A great loss for West Virginia radio

[Dave Harman]

This information courtesy of www.wajr.com

The WAJR Family Mourns The Death Of John McKinney

The long-time technical director of the Mountaineer Sports Network has died. John McKinney died unexpectedly Sunday at Monongalia General Hospital of heart failure during surgery. McKinney had been hospitalized since Thursday because of an infection in his foot.
McKinney was very well known in the area as the longtime Chief Engineer of WAJR and throughout the state to all Mountaineer fans as "the man at the controls" in the broadcast booth of MSN Football and Basketball broadcasts.
McKinney served for 31 years as the engineer responsible for getting the Mountaineer football and basketball broadcasts on the air.
“He may be one of the most popular people in the state of West Virginia,” said MSN Executive Producer Mike Parsons. “Although people know his name, they don’t know his face.”
In recent years, McKinney had turned over the basketball broadcasts to his son, John McKinney Jr., but he remained the lead engineer for the football broadcasts. He also worked in the engineering department for the West Virginia Radio Corporation for many years.
McKinney was remembered by those who worked with him as a dedicated professional. “He took great pride in the MSN name and with every broadcast,” said Parsons. McKinney was 59.

[Eric McGuire]

Sorry Dave--------we posted at the same time.....I'll just put my post here and let the mod's delete the original.

John McKinney passed away this morning during surgery. I'm not going to try to share any rumors or what happened.

I'll remember him as a guy that always was there to help, even though you knew you'd have to deal with the 'grumpy' act.
I also remember within a week after starting work at WV Radio, I knew I wanted, and needed to have him as a friend, and we were.
John and I poured the pad for 102.3's transmitter site, and screed the concrete and finished it, in November of 1994. This was after I left K-95---and was 'in-wait' for the new station to go on the air. I had no idea I had to help build the station that I was going to wind up hosting, but I did.

John also designed and built my station in Moorefield. He spent every chance after-hours and weekends he could spend helping put it all together. He had asked me for the last year if I needed anything done over there----I kept saying 'YES!"---and he kept saying he'd get to it some weekend soon. I know he wanted to, I just didn't realize that he really didn't feel like making the trip.

Anyway------ i always knew of him by the credits at the end of all sports broadcasts from Fleming to Caridi, and once I met him, it was literally ----"finally putting a face to the name."

Hate to see him go. Really hate it.

[Dave Harman]

John was my landlord for a couple of years, and he was the best one I ever had.

More than anything else about John, I want to remember that he never went home until there was no one else who needed help. And then he'd cuss you for making him wait.

Another great quality he had was his ability to Make It Work when it absolutely had to. There's no one I'd have rather had on the road with me than John McKinney and that magic toolbox, because he'd make things happen.

[Dave Harman]

Here's an article from today's Dominion Post. I can't link to it, because it's a pay site. Sorry for the weird looking formatting - it's newspaper, you know.
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John McKinney, technical director for WVU’s Mountaineer Sports Network, died unexpectedly on Sunday morning from a sudden heart attack during surgery.
McKinney, 59, was admitted to Monongalia General Hospital on Thursday for a diabetes related foot problem, WVU football and basketball play-by-play announcer Tony Caridi said.
Caridi and McKinney were good friends, and they’d worked together both through MSN and at the West Virginia Radio Corporation.
“I knew he was in hospital this week, and I talked to his son late this week,” Caridi said Sunday afternoon. “Everything seemed OK.”
Caridi said McKinney passed in the “10’clock hour.”
McKinney first joined the West Virginia Radio Corporation as a teenager in the 1960s.
Dale Miller, president of West Virginia Radio Corporation, said he remembers McKinney as one of the main players in the company even when Miller first joined the corporation in 1977.
“He was the heart and soul of the company,” Miller said. “John McKinney is a person who has literally hundreds of friends all throughout West Virginia and everywhere we traveled with the Mountaineers.
“He was an interesting guy, could be a little bit of a wisecracker and a smart alec sometimes. But he had this ability to connect with people. He had a tremendous sense of humor. I worked with him for 30 years and I consider him one of my best friends.”
As the engineer who produced all the Mountaineers’ radio broadcasts for both football and basketball, McKinney traveled all over the country with both teams until two years ago, when he ceded his duties with the basketball team to his son, John McKinney, Jr.
Still, the senior McKinney had left his mark on the program and on the fans who’d followed the Mountaineers throughout the years.
Part of that is due to McKinney’s magnetic personality.
“He was a tremendous worker who’d help anybody and do anything for anybody day or night,” Miller said. “If you called for help from John, he’d give it to you.
“His death has already touched a lot of people because John in his life touched a lot of people.” But for a long time, McKinney’s name was also heard every time legendary football and basketball announcer Jack Fleming began a broadcast. “For years and years, Jack did the basketball games by himself,” Miller said. “John was the engineer for basketball. And every time Jack touched the mike, he’d say, ‘This is Jack Fleming along with John McKinney live from Madison Square Garden.’ “John was always so close to the action, people always wanted to talk to him.” Ernie Galusky, an American Legion baseball coach whose father, Jim, knew McKinney well, said McKinney was known to friends as “Spanky.” Galusky doesn’t know the origin of the nickname, but remembers McKinney as someone who “always made you laugh.” “He was just about as real of a person as you will ever meet in your life,” Galusky said. “He was who he was and it just blew your mind how many friends he had. If you met him he never forgot you. If he liked you, you were a friend for life. “He was a brilliant guy.” Miller said McKinney’s funeral arrangements will be finalized today.

[Lester]

My condolences go out to the McKinney family, as well as his extended family at WVRC. John was an awesome guy, I used to love the "briefings" he'd give me before I'd take the mobile DJ equipment out on the road.

He will be missed.

[RadioKnowwhere]

John was the real deal indeed. One tough bird, always kind and helpful, even if he seemed gruff. His deal was radio, a love sadly lost on most in in these days.

Sincere condolences,

K

[TimeEnuf]

After a few years of reading this board, and finally decided to register, I never thought, in my wildest dreams, that this would be my first post.

I learned early on Monday morning of the passing John McKinney.
The rest of the day, at best, was a solemn and sad day.
I may still be the “new guy” around here, but I still felt the deep effects of what happened around 10 am on Sunday, May 4th 2008.
My first encounter with John was the high school basketball tournament of 2007. I had been with WVRC less that four months and I was still unsure of myself and what I could bring to WVRC.
When we arrived at the Civic Center to set up, John was standing out back, smoking a cigarette. His greetings to Noel and Sherman both made me laugh and at the same time, wonder what kind of person this “John McKinney” really was.
Once inside, setting up for the basketball tournament, it didn’t take long for me to see through that rough exterior, to see the person within. John put me at ease as he took the time to show me how to set up the broadcast transmitter and the PA system in the media room. At the end of the night, he was both kind and thankful for all of the help in setting up the equipment for the state high school basketball tournament.
My last encounter with John was the ’08 basketball tournaments. I thought that I was on top of what my duties were to be, and set out to prove that I knew what I was doing.
As John walk by me to take a cigarette break, he casually looked at the antenna that I had assembled, and said, “you need to extend the last section of the antenna.” Nothing else was ever said, and before he had returned from his smoke break, I had taken care of the oversight on my part.
At the end of the tournaments, after everything was torn down and loaded up, John made a point of shaking everyone’s hand and thanking all of us for the help.
I told him, that I would see him next time…….. little did I realize that it was to be the last time.
I know that setting up for the high school basketball tournament of ‘09 will be hard on all of us.

We will all still feel his presence watching over us…..making sure that all is right and up to his standard of “perfection”.

To Pam and Thump, my heart goes out to you.

There are no words that I can say to comfort you in your time of sorrow.

Your lives have forever been changed.

Find peace and comfort in the wonderful life that your husband and father lived.

He will always be with us in our hearts and memories.

Remember that your WVRC family will be here for you always.

[Dave Harman]

They buried him in his baseball cap and flip-up sunglasses

And it was the first time I've ever heard the phrase "bite me" within a church service.