Roy’s #FirstSevenJobs Include His Radio Debut

There were some very cold mornings, and afternoons for that matter, while taking the news door to door in Hibbing, Minn., during my elementary and junior high days.

I remember I had a maintenance job at the trailer park where we lived. I don't recall what my duties were, but I suspect cleaning up stray garbage was involved.

My dad owned a grocery store in Chisholm, Minn., for a few years. My after- school job consisted of ringing up some orders and stocking shelves.

I made my radio debut in high school. I started through the Junior Achievement program, which led to a part-time job at WMFG in Hibbing. A classmate commented one day that he heard me on the radio and that I sounded like a professional.

I was an intramural football referee while attending school at the University of Minnesota. I wasn't very good. I also pulled a few shifts at the college radio station.

I started as a driver while attending the University of Minnesota. I worked at several stores around the Twin Cities. I learned that when I delivered to a business finding the person who ordered usually involved going through a door marked "No Admittance." I once brought pizzas to the Metrodome during a Vikings-Bears game. I also got robbed once and had my car stolen. Ask me about a couple of NSFW stories when you see me. I also worked as a manager before going back to school.

My first full-time radio job came in Madison, S.D., where I worked for two years before landing my current job in Owatonna. One of our duties at KJAM was to inform the volunteer firefighters where to go if their pagers went off. I got the chance to visit the world-famous Corn Palace and cover state tournament basketball games there.