February 8, 2025 • 4 mins
Longtime WHAS Radio traffic reporter Mark Travis passed away after a long illness. He was a radio aficionado, serving as deejay, host, traffic reporter, and dispatcher for several different outlets during his career.
Terry Meiners, Paul Miles, and Gus Allen shared funny memories of Mark Travis on WHAS Radio only hours after learning of his passing on February 7, 2025.
We can just imagine Mark Travis' big laughter at the retelling of these anecdotes. RIP, brother!
Terry Meiners, Paul Miles, and Gus Allen shared funny memories of Mark Travis on WHAS Radio only hours after learning of his passing on February 7, 2025.
We can just imagine Mark Travis' big laughter at the retelling of these anecdotes. RIP, brother!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, serious business here. We lost to a family member
and I just want to send love out to the
family of Mark Travis, longtime traffic reporter on this station,
also a DJ filled in He hosted shows on this station,
but he played Joe Sharky on w AMZ because nobody
was allowed to use their real names on there for
some reason. Here's the weekend DJ and one of the
(00:20):
funniest people I've ever known. Indeed, he always called me
cat Daddy, Hey, cat Daddy. He'd call me, Hey, cat Daddy,
You're gonna be at the thing Saturday. You're gonna be there.
What are you wearing? We gotta wear shoes, yes, Mark, Yes, let's.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
He had some big pipes, didn't he.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
He did great voice, hilarious guy in the helicopter. I
posted on social about the time he landed in my yard.
It was just funny. I was off or whatever that
week because it was an afternoon landing was in the
morning show because he did both morning and afternoon and traffic.
But you know, I was home whatever and in the
(01:00):
middle of afternoon, and I have that's right away. It
was right over my roof. I thought, what is happening?
Was this apocalypse? Now what's happening? And I look out
my windows and there's there's a We had a field.
We had a few acres there, so part of it
was wide open, and he knew that, and so he
(01:23):
just came they this. I think Bob Pole may have
been the pilot, and they just kind of came on in.
And I was told him that I kept an extra
refrigerator out there filled with drinks. I'd always say, I'm there,
just stop buy and get something to drink. He lands
and I walk out there in my yard. He goes, hey, buddy,
you got a big old orange string for your Thursday money.
(01:44):
And it's probably between reports, you know, whoever was filling
in for me. He's back here. Let's go to traffic.
Right in traffic. Traffic. Where are you traffic? And he went,
he's on the ground because he would talk. You know,
he could talk the bark off a tree. Oh yeah,
yes he could. So he would forget, Oh yeah, I
gotta be on the air in twenty seconds. And then
I guess if he was in my yard and he
(02:05):
wasn't really uplooking at traffic, he'd just make up something.
Taylor's a road a little crowded right now, Watterson's moving
along pretty good selling Indiana. He got one problem there
on the Shervan Minton Bridge. He's standing in my yard
in East What a guy. But I know he had
a medical struggle here for a while. We've all been
(02:26):
keeping our fingers crossed for him. We just love the
guy so much. And he would believe me if you
think we're being too light hearted about it. This is
exactly the way Travis would want us talking about him
on the air, as reminding people what a joyful person
he was. He'd walk in and everybody just start laughing.
He just had that comedic timing.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
And he loved a good snowstorm. He he loved it,
just reporting on all the traffic problems. I remember me
and him climbing up the side of a of a
hill to get up to an interstate that was closed
here in downtown Loisville back in the mid nineties, and
that was fun. Times.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
I talked to him about a month ago or so,
and he was he could. He would talk to you
for a long time, but he always had great stories. Yeah,
one story he would tell. I told him and said,
oh man, you know, sometimes I've been having a little
late getting to work. I'm having to you know, speed liable.
But he goes it, let me tell you what you're
gonna do. Here's what did you always keep? You a
WHS hat in your truck and here's you know. I
(03:26):
got pulled over a few times. I was going a
little fast and I just put that hat on and
the officer would come up and he goes, oh, you
work for WHS and go yeah, yeah, I'm heading at
the chopper right now. And he goes, well, you go
a little fast, and he goes, yeah, it's a little
fast to go. Well, just just just slower down a
little bit for us will be good. He goes, all right,
appreciate it. Just take you back off and take off.
I was going faster.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Once I got up in the helicopter, I could report
there's an idiot down there driving too fast. That might
be something he would say, and I'm sure the police
will go like, you know, you're pretty funny guy. Anyway,
to Lisa. We're sending our love the family, the kids.
I spoke to one of them daughters this morning, and
h you know, it's just it's it's it's a burden
(04:06):
for all of us here to lose him, and we
are so glad and gifted in knowing Mark and having
him be a part of our team for so long.
Just a great guy. And he worked on several other
stations too, at various times, and so I know he
made friends everywhere. He was super talented, never met a stranger.
A big historian of the station too. He had put
(04:26):
a bunch of stuff together for over one hundred years.
He did that and on some CDs and everything. He
kind of knew everything. He was, he was, He was
fun to be around, Let's put that way. We had
a lot good times. Rest in peace to Mark Travis,
our traffic guy for many years here on the radio station.
All right, we're going to roll into the weekend. Oh
(04:48):
I just posted the audience
Hey, serious business here. We lost to a family member
and I just want to send love out to the
family of Mark Travis, longtime traffic reporter on this station,
also a DJ filled in He hosted shows on this station,
but he played Joe Sharky on w AMZ because nobody
was allowed to use their real names on there for
some reason. Here's the weekend DJ and one of the
(00:20):
funniest people I've ever known. Indeed, he always called me
cat Daddy, Hey, cat Daddy. He'd call me, Hey, cat Daddy,
You're gonna be at the thing Saturday. You're gonna be there.
What are you wearing? We gotta wear shoes, yes, Mark, Yes, let's.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
He had some big pipes, didn't he.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
He did great voice, hilarious guy in the helicopter. I
posted on social about the time he landed in my yard.
It was just funny. I was off or whatever that
week because it was an afternoon landing was in the
morning show because he did both morning and afternoon and traffic.
But you know, I was home whatever and in the
(01:00):
middle of afternoon, and I have that's right away. It
was right over my roof. I thought, what is happening?
Was this apocalypse? Now what's happening? And I look out
my windows and there's there's a We had a field.
We had a few acres there, so part of it
was wide open, and he knew that, and so he
(01:23):
just came they this. I think Bob Pole may have
been the pilot, and they just kind of came on in.
And I was told him that I kept an extra
refrigerator out there filled with drinks. I'd always say, I'm there,
just stop buy and get something to drink. He lands
and I walk out there in my yard. He goes, hey, buddy,
you got a big old orange string for your Thursday money.
(01:44):
And it's probably between reports, you know, whoever was filling
in for me. He's back here. Let's go to traffic.
Right in traffic. Traffic. Where are you traffic? And he went,
he's on the ground because he would talk. You know,
he could talk the bark off a tree. Oh yeah,
yes he could. So he would forget, Oh yeah, I
gotta be on the air in twenty seconds. And then
I guess if he was in my yard and he
(02:05):
wasn't really uplooking at traffic, he'd just make up something.
Taylor's a road a little crowded right now, Watterson's moving
along pretty good selling Indiana. He got one problem there
on the Shervan Minton Bridge. He's standing in my yard
in East What a guy. But I know he had
a medical struggle here for a while. We've all been
(02:26):
keeping our fingers crossed for him. We just love the
guy so much. And he would believe me if you
think we're being too light hearted about it. This is
exactly the way Travis would want us talking about him
on the air, as reminding people what a joyful person
he was. He'd walk in and everybody just start laughing.
He just had that comedic timing.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
And he loved a good snowstorm. He he loved it,
just reporting on all the traffic problems. I remember me
and him climbing up the side of a of a
hill to get up to an interstate that was closed
here in downtown Loisville back in the mid nineties, and
that was fun. Times.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
I talked to him about a month ago or so,
and he was he could. He would talk to you
for a long time, but he always had great stories. Yeah,
one story he would tell. I told him and said,
oh man, you know, sometimes I've been having a little
late getting to work. I'm having to you know, speed liable.
But he goes it, let me tell you what you're
gonna do. Here's what did you always keep? You a
WHS hat in your truck and here's you know. I
(03:26):
got pulled over a few times. I was going a
little fast and I just put that hat on and
the officer would come up and he goes, oh, you
work for WHS and go yeah, yeah, I'm heading at
the chopper right now. And he goes, well, you go
a little fast, and he goes, yeah, it's a little
fast to go. Well, just just just slower down a
little bit for us will be good. He goes, all right,
appreciate it. Just take you back off and take off.
I was going faster.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Once I got up in the helicopter, I could report
there's an idiot down there driving too fast. That might
be something he would say, and I'm sure the police
will go like, you know, you're pretty funny guy. Anyway,
to Lisa. We're sending our love the family, the kids.
I spoke to one of them daughters this morning, and
h you know, it's just it's it's it's a burden
(04:06):
for all of us here to lose him, and we
are so glad and gifted in knowing Mark and having
him be a part of our team for so long.
Just a great guy. And he worked on several other
stations too, at various times, and so I know he
made friends everywhere. He was super talented, never met a stranger.
A big historian of the station too. He had put
(04:26):
a bunch of stuff together for over one hundred years.
He did that and on some CDs and everything. He
kind of knew everything. He was, he was, He was
fun to be around, Let's put that way. We had
a lot good times. Rest in peace to Mark Travis,
our traffic guy for many years here on the radio station.
All right, we're going to roll into the weekend. Oh
(04:48):
I just posted the audience
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