One of the most respected voices in Vermont radio retires on August 31, 2011 after a 39 year career at WDEV. Jack Donovan has been a major personality for WDEV, as well as program director over the past 15 years. WDEV is the anchor of the Radio Vermont Group that includes the classical station WCVT and Vermont country WLVB in Lamoille County. Donovan was inducted into the Vermont Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2010. In the 1970’s Donovan created “Vermont Live”. It was a weekly series of broadcasts featuring local artists he considered of note. His dedication to Vermont artists as well as visiting musicians has been one of the great assets to stimulating interest in Vermont artists.
Donovan’s easy, sincere style of broadcasting was remembered by one of the artists he presented as “smooth as Guinness on draft at O’Connor’s Pub, Doolin, CO, Clare, Ireland”. Since 1991 he has co-hosted Music to go to the Dump By with station owner, Ken Squier. Their tongue-in-cheek well -known adversarial relationship carried into Squier’s sports programs. It is considered one of the reasons for the extremely high ratings the station has enjoyed.
Station Manager, Eric Michaels has said, “It is truly remarkable that Jack has maintained the vibrancy of ‘live’ radio for nearly 40 years. His consistent daily effort six days a week over all those years is extraordinary. The warmth and friendliness of Jack’s on-air presentation is an ideal that few announcers achieve.”
Squier said “no one has ever fitted the role of the everyday guy versus the “old man” better than Jack. He is able to give as good as he got and certainly has driven the listenership of WDEV. His voice will be sorely missed.”