Kerschner named 2007 Parade of Lights Grand Marshal

MONTROSE — Jim Kerschner’s dedication to the betterment of the community landed him as the Grand Marshal for the 2007 Parade of Lights.

Most people in the community know him by his voice as a broadcast sports journalist for KUBC and KKXK radio stations. Year round Kerschner can be heard nearly every day on the radio. However, it’s not just his voice that landed him the Grand Marshal honors, it’s his community service over the last 38 years.

“It’s a very nice honor,” Kerschner said. “I really appreciate it but I am not sure I deserve it.”

Humble and good-natured are two character traits of the community leader. Although he has been broadcasting sports since 1991, his deep roots in the community first came to fruition when he and his wife Cheryl purchased the Red Barn Restaurant — the couple owned and operated it for 25 years before selling in 2002. He admits he had a hard time with his newfound free time after selling the restaurant.

“Honestly it was kind of a struggle at first, but now I really like it,” he said.

“I have a lot of freedom at the radio station, they give you freedom if you do things right and I really appreciate that. It took about a year for me to adjust. It took me that long to learn to go to bed before 2 a.m., now I can’t stay up past 8 p.m.”

Kerschner graduated from Montrose High School in 1973. It is there he came to respect coach John Mraule.

“He always stuck with me,” Kerschner said. “He showed interest in me. I respect him so much. He was the one that taught me how important it is to give back. I was nobody special but he paid attention to me and taught me just how important of a community we live in.”

Upon graduation, Kerschner attended Adams State College and later returned to Montrose.

A crucial part of Kerschner’s support of the community came from his involvement in athletic programs and offering of scholarships for MHS and Olathe High School students when he owned the Red Barn. Kerschner now focuses a lot of energy in Operation Sweet Tooth, a project, which supports troops overseas. He serves as the organization’s president.

“I am kind of the organizer of the project,” he said. “But right now we really need able bodies to come down and help us pack up boxes and mail them overseas.”

Currently the group is mailing anywhere between nine to 16, 40-pound boxes each week. The group was founded by the late Landy Taylor. Kerschner worked alongside Landy and his wife Marta to raise money for the group. After Landy passed, Kerschner and Marta continued Operation Sweet Tooth. However, Marta  suffered a heart attack this week while visiting family back east.

“Operation Sweet Tooth is going to be my focus right now,” he said.

The group ships boxes of candy and assorted items ranging from personal hygiene products to Frisbees to members of the United States military. At this point, the group has plenty of items to ship, it simply needs the manpower of preparing packages to ship. To help Kerschner and the efforts of Operation Sweet Tooth, contact him at 249-4494.

“Our troops need help,” he said. “They need to be assured. Landy started this all and it truly was his passion. ... Our troops deserve the best of the best. They our are frontline.”

Although getting Kerschner to talk about himself in a serious manner can be difficult at times, it is his unpretentious nature that makes him such a delight. He does like talking about his wife and their three children and four grandchildren.

His strong passion for community led to his involvement in the fundraising, construction and dedication of the Lloyd McMillan gymnasium at MHS. He is also serving on the committee for the new MHS stadium. He has been involved in several youth organizations and has served on the Visitors and Convention Board and the Montrose Area Merchants Association Board.

As part of his honor as the Grand Marshal of the parade, the Black Canyon Classics Car Club will escort Kerschner. The parade will start at approximately 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1 and heads west down Main Street.

“I really appreciate this honor,” Kerschner said. “But there are so many people that do so many wonderful things. My name is out there as part of the media, but there are so many people who do good things for the right reasons every day and they are never recognized. I have to admit I feel a little guilty about this. Nobody hears about what some people do and yet they keep working so hard and they just keep giving.”

A public call for nominations yielded 12 candidates for the Grand Marshal position. From that candidate pool, Kerschner was selected by the MAMA board for the honor. Although he feels there are several wonderful good-doers in the community, he is excited about the parade.

“Riding with the car club — that will be fun,” Kerschner said. He does not know at this time which car he will ride in, but admits he does have a favored auto.

“A 1968 Plymouth Road Runner is my favorite car of all time. Now wouldn’t that be cool. I’d take that — a ride on the Road Runner.”