Hey everyone! Ben Rutz here with one last blog for you. This is going to be mostly just a collection of my thoughts from the last four and a half years here, a list of thank yous etc.
Thank You Everyone!
Thank you all so much for all of the love over the last few years. Hearing how much people have enjoyed the show over the years has me truly touched. I always wanted to be a game show host, and being on the air playing wacky games every morning has been truly a dream come true. It always warms my heart seeing someone out at Kroger, the gas station or wherever and they talk to me about what they heard that morning. It always cracks me up to hear the stories people share to add to the conversation during the show. I even loved hearing people say things like “I love watching you barf” when we’d do gross Facebook live food videos. Thankfully where I’m headed now I won’t have to eat anymore Kool-Aid pickles or tuna ice cream. Seriously… thank goodness lol. Thank you all so much for the laughs over the years. It’s been a fun ride. Thank you all do much for the well wishes in the next stage of my career as I leave radio and start giving back to the community in a new way through the library.
A Look Back
Hard to believe it’s been four and a half years already. Where did the time go? When I look back at all of the incredible things to happen to me over the last four years, all of them revolve around Z92.5 and Jessica Green. My first month in Kokomo, I met my now wife all because Jessica told her I was single. Two years later when I was ready to propose, I got to get up on stage and proposed in front of everyone in town at the Haynes Apperson festival and Jessica recorded (most of it) on Facebook live. Two more years after that when I got married, Jessica was able to perform the ceremony for us and knocked it out of the park! And all of that is just my love life!
Z92.5 has opened up the door for so many opportunities for me to try cool things. I’ve gotten to meet like half the town of Kokomo, have a burger named after me (its at Prodigy in Kokomo. It’s still on the menu but they changed the name to the People’s Champion), host countless live events and even learn some sick dance moves for the Lip Sync Battle. I’ve tried so much new foods like the pork tenderloin sandwich and chicken and noodles (yeah those foods don’t exist outside of Indiana). I have even gotten so many different costumes to be able to dress up for wacky events and stuff. Yeah I’m definitely keeping my red Valentine’s Day suit, the Christmas suit and my St. Patty’s day onesie!
The Sappy Stuff
Saying goodbye to Z92.5 is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do for so many reasons. Jessica Green is my best friend. We’ve gotten to wake up and be goofy together for so many years. Leaving the station means I still get to wake up to Jessica Green, but in a new way. A way much more familiar to all of you. Erin, Rob, and everyone here at the station have become my family. My home away from home as the rest of my family is 12 hours away back in North Carolina. But you know, my mom said something to me one time that really stuck with me. She said “at first I thought that you moving across the country would be hard for me, but then I remembered that any time I wanted to hear your voice I could just turn on Z92.5 and you would be there.” Now for me, any time I want to hear my Kokomo family I can just turn on the radio. And there they will be. Helping me to turn up the feel good, just like all of you.
So long Z92.5, I’ll see ya around the library!
