'Glenn from Moses Lake, you're on the air'

PROVO — Years ago, from the mid-to-late 1990s into the turn of the century, I hosted a nightly sports talk show on KSL Radio. I was a solo host, and the responsibility of going it alone every night helped me grow as a broadcaster. The lone-man-in-the-booth approach also made me reliant on a good guest list, and good listener calls; this was of course before the days of tweets and texts as supplementary feedback.

One of those listeners who became a regular caller, both during my show and later during football and basketball broadcasts, was a man I came to know simply as "Glenn from Moses Lake."

His name was Glenn Perrins, and he lived in Moses Lake, Washington, but in the radio universe we shared, he was known to me by his first name and his hometown, and that was it.

Glenn was a big-time BYU fan. He followed the team he loved from afar, and by tuning in so faithfully to my radio broadcasts, he became one of my staunchest supporters, at a time I was still learning the play-by-play craft.

I liked "Glenn from Moses Lake " from the start. He was kind and thoughtful, and essentially always positive about BYU and its players. And as frequent as were our interactions, they were primarily telephonic.

Then one night, "Glenn from Moses Lake" introduced himself to me after a basketball game. My recollection is that our first meeting was in a venue relatively close to his home, when BYU's basketball team traveled to Pullman, Wash., to face Washington State, in December of 1998 — almost 15 years ago now. We would go on to meet at the Marriott Center on a number of occasions, during his trips to Utah.

As the years went along, we ended up conversing less frequently; our basketball postgame call-in show went away, and phone calls were now being generally supplanted by other interactive technologies. While we didn't speak much anymore, I would always remember Glenn fondly.

Which brings me to Wednesday morning, when I opened my email inbox, and read the following note. I share it with the permission of the writer and with the permission of the former BYU player mentioned in the note:

Greg,

I am writing to let you know that Glenn Perrins, or maybe better known as "Glenn From Moses Lake" passed away 12 days ago after a four-year battle with cancer.

As you already know, Dad loved all things BYU sports and he loved listening to you call the football and basketball games. He also loved your radio call-in shows and pre and post-game shows. As an accountant, he loved numbers and so your love of statistics also fit well with Dad.

When I was playing high school basketball, Dad began keeping statistics of the game. He first started just keeping my numbers but soon he learned that he could keep everyone's stats without missing any of the game, so he did. He became so reliant, that the two students that were the official statisticians would often turn and ask him, "Did you see who had that assist?" or "Who got that rebound?"

With this new found skill, he kept stats at BYU games and often considered that working with you on games would be one of the funnest things he could ever do.

Finally, I wanted to quickly share how much it meant to him that you would take time to visit with him when he personally attended games either in Utah or somewhere on the road. Also, you may not remember this, but many years ago, at one such game, you introduced dad to Mark Bigelow, a fellow Washingtonian.

Just over a month ago, through another Moses Lake connection, Mark heard that dad wasn't doing well. Mark remembered that you introduced him to a "Glenn from Moses Lake" at a basketball game and you said that Glenn was "BYU's biggest basketball fan".

To express his sympathy and kindness, Mark signed and sent a BYU practice jersey to dad. When my dad opened this special gift, he was so pleased and moved at Mark's kindness, which was sparked by your introduction many years ago. He immediately hung that jersey in his BYU room and as he began to lose mobility, that jersey was moved to his room with a few other family items.

Thanks for doing what you do. Dad loved to listen to you. He won't be calling in anymore, but I am sure he will still be listening in to the games somehow.

All the best,

Seth Perrins

Seth then included a link to his father's obituary, which for me was as moving as Seth's note. I encourage you to read it:

I know that there are many, many BYU fans out there who live their lives in the way Glenn lived his—with honor, generosity, love for family and friends, and with passion for BYU sports.

I was blessed to have Glenn share some of that passion with me on a regular basis, as I am equally blessed to have a relationship with countless fans—seen and unseen—who make the BYU radio broadcasts a regular part of their routines.

In turn, BYU fans are fortunate to root for players like Mark Bigelow, who give of their time and heart to brighten the lives of others, particularly those in need.

I wish I knew Glenn had been ill; I wish I could have done something to let him know I remembered him. I feel like we each would really have enjoyed another phone call.

I am grateful for anyone and everyone who shares time and part of their life with me on the radio, and I am especially grateful, today, for "Glenn from Moses Lake."

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