Central Oregon’s favorite radio personality, Dave Clemens, says he wanted to be a radio broadcaster since he was 12 years old, when he started making tapes and sending them to friends and family. He got his first radio job a year or two after high school, in 1990, landing at KRCO in Prineville, and has been in a love affair with radio ever since.
Currently, the Dave Clemens Experience can be heard from 6-10am, Monday – Saturday on KQAK, 105.7 FM. He also hosts an adult country show, Dave Clemens and The Ride Home, from 3-7pm, on The Ranch, 95.7 FM. As if that isn’t enough, he also serves as operations manager for Horizon Broadcasting Group, overseeing five radio stations.
Each day, he says he tries to pass on to listeners “a little info, hopefully some entertainment, some laughs and just a little ridiculousness.” Clemens says he also works with charities and nonprofits to help them get their messages out. “The give back has become a focus for me.”
Clemens says he’d like to thank his listeners, whom he affectionately calls “weirdos,” for their support over the years, and for having his back when things go wrong. He also wants to thank his boss, Keith Shipman, for taking a chance on him nearly 20 years ago. “Thanks to all my peeps and weirdos! I get to do this because of you, and I keep that in mind every day.”
Clemens says he’s a classic rock guy, but also loves country and “music in general.” He and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Bend with their children.
Second place: Kris, 92/9 Local. Independent.
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This article appears in Best of Central Oregon 2023.
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