Tributes have been pouring in for Mike Perrine, legendary farm broadcaster and supporter of the farm broadcast industry, after his recent passing.
Mike was a talented farm broadcaster and friend to us all. His broadcast roots date back to 1959 and his career journey took him to many destinations, including WLDS, WJIL/WJVO, WKAN and AgriTalk (to name a few). He made an indelible impression on everyone who knew him.
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Mike Perrine was born December 14, 1941, just one week after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He and his parents, Lindsey and Beatrice, lived in Pittsfield, Illinois. His broadcast roots began in 1959, during his senior year of high school, when he was selected to represent his school at WBBA radio in Pittsfield during the station’s annual “DJ for a Week” contest. Perrine’s gift of gab was noted by station management, who then asked him to withdraw from the contest so he could work as a part-time announcer at the station.
Perrine enrolled at Odessa (Texas) Junior College and was hired as an announcer for the night shift at KRIG radio. Although he was living and working in Texas, he kept in touch with an Illinois girl named Betty Jean Quincy and convinced her to marry him in August 1960. They lived in Texas until June 1962, when they moved back to Illinois with their baby boy, Greg.
Perrine was a night announcer on radio at WGEM radio and TV in Quincy and promoted to television as director/switcher when the opportunity came to return to Pittsfield and WBBA radio as program director. By this time, the family had grown to four with the addition of Eric as they made the move back to Perrine’s hometown in Pike County. He covered and reported local news and made changes to the music format. More changes also were in store for the Perrine family in 1967 when he accepted a job in Jacksonville, Illinois, at WLDS radio; the Perrines also welcomed another son, Todd, to their growing household.
Hired to work in sales, news, and as a DJ at WLDS, Perrine eventually began to record interviews with area farmers and agribusiness representatives. 1970 was a big year for Perrine, as he was named WLDS farm director, started the station’s farm department, and welcomed daughter Michelle to the family. While covering the National FFA Convention in Kansas City in 1975, Perrine stopped by the NAFB meeting and interviewed then-President Bill Mason; he joined NAFB in 1978. After serving as national sales manager at WLDS, he joined Orion Samuelson and Max Armstrong in 1987 at the Tribune Radio Networks to expand their Agri-Voice Radio Network in Indiana, where Perrine sold advertising, added stations, and provided content for the network.
After a year in the Hoosier State, Perrine returned to Illinois and WJIL/WJVO radio in Jacksonville as general manager. He and Betty then moved to Poynette, Wisconsin, where he became general manager of WIBU radio and started the station’s farm programming. To follow, Perrine returned to Illinois as farm director at WKAN radio in Kankakee and remained there until 2003, when he joined AgriTalk as sales and affiliates manager.
Perrine went on to start his own company, MP Ag Radio, and still did farm programming and special events coverage for stations in several states. He received numerous awards over the years, including an Honorary Illinois and American Farmer degrees, the Friend of Cooperatives, and Friend of GROWMARK. In 2002, he was named the NAFB East Region Farm Broadcaster of the Year; and in 2015, he received the Dix Harper Meritorious Service Award. He also served as chair of the NAFB awards committee for several years.
