It was 1969.  My first job in radio broadcasting did not involve any on-the-air announcing.  I was a 3rd-class licensed broadcast engineer charged with keeping an eye on the transmitter.  I changed tapes and records (we used vinyl in those days).

I worked for a man named Martin Williams, owner of WFMS.  Don’t confuse the 1969 version of the radio station with the country music icon it is now.  Back in those days, Mr. Williams would play entire record albums on the air, tracking them as you would if listening to the record at home.  We had to insert a commercial in the middle in order to turn the record album over and play the other side.

I was 19 years old at the time, Mr Williams was 65.  Martin Williams, as a young man, had met an aging Guglielmo Marconi, the man who invented wireless communications (radio). WFMS was the first FM radio station to go on the air in the Indianapolis market  because Martin Williams was enough of an engineer to know FM sound quality was much better than the AM band (largely used at that time by commercial radio).

My first experience working on Christmas morning was handling a shift at WFMS.  It was a little strange, but I had chosen to work in broadcasting knowing the stations remained on the air during holidays.

Here’s what surprised me.  WFMS was obviously playing Christmas music and much of Mr. Williams’ holiday music selection was very good.  Many people listened while opening presents on Christmas morning.  I began to get one phone call after another, thanking me for giving up my Christmas morning so they could enjoy music the radio station was playing.  That really made an impression on me.

Why am I writing about this?  Because we have plenty of people in Fishers, Indiana, and everywhere else this blog is read, working on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Think about police officers, firefighters, and the retail operations that are open on Christmas. Someone must staff our hospitals and emergency services.

Never forget our Armed Forces men and women in uniform, on duty here in America and around the world.  They are usually at work at Christmas.

There are many more examples of people working during the Christmas holiday.

If you know someone required to work on Christmas, let them know you are thinking about them.  Call your local police and fire department (use the administrative phone number please, not 911) and thank them for being on the job while you celebrate Christmas with your loved ones.

Thinking of others is what Christmas should be all about.