As a birthday gift, Jack Ruiter's family bid on KRFO's DJ-for-a-Day item at April's Night of Knights auction. Jack made his radio debut Tuesday, the day before his 11th birthday.

It turns out the fifth-grader is a fan of Elvis, The Beatles and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. He got some help from his grandmother in putting together a play list. They came up with a great one. The lead off number was "Big, Bad John" by Jimmy Dean. I could not confirm that was an inside joke directed at KRFO's own John Connor, who assists with the St. Mary's auction and whose wife is a teacher at the school. It was confirmed by Jack that "Hit the Road Jack" by Ray Charles was included because of the name reference.

Jack has an interest in broadcasting and was thrilled to learn his family bid on the opportunity to join me on the air. He also might like to get into engineering or computers when it comes time to choose a career.

For two hours on Tuesday, Jack learned how to work the board and the computer that runs AM 1390 KRFO. He introduced songs and read the weather and news. We also did a live Facebook video segment that is included in this post, showing you a little of the behind-the-scenes aspect of radio.

Jack is also a baseball fan and attends games every year at Target Field and has gone to some historic parks such as Wrigley in Chicago. If we bring him on the radio again maybe he can help us diagnose the Twins' problems this season.

Jack's father, Dan, works in television and sat in with us for the broadcast. He worked with Jack beforehand on his voice projection and the concept of proofreading. They also typed up his first several segments. Jack was doing a great job of improvising as the time went along.

Jack's brother Brady just had his picture on the KRFO website for qualifying for the international DECA conference in Nashville. Seems to me that Jack might have bigger bragging rights now though. I had a fun time with the DJ-for-a-Day segment. Happy Birthday, Jack!

radio DJ
Townsquare Media
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The following is the play list we used on air.

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    1. Jimmy Dean - Big Bad John

    Jimmy Dean's Greatest Hits
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    2. Jan and Dean - Surf City

    Surf City: The Best of Jan & Dean
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    3. Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World

    Louis Armstrong's All-Time Greatest Hits
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    4. The Contours - Do You Love Me?

    20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: Motown 1960s, Vol. 1
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    5. Four Seasons - Sherry

    The Very Best of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
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    6. Four Seasons - Big Girls Don't Cry

    The Very Best of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
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    7. Beach Boys - Don't Worry Baby

    Fifty Big Ones: Greatest Hits
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    8. Beach Boys - Good Vibrations

    Fifty Big Ones: Greatest Hits
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    9. The Beatles - Twist and Shout

    Please Please Me
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    10. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Proud Mary

    Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits
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    11. Beach Boys - Surfer Girl

    Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys
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    12. Beach Boys - Surfin' U.S.A.

    Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys
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    13. Dion - Runaround Sue

    Runaround Sue
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    14. Ben E. King - Stand By Me

    Rhino Hi-Five: Ben E. King - EP
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    15. Phil Collins - You Can't Hurry Love

    ...Hits
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    16. Crew Cuts - Sh-Boom

    A Story Untold
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    17. Del Shannon - Runaway

    Runaway
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    18. Carole King - One Fine Day

    Pearls: Songs of Goffin and King
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    19. The Tokens - The Lion Sleeps Tonight

    The Lion Sleeps Tonight
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    20. Sonny and Cher - I Got You

    The Beat Goes On - The Best of Sonny & Cher
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    21. Ray Charles - Hit the Road Jack

    The Very Best Golden Oldies Vocal Duets with Ray Charles, Jan & Dean, Mickey & Sylvia, And More!
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    22. Beach Boys - Help Me Rhonda

    Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys
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    23. Elvis Presley - Can't Help Falling In Love

    The Essential Elvis Presley (Remastered)
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    24. Percy Sledge - When a Man Loves a Woman

    The Ultimate Collection - When a Man Loves a Woman
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    25. The Drifters - Under the Boardwalk

    Under the Boardwalk
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    26. The Foundations - Build Me Up Buttercup

    Build Me up Buttercup

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