, Thomas and I spent many a morning standing on the patio at the studios, chatting with Boomer, sometimes making him blush with an off-color comment or two. But that was the way the family that we built was - a family that worked, played and laughed together.
When my grandfather died, my Boomer was the first to hug me and ask what I needed from him. He was always that way - caring, kind, compassionate. We all felt that way about him.
"Boomer was a musical north star for more than five decades. He influenced musical artists, on-air talents and his listeners. Boomer's loss will be felt all over the radio communities. Boomer was my friend and mentor, I loved him and will miss his humor, warmth and advice," former colleague and friend, Tracy Scott, said.
He was such a great in the media world here, he had respect from contemporaries as well as competitors.
"West Texas has lost a radio giant. Although our stations were direct competitors, I worked side-by-side with Boomer over many years for the Toys For Tots campaign." Aaron Wright, former operations director for Four R Broadcasting, said. "Boomer never saw anyone as an adversary when it came to helping the community, however. We'll miss his great, familiar calls of high school football games. We'll miss his warm presence on the air. We'll greatly miss Boomer Kingston, the man, a true champion of the Concho Valley."
I was granted one football trip a year with Boomer and Tracy. It always started off with finishing up the morning shows on our respective stations, then hitting the road. For hours and miles, Boomer and I would talk about anything and everything, while Tracy snored in the backseat of Mary's van. And the trip home would always mean a stop at the nearest Stripes store for a jalapeno cheese corn dog for Boomer.
I learned much about football broadcasting from those two, but what I will always consider the largest lesson learned was the compassion for those in my community. Boomer was the KING of the nonprofit world locally.
Of the many organizations for which he was involved, I was fortunate enough to work on a number of them by his side - D.E.S.K., Toys for Tots, Back the Badge, Relay for Life, the St. Jude telethon - to name a few. He never turned down a plea for help. It wasn't in his DNA.
Boomer was Chili Appreciation Society International’s (CASI) master of ceremonies for the Terlingua International Chili Championship for 24 years and helped at other Texas Championship Cook-offs as well.
Among his many loves was the San Angelo Cowboy Gathering. He worked closely with founder, Terri Holland, to make it the sold-out event it is today. We spoke to Terri this afternoon and she gave us permission to use her Facebook tribute to Boomer.
It read, "I'm so heartbroken right now. We lost another good one today and heaven gained one. He has fought for so long, and never missed working for others while doing so. This man did so much for my career in the Non Profit world with marketing and radio, that there is not enough room on this page to write it all over the last 20 years. He called me several weeks ago to say Good Bye and that he couldn't emcee an event I had him scheduled for. I knew then time was short. Boomer Kingston did more for San Angelo than any radio personality/ad person there is, especially for the non profit community. RIP Boomer, you deserve it brother. I will always love you! Till we meet again."
Whether he was behind the mic or in front of a crowd, you always knew it was THE Boomer Kingston. Surprisingly, Daniel B. Kingston's nickname did not come from that rich, booming radio voice. Legend has it that "Boomer" came from his kicking power on his high school football team.
His online obituary says his radio career started at KVLF 1240 AM in Alpine in 1974, and continued at KERB 600 AM/Kermit, KGEE 100 FM/Odessa, KGKL/San Angelo and KPEP 106.5 FM in Eldorado. He was active in radio until this year. How many of us can truly say we worked in a field that we loved for so long?
Boomer's life, from the airwaves, to the broadcasting booth, to the community he loved, will be remembered as a great one. He was a friend, a mentor and a Jiminy Cricket to many of us. But more than that (and he'd never, ever admit to this), he was a legend.
(Services for Boomer are pending with Harper Funeral Home)
