We got the news tonight of the passing of our friend and co-worker Keith Leblanc around 10p last night.

He was fighting cancer, and I don’t think anyone realized how quickly it was going to move to take his life this year.

I remember listening to him while on the way to Jr. High and High School on Mr. Richard’s bus as he was part of a Morning Show at KROF.   I think we knew him as Anthony Keith then.   It was so long ago, it seems like I’ve known him forever.

It is rare that I’ve met anyone who seemed to never have a bad day.   In the more than 20 years of knowing him and working with him – I never remember him raising his voice – about ANYTHING.   And Lord knows in our business – there is plenty about which he could have been angry, or upset.  The pressure of keeping a broadcast operation on the air is an incredible responsibility.   Before corporate engineers came, and even after,  Keith was often the guy getting calls in the middle of the night to climb out of bed – to drive out to some practically deserted, dark, snake/wasp/rodent riddled site where our transmitters are located – to fix or make something right,  so there’d be a radio station to listen to, when the sun came up.  What he took ‘in stride’ in a day – I know I would have often needed a week to recover from. And yet – without complaint – ALWAYS WITHOUT COMPLAINT,  Keith answered the call,  over and over.  He loved what he did.  He just loved it.

The last time I saw him,  feeling horrible and fighting terrible fatigue,  he was at his desk,  STILL trying to answer the call.   He was always an example of kindness, and extended consideration.   And he’s the kind of person people like me are always in need of.  No matter how I was upset, or waiving my arms, or frustrated – and sometimes just cussing because we could NOT seem to get things to work right – Keith remained calm, which always brought calm.  I can’t tell you how many days you’ve been able to listen to KSMB (or our sister stations) when it really should have been off the air.  But Keith LeBlanc always managed to FIND A WAY.   He ALWAYS had the answer…and could manage to get us through.   Our last crisis,  involved an entire ‘rack room’ power failure.  He arrived to find all 5 radio stations limping along on back-up system, and spent a couple of hours running extension cords down our hallways to get power to plugs that seemed to have none,  so that when Acadiana got out of bed,  and our morning show talent reached the building, they would have standard ops. He didn’t call anyone for help in the middle of the night you know. HE WAS THE HELP.   He didn’t go on about it.  For him it was just – “I had to run a few extension cords until the electrician got here.”  (In this case, we had continued to add equipment to a room, and apparently, added one electrical need too many – which pushed one breaker just a BIT over the top.)  And while it would have made me nuts to get that phone call at 2 am Sunday night Monday morning and groan about why I was the one having to deal with it – to Keith LeBlanc – it was just his job, and I think – a real privileged.   His kindness and willingness to do whatever it took, made him not a spoke in the wheel – but in fact a hub that tied us ALL together at this operation.  And something tells me that if there’s a way for him to oversee our operation from where he is now, that Keith Leblanc will certainly – for a time at least – continue to watch over our operations – and probably do whatever he can, to help us avoid problems that he’d still love to be here to help us with. No one said goodbye as he was in and out trying to work through this battle – because every single one of us wanted him – to make it.   He did though.   He made it.   And his always present work ethic – without regard for day or night – or clocks and hours – makes me at least feel like he is actually still here. He’s here in Spirit. He’s so here in our hearts – though soon we’ll say final goodbyes.   It’s hard to feel like you did enough for someone – who did so very much for you – without ever regarding it as ‘out of his way’.

So today as I start another of my own ‘broadcast days’ – filled with on the fly demands and extended hours – some in the middle of the night – I will look for at least one opportunity today,  to do what Keith would have done.   I will look for that opportunity to go above and beyond and be a help to someone – holding the appearance that ‘it was nothing at all of an inconvenience’ – as Keith LeBlanc did so very, very, very many times for me – for so very, very, very many years of our working together.

The people who do what we do – are a UNIQUE kind.  To those we’ve lost – Keith LeBlanc, Tom Pears Sr. (Former GM-Founding member TV-10), Jim Olivier (Passe Partout), Conrad Maxwell (KTDY-KISS 102.1), Tony P (KSMB-K-PEL Sports), John Moran (TV-10 Sports) – each of these are Broadcasters who made a difference and an impression on my life, and my career. The business is not the same without you my friends.

Troy Leger