Marion, Ohio radio icon Charlie Evers has died. For more than 60 years Evers was on the air doing what radio does best; being live, local and part of the community.
Evers founded many local events in the Marion area, including the one that lasts as a yearly tradition today and a wonderful legacy – Buckeye Chuck.
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania has Phil, the rodent prognosticator of Spring on Groundhog Day. Charlie Evers lent his name to Ohio’s special groundhog, and thanks to his efforts, Buckeye Chuck was formally recognized by the Ohio General Assembly in 1979 as Ohio’s official weather prognosticating groundhog.
Evers started his broadcasting career in 1949 at WMRN, he became a broadcast engineer and later hosted the morning show in 1968. In 1980 he worked for WDIF in Marion, but later returned to WMRN. As recent as April 2020 he was back on WWGH in Marion.
“No question, Charlie was a hero to Marion County,” Paul James, iHeartMedia Marion, told the Columbus Dispatch. “He raised countless dollars to help this community and everything he was passionate about. Charlie was a wonderful colleague and an even better friend. Truly, a life well lived.”
“If you needed a speaker for your group or help with a fundraiser, Charlie would jump on board,” said Scott Shawver, owner of LPFM TuBlues975. “The amount of money that Charlie helped raise for our community would be staggering. He always used his radio platform for the good of the town he loved,”
