“It’s a 3-B guarantee or double your sunshine back!” Dave Read enjoys the creativity radio requires and it shows. He’s also this region’s only full time local weather forecaster. When not on-air, Dave can be found around the Cape taking pictures with his digital camera.
You may reach Dave at 800-896-9626 (voice mail at 508-771-1224 ext. 105) and via e-mail at [email protected]!
“I host the morning show on Ocean104.7 during which I do weather forecasts for WOCN. Several cups of strong black coffee assist in this amazing juggling feat which begins before 5am 5 days.”
Why/how did you choose a career in radio?
My announcing career actually began back in second grade when the director of our school play, “Snow White”, cast me as the Voice of the “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall”. I felt this was a good reflection of my abilities. From this rather Grimm beginning, I’ve gone on to a career where I still manage to incorporate snow in my job from time to time. Some things never change!?
I began radio at Bates College in Maine when one of my dorm mates had a cold and talked me into doing his show for him. He gave me a 20 minute crash course in playing records and turning the mike on and off and then left me on my own on our ten watt FM station. By the end of that week, the station’s manager had offered me my own slot. Bryant Gumbel got his start on the same station, but he doesn’t get to live on Cape Cod, so I feel luckier than him!
My first paying job was recording station breaks for Maine Public Television. I was paid $17 a week to tell kids to stay tuned for Sesame Street. The studio was a coat closet with a bare bulb in the ceiling. I remember thinking, “If I can have this much fun making this much money, I must have a future in this somewhere!”
What do you like best about your job?
Radio: It beats working (most mornings, once the coffee is made!).
Actually, I enjoy the creativity it requires. Radio is really another acting venue, where you have to think on your feet or some other way, to keep it fresh.
I could never imagine myself pushing a pencil in the office of some big corporation. I tried that for 3 college summers in the NY State Education Dept, processing Regents Scholarship applications with red pencils. I’m lucky I kept some semblance of my sanity after that experience! I still cringe when I see a red pencil!
Proud to have received the AP “Radio Weathercast of the Year award” for three years running. After I won it 3 times in a row, they retired the award.
How long have you been a resident of Cape Cod?
My wife Elaine and I “washed ashore” back in 1979, back when WQRC was steam- powered and playing the Living Strings for morning wakeup music 😉
I was born in Albany, NY and grew up in Schenectady. We will have a quiz some morning on how to spell that, so please stay tuned! You might win that free dead battery, no charge!
After ten years of shoveling in Maine, my muscles and my Mrs. told me to move south. My wife is from Weymouth, so Cape Cod seemed like a good choice, especially compared to living where there’s a permanent SNOW EMERGENCY in effect six months of the year in Lewiston, ME.
What are your favorite activities/interests?
Digital Photography and Macintosh computers. Photos look so much better and brighter on Macs, trust me!
When not at work, where would you be most likely found?
Running around the Cape with my wife and my camera taking pictures of the beauty and history that surrounds us. She takes a lot of fine photos, too. Helping friends with their Macs. Not much of a beach person except for the photo opps the beach affords.
Active in our church, Christ of the King in Mashpee, where I am active as a Lector.
Words of wisdom: Coffee is one of life’s many blessings. Sleep is another. Living and working on Cape Cod with people who truly appreciate what we have here and want to preserve it is about the best.
Favorite quote: “Carpe Diem!”
