He was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2003. PDF Interview with Orion Samuelson AIS-V-L-2009-002 And today theyre the biggest producer and the biggest exporter of soybeans. And while Orion has covered 19 different secretaries of agriculture and eight presidents, and even dined at the White House, he nearly became a candidate himself for about four days back in 2007. For 42 years, Max Armstrong and Orion Samuelson have partnered together, first on WGN radio, and later on the TV Show U.S. Farm Report, until creating the show This Week in Agribusiness.[1]. His early work was based in Wisconsin, at WKLJ in Sparta, WHBY in Appleton, and WBAY-TV/AM in Green Bay. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Orion Samuelson - Age, Birthday, Biography & Facts | HowOld.co Happy Birthday to radio legend Orion Samuelson | WGN-TV I love being in the countryside and on farms. Sirott: Why have agriculture news and farm reports survived on WGN Radio in Chicago here long after that kind of broadcasting ended on other stations? Robert Feder, a lifelong Chicagoan, covered the media beat in his hometown from 1980 until his retirement in 2022. Parent PLUS loans offer limited relief options but some borrowers can still access lower monthly payments, loan forgiveness and more. [2] Career[edit] Orion Samuelson - Biography Sirott: Orion, judging by all the listeners whove been calling us in the morning, people dont care how old you are. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Youve educated a lot of people though, havent you? We operate in different ways. In 2015, she became only the 10th U.S. agricultural journalist to earn the Writer of Merit designation and is a five-time winner of the top writing award for editorial opinion in U.S. agriculture. These stories were also translated into Max Armstrong's Tractor App, launched in 2013. One newscaster spent a week fathering Orion through three floors of studios, until he knew where to go and when to be there. WGN Radio personality Bob Sirott sat down with Samuelson for a trip down memory lane. She and her husband are active in state and local farm organizations. Orion C Samuelson, 89 - Huntley, IL - Reputation & Contact Details Perfect for elementary students, homeschoolers, and libraries! Orion Samuelson - Wikipedia In 2011, Holly was one of 10 recipients worldwide to receive the IFAJ-Alltech Young Leaders in Ag Journalism award. Truman. Last check: 1 year ago. There are options, 'Stranger than fiction': Tick bite may cause allergy, How to get out of a payday loan nightmare. Please help me find a news bloopers with Orion Samuelson. A beloved hall of fame broadcaster and Chicago media icon if there ever was one, Samuelson, 86, informed his bosses hell bow out at the end of the year. I start speeches generally by saying, who would have thought that a cow milker from Wisconsin would meet nine presidents and any number of secretaries of agriculture and would write a book and would be a broadcaster for all of these years? Throughout the 1930s, 40s and 50s, Prairie Farmer owned WLS, airing farm and rural programming such as the National Barn Dance and more. American agricultural broadcast journalist, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Christmas Eve air check from Radio Hall of Fame, "Robservations: WGN Radio names Steve Alexander to succeed Orion Samuelson - Robert Feder", "Legendary agribusiness broadcaster Orion Samuelson on 60 years", "President Trump makes surprise phone call during Decatur Farm Progress Show", "Radio Hall of Fame - Orion Samuelson, Farm Broadcaster", "WGN's Orion Samuelson to have heart surgery", "Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation Board of Directors", "CME Group and NAFB Foundation to Award First-Ever Orion Samuelson Scholarship for Agricultural Communications", "Orion Samuelson to retire after 60 years at WGN Radio", "Laureates by Year - The Lincoln Academy of Illinois", Legendary agribusiness broadcaster Orion Samuelson on 60 years, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Orion_Samuelson&oldid=1105630782, Short description is different from Wikidata, BLP articles lacking sources from May 2008, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Orion Samuelson was inducted as a Laureate of, This page was last edited on 21 August 2022, at 02:59. Farm Progress Show annually hosts more than 600 exhibitors displaying new farm equipment, tractors, combines and farm implements; seed and crop protection products; and many additional farm supplies and services. Samuelson began his broadcasting career in Wisconsin and will officially sign off from his job at WGN radio in Chicago. WGN Radio's Orion Samuelson has graced airwaves throughout the heartland in places across the Midwest and beyond. And then you start dreaming. In 1954, he moved to WHBY in Appleton, Wis., to be the nighttime announcer, and by 1956, Orion had secured his first position as a farm broadcaster at WBAY in Green Bay, Wis. At WBAY, he crossed paths with a fellow ag communicator named Jim Evans, who would go on to found the agricultural communications program at the University of Illinois. Thats what I did and it took me a couple of weeks to convince Max to make the move from Bloomington to Chicago. That mildly understated assessment launched the phenomenally successful WGN career that Orion is now retiring from, 60 years later. Madonna. She would never subscribe. Three years into his tenure at WGN, he was the staffer that read the news of the John F. Kennedy assassination. Lions head coach Matt Patricia, on his own, called into 97.1 on Monday morning to share his sympathies. You arent alone. The man continues to repeat the introduction until Orion continues. He transcends generations, says Cerro Gordo, Ill., farmer Jared Gregg. At age 26, Samuelson got the call to join 50,000-watt powerhouse WGN, where he began as farm director on September 26, 1960. I think what has been missed by many is that Orion was an agvocate at least 40 years before most farmers knew they should be, said Max Armstrong, who has worked with Samuelson for the past 43 years. He is a part-time farmer and has experience as a banker with an emphasis on agriculture and residential lending.. "He loved a wicked joke, a good game & a strong gimlet. Samuelson is a 2003 National Radio Hall of Fame inductee. He went one further when he got Orion into public speaking contests. His final broadcast on WGN was the noon business report on December 31, 2020.[16][3]. Sirott: You had to be pinching yourself at times along the way? But inside WGN, his new colleagues welcomed him into the family. Like regular Orion, Air Orion will retire soon, too. ORION-Richard Duane Samuelson, 93, of Orion, passed away Tuesday, April 27, 2021, at his home. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Samuelson: No, I didnt, but, circumstances, leg disease that made it impossible to do heavy work. He was cut from the same cloth as Paul Harvey. In 2001, Samuelson was named a Laureate of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois and received the Lincoln Medal the highest award bestowed by the State of Illinois. The money-saving move of starting at a community college rarely works as planned. Armstrong also was awarded an Alum Certificate of Distinction from the College of Agriculture and a Sagamore of the Wabash, given by the Governor of Indiana. Orion Samuelson was born on a dairy farm in Ontario, Wisconsin, near LaCrosse. The testimonies of Moon's first wife, Mrs. Seon-gil Choi, and Pastor Deok-jin Kim [who wrote 19 of the church 'Holy Songs']. All rights reserved. Today, Samuelson and his wife live about 50 miles west of Chicago. Orion spent one Sunday at then-Rep. Denny Hasterts house, running through the possibilities. Wellman farmer Clint Whetstine stands in front of destroyed pens and barns from tornado. Holly Spangler has covered Illinois agriculture for more than two decades, bringing meaningful production agriculture experience to the magazines coverage. Richard Samuelson Obituary (1927 - 2021) - Moline, IA - The Rock Island Simple country hospitality has always gone a long way, Max says. If someone brought Orion fresh sweet corn or asparagus, he shared it with the engineers. Last night, apropos of little to nothing, one of the hosts intoned that The New York Times and The Washington Post were far too left-wing for her to read. "They werent teaching me to be a broadcaster, they were teaching me to be a writer. On December 9, 2010, the southwest corner of E. Illinois Street & N. Cityfront Plaza Drive was named 'Orion Samuelson Way' by the city of Chicago. He was born on March 31, 1934 in . His early work was based in Wisconsin, at WKLJ in Sparta, WHBY in Appleton, and WBAY-TV/AM in Green Bay. Private burial will be held at Western Township Cemetery. "The Big O," as he's known, will continue to deliver five or six daily business . Samuelsen worked in the Detroit sports-media landscape since 1994, at a variety of radio stations, but most notable WDFN 1130The Fan and WXYT 97.1 The Ticket. Samuelson, 81, veteran agriculture-business reporter for Tribune Media news/talk WGN AM 720, underwent the procedure Monday at the University of Chicago Medical Center. I dont like conspiracy theories. "Well go back and forth to Arizona and not have to worry about setting the alarm clock and making sure Im ready for the next report," he said. 'It's been quite a career': Samuelson retires after 60 - AgriNews First, Orion won the section, and then he went to state, and then he placed second in all of Wisconsin. CHICAGO Becoming a successful broadcaster requires the ability to be a good listener. Orion Samuelson, 86, informed his bosses he'll retire at the end of the year. Samuelson was inducted into the Wisconsin 4-H Hall of Fame in 2017. [4] The show is a weekly agriculture television show, produced by OMAX Communications, LLC in cooperation with 22 Creative Group and Farm Progress. Orion got plenty of practice thinking on his feet, as WGN took the show on the road for 40 to 50 remote broadcasts a year to county fairs, the Illinois State Fair, the Farm Progress Show and more. He was honored at the 2010 Wisconsin Corn/Soy Expo in Wisconsin Dells. Reliable and true., And quotable. This job changed the direction of my career immensely.. He drove home every weekend to be a polka music disc jockey. Orion immediately set to work shaping WGNs farm programming after he aired up his tires and mastered the elevators, of course. That's because he'd dropped out as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin at Madison after only three months. Samuelson: Yeah, without a doubt. The winner of more awards and inductee in more halls of fame than he can count, Samuelson said one of the honors he cherishes most is the honorary doctor of letters degree he received from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2001. Gloria Samuelson may get the biggest credit of all: saving Orions life. Registered in England and Wales. I read about this in the encyclopedia, but now Im standing here looking at it. Dairy industry works to build trust with Gen Z, 13 ways to have better conversations about ag, A bill that would kill large-scale livestock farms, Weekly grain movement: Corn exceeds expectations. The farm broadcaster duo also assisted with Farm Visit Sundays which was organized by the University of Illinois Extension. Read full biography, Yes, Orion Samuelson is still alive Having trouble filling a prescription? announced his diagnosis and that he'd been battling the disease for 19 months, Wojo:Jamie Samuelsen brought out all the goodness, in radio and in life, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Orion is currently the host, along with Max Armstrong, of This Week in AgriBusiness - www.agbizweek.com, Read more about this topic: Orion Samuelson, Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits down and considers just how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs.Rebecca West [Cicily Isabel Fairfield] (18921983), Had Dr. Johnson written his own life, in conformity with the opinion which he has given, that every mans life may be best written by himself; had he employed in the preservation of his own history, that clearness of narration and elegance of language in which he has embalmed so many eminent persons, the world would probably have had the most perfect example of biography that was ever exhibited.James Boswell (174095), A great biography should, like the close of a great drama, leave behind it a feeling of serenity. It used to be in a compilation of news bloopers from the 70s and/or 80s, but I can't find it anymore. Fox says disease is getting tougher, These were the deadliest national parks of 2022, List of most expensive ZIP codes released, These are the cheapest days of the week to buy gas, Correspondents Dinner requires balance: Comics, Oklahoma students attend star-studded Christian revival, Expert: Some bright spots in spring housing market, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue recently honored Samuelson with a proclamation heralding the broadcaster's long career in ag journalism. [12], Samuelson serves as a Board Member Emeritus for the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Foundation (IALF) having previously served as chairman of the board. WGN Radio Names Reporter Steve Alexander To Take Over for Orion Orions first marriage ended in divorce, and his second wife died of Lou Gehrigs disease. These days, Orion is dialing back obligations and busy recovering from back surgery. The second is a parody of the poem " A Visit from Saint Nicholas ." They also spend about five weeks a year at their home in Scottsdale, Ariz. He wouldnt walk again for two years. In addition to working with farmers and ranchers, Orion Samuelson has also been involved with activities outside of the agricultural industry, including emceeing at the Tournament of Roses Parade with co-host Pam Minick. Orion Samuelson started his career at WGN Radio in September 1960, when the presidential election involved Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy.