Ronald “Ron” John Kazda passed away on Thursday Aug. 3, 2023, at age 86 in Little Chute, Wis.
Per his online obituary, Kazda began his career in radio as an early morning broadcaster at WTCH(AM) in Shawano, Wis. He then found his passion in broadcast engineering after having received his degree from DeVry Institute in Chicago.
In 1973, Kazda moved to Appleton, Wis., where he designed new studios for WHBY/WAPL. Then in 1979, he moved to Colorado to work for Doubleday Broadcasting. While in Colorado, Kadza also served as an engineer for the Colorado Buffalos, Denver Broncos and various college basketball broadcasts.
After moving to Minnesota in 1986, Kazda worked for Parker Communications, consulting stations throughout the U.S., including multiple extended stays in Hawaii. His obituary reads that his favorite job, however, was working for Hubbard Communications, where he was director of engineering until his retirement in 2002.
Kazda was also a ham radio enthusiast, call sign KC9NQD. “Knowing how much Ron loved to talk, it was only natural for him to obtain his ham radio license,” read the obit. “Ron was then able to talk to people around the world.”
