By: Nathan Bloechl — [email protected]
Humboldt, Iowa — Dear Humboldt: Thank You.
Thank you for giving me three amazing years.
Thank you for welcoming me into the community with open arms.
Thank you for giving me an opportunity tell great stories about your sons and daughters on and off the playing field.
And thank you, for just being…you.
When I took this position in the summer of 2016, a greenhorn, fresh out of college, I always knew there’d be a day I would leave, continuing on in this journey called life.
I would have never guessed it would have been this hard.
This community has given me everything I could have ever wanted with my first job. It was an incubation period where I learned the ins and outs of professional radio all while cultivating so many meaningful relationships with…you.
I have made many “forever friends” and it’s these people that will make life moving on very difficult.
To put this in context: I am 25 years old.
My best friend is the 40-something Rick Hjelmeland, carpet connoisseur and owner of Hjelmeland Flooring.
This is just how special Humboldt is.
Him and I, we are brothers spaced over 20+ years. He is someone I can count on, share thousands of laughs with and someone I knew would always have my back. He may be my brother, but his three daughters are my sisters and his wife an extension of my parents back home in Green Bay.
What Humboldt gave me was more than just a place to work.
It was a place to meet 5,000 unique and beautifully different individuals.
The anecdote about the Hjelmeland’s is just one of the many families that have opened up their homes to me, in which I am so thankful for.
The coaches in this town, which I have had the honor to work alongside, are splendid in their own right, and are all people I greatly admire.
Greg Thomas was always there for me and no matter how many times I royally ticked him off, he always welcomed me back with a handshake and a hug.
Chad Beaman was the ultimate role model and is someone who may never know how much he really meant to me.
The boys of summer, Jason Thurm and Doug Van Pelt of Humboldt baseball and softball, are first class individuals on and off the diamond, despite them being Cubs fans.
But there’s countless others: Derick Elman, Jason Hoag, Rod Mooney, Dean Clasen, Greg Wickett, Scott Birdsell, and so many more, who I have had the privilege to work with.
The people of KHBT: my general manager Kathi Kolar, salespersons Karri George and Bruce Schipull, motherhen Kathleen Courtney, and running mate Sam T. Jensen are some of the best people you could ever work for and with. They were there when I needed a shoulder to cry on, a tire to be fixed, a girlfriend to keep happy and work to be covered.
They are the ones that made me look good. Their ability to sell the vision of KHBT is second to none and it’s because of them we are able to provide great coverage to a community that deserves it.
They are the real rock-stars of this place, and they’ll continue to do that long after I am gone.
With that being said, It’s hard to put in words what I am trying to all say in this piece, but this decision was far from easy. I know it’s the right one, but it doesn’t make it any less difficult, and pulling away is hard because you guys gave me 5,000 reasons to stay.
I hope I gave you as much fun, excitement and joy as you did for me.
Because if there’s one thing I want you to remember me for, it’s the surefire unbridled pleasure I had bringing Humboldt athletics to life for listeners near and far.
They always say the first one is the hardest and I could not agree more, so for this next month or so, I am going to do my job like I’ve always done: with my heart on my sleeve.
Thank you for everything,
Nathan Bloechl