Rey Lark

Inducted 2015

In 1954, at the age of 30, Rey Lark was bitten by the radio bug while attending Northwestern Electronics Institute in Minneapolis. After rocky starts at WMIN, WLOL, and KEVE, Rey landed a job at KDWB, where he stayed for nearly 15 years. He was there for the glory years of Top 40 rock ‘n’ roll and the heyday of competition with rival WDGY. His strong Christian faith and calm, caring demeanor inspired many of his young co-workers to avoid the temptations that inevitably came with celebrity.

Eventually Rey started his own full-time service company and built his first radio station, WXCE in Amery, Wisconsin. Soon after that, Rey followed his calling and built Christian stations KAKN in Naknet, Alaska, and KNEO in Neosho, Missouri. Rey was careful, honest, and reliable, putting him in high demand throughout the industry. By the time he retired, Rey had worked at more than 90 stations. Everybody knew him as “Radio Rey.” He was an innovator and a master craftsman whose broadcast equipment was easy to operate and built to last. He lived by the motto: “Put your trust in the Lord and he will take you places that you never dreamed of.”

Rey passed away October 25, 2008, at the age of 84.