Nov. 30, 2006

The Man, The Myth, The Marietta College Legend…

Joshua S. Walker
jsw001@marietta.edu

This semester has been littered with legendary people moving on from positions we have grown to love them in. A couple of weeks ago, I was devastated to hear that Bob Barker, as of June, would no longer be hosting one of my favorite TV shows, The Price Is Right. Much of the same here at Marietta College. For any mass media student, and probably many students on campus, Professor Mike McNamara is truly a legend, a legend that’s on his “sold out” farewell tour. Mac will be leaving the classrooms of The McKinney Media Center and Marietta College forever. At the end of this semester, Mac is going to put down his legendary binder full of notes and handouts to move on to the next phase of his life which will include more of what he loves, time in front of the camera or on an open microphone. But, here at Marietta College he will be sincerely missed by many people. I am glad that I was given the opportunity to express in this article what I am sure so many people feel. So as Mac would say, “let’s cook this bird!”

For Radio/TV majors, Mac is the ideal teacher. He has had years of experience in the industry and has gotten his hands dirty in just about all facets of radio and television. While working at the college, and sharing his insight with the students fortunate enough to have him, Mac still continued to do much free-lance work. His realworld knowledge and experience carries over into the classroom. Mac teaches from his experiences and his working knowledge from within the industry as well as using the required text. Mac takes the time to share great stories of broadcasting blunders and successes that all Mass Media majors hope to someday have. As I personally, and the department, prepare for his departure, we all take time now and then to reflect on the many great memories that we have shared with Mac throughout our time here at the college.

As a huge Mac fan, and Producer of his “Farewell Tour”, I started a Facebook group several months ago called “McNamara’s One of MC’s Best Teachers!!!” This, “just for fun” group grew quickly and as of my last count has 185 members. One day this group came up in conversation, and he was incredibly humbled by having his own “fan club.” Being one of the few teachers on campus who has his own Facebook fan club says a lot about who Mac is to students. He is a friend, a co-worker, an inspiration, a leader, a legend, and a guy you could hang out with at the bar for fun. (I am not saying I have, I am just saying you could!) I was asked to help prepare a book of letters from his “fans” to give to him before he leaves. As the recipient of those messages I have realized just how much of a legend this man truly is from freshmen to seniors, mass media majors and others from around campus, everybody loves “big Daddy Mac!”

One of the greatest moments I have ever had with Mac was last year, about this time, as I was preparing holiday music programming for WMRT, the college’s larger radio station. It was decided that I would create a holiday special that would include voice tracks from various students and faculty talking about their favorite holiday hits. I had several students and faculty come in and I recorded their bits. I was really stressed with the scope of the project at hand. Mac came in, and I set up the computer to record and he starts off perfect, “Hello, I’m Mike McNamara and one of my favorite holiday songs is, Louie Louie by the Kingsmen!” In case you don’t know, Louie Louie is a 1955 jukebox hit that most people wouldn’t really consider a very seasonal holiday classic. It took 20 minutes for everyone in the studio to stop laughing and regain composure to record the intro for Mac’s real holiday favorite, The Little Drummer Boy. It was just one of those times when Mac catches you off guard and makes sure you are paying attention. He may not have a doctorate in Mass Media or Communications, but he should be given an honorary one for his wealth of knowledge. He is one of those people that would be great on Jeopardy because he knows so much about so many things.

For those of you who don’t really know Mac, or haven’t had the time to take a class with him (they are hard to get into), I hope that you at least get to stop by the Museum of Radio and Television History on the Marietta College campus (a.k.a. his office) and say hello; I am sure you will be glad you did.

While Mac may be leaving the department, he will forever be a part of the Mass Media Building and the students’ lives that he has affected during his time here in the department. I hope that I can be the person who has the privilege and honor of reading Mike’s introduction when they are inducting him into the Radio and Television Hall of Fame (the real one, not his office).

On behalf of all of Mac’s fans, I want to say thank you Mike for everything, thank you for the opportunity to be a part of the Farewell tour, thank you for the inspiration you have been and most importantly the friend you will always be. There are several ways I suppose I could end this tribute. In the word’s of the Kingsmen’s Louie Louie, “Let’s take it on outta here now, let’s go!!” or in the legendary words of the man, the myth, the legend himself when Mac leaves everyday, “In the words of a future broadcaster, I’m off like a prom dress!”