After 40 years on the air, Syracuse radio veteran Dave Laird is retiring. He'll sign off for the last time this weekend from his hosting chair at Y94FM's Saturday Night Dance Party.
Since 1990, Laird has been part of the air staff at Y94FM where they're sorry to see him leave. "Dave is a Syracuse broadcast legend," says program director Kathy Rowe, "a great talent that I am honored to have worked with all these years."Laird grew up in Buffalo and Albany, but after spending time in the Navy, Syracuse became his home for most of his long radio career. He got his start on the air at WNDR in 1964 where he worked for six years before heading off for stints in Memphis, Boston, and Rochester. He's been back in Syracuse for more than 20 years where his accomplishments include programming WFBL's Fire 14 Hot Hits format in the late '70s, and a successful morning show pairing with Ted Long on 93Q (WNTQ) in the mid '80s.
Beginning next week, Ted Bradford will take over the reigns on Saturday nights at Y94FM.
Editor's note: I had the pleasure of working under Dave at WSEN for a while in the late 1980s. He's a class act and was a great guy to have around the office. (Scott Jameson)