During his sophomore year in high school, Jamison suffered a broken leg during the last day of two-a-day football practices.

While that injury for all intent ended Jamison’s athletic career on the gridiron, it directed him towards what eventually would be his adult profession.

Jamison spent the rest of that season spotting for broadcasts on WJBD Radio. It would be the first of many broadcasts in Jamison’s life.

After graduation from Salem Community High School in 1968, Jamison attended Millikin University in Decatur. Jamison helped organize the campus’ first radio station, which went on the air during his junior year in 1971.

That year Jamison served as the station’s first sports director. Jamison helped broadcast Millikin baseball, basketball and football games. He also helped broadcast baseball games for the Decatur Commodores, a Class A affiliation of the San Francisco Giants.

In 1972 Jamison broadcast additional Commodore games through a Decatur cable television company.

After graduation from Millikin, Jamison spent the 1974-75 school year at WRXX in Centralia where he assisted with Centralia Orphans broadcasts.

Jamison returned to minor league baseball broadcasts in 1975 for the Anderson (South Carolina) Rangers, a Class A affiliate of the Texas Rangers in the Western Carolina League.

In 1976 he switched to the Peninsula Pilots, which is located in Newport News, Virginia. Peninsula was a Class A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies in the Carolina League.

Jamison broadcasted games for the Utica Blue Jays, a Class A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays of the New York-Penn League, in 1977.

The 1978 season was a key one for Jamison, as he was promoted to Class AAA broadcasts for the Richmond Braves, an International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.

After several years of moving from place to place, Jamison spent the next 11 years, 1979-90, in Nashville.

Jamison broadcasted for the Nashville Sounds, which was both a Class AA and a Class AAA affiliate for four different major league teams during that time.

Also during his Nashville days Jamison broadcasted women’s basketball for Vanderbilt University from 1982-83 and Vanderbilt University football and men’s basketball from 1985-89.

Jamison obtained the ultimate dream in 1991 when he reached the major leagues as part of the California Angels broadcasting team. Jamison spent two years with the Angels.

Jamison left the broadcasting booth after the 1992 season and began a change in occupations.

In 1994 he passed the certified public accountant (CPA) exam at the University of Illinois. Later that year he received a master’s degree in taxation.

Jamison currently serves as tax director for Federated Funeral Directors of America in Springfield.

Hawley’s broadcasts on WJBD Radio have been a part of listeners lives for more than a quarter of a century.

Hawley, a graduate of Odin High School, made his debut over the airwaves in 1971 when he covered the Wildcats basketball team at the Centralia Holiday Tournament.

By the fall of 1972 Hawley had added football broadcasts to his resume.

He has been doing both sports on a regular basis ever since.

Hawley has had the pleasure of broadcasting four Salem football teams that have won North Egypt Conference champions (1985, 1991, 1992 and 1997) and 13 teams that have qualified for the state playoffs.

While Hawley has not had the pleasure of broadcasting an NEC title for Salem basketball, he does have some memorable moments. Among some things that stick out include the team’s fourth place finish at the Centralia Holiday Tournament in 1971 and the Salem Invitational Tournament championship on 1972.

During his broadcasting career Hawley has also covered selected Salem Wildcats baseball games plus Salem Lady Wildcats basketball and volleyball games.

Hawley’s association with SCHS athletics goes beyond just game broadcasts. He has kept area fans up to date by serving as a host on WJBD’s weekly Saturday Sports Showcase.

The association Hawley has had with SCHS began before his broadcasting career. Hawley taught at the school from 1970 until 1976. During that time he served as an assistant coach for the Wildcats football, baseball and track teams.

He broadcast major league baseball for 30 years, spending seven seasons as the voice of the Kansas City A’s prior to their departure for Oakland, two with the Milwaukee Braves, followed by three seasons with the Minnesota Twins and then back to Milwaukee to become the voice of the Milwaukee Brewers. Bob Uecker joined Harmon in the Brewer booth and over the next ten years they became one of the hottest broadcast teams in baseball.

Meanwhile, Harmon joined NBC Sports, first as an independent and then exclusively, and handled the Major League Baseball Game of the Week, NFL Football, NCAA Basketball and special assignments for Sportsworld. He was named as one of the anchors for the 1980 Olympic telecasts in Moscow but President Carter banned the U.S. teams from participating.

Harmon was one of the television voices of the Texas Rangers, a post he filled since 1982. He could be heard during 1987-88 season calling various Big 8 Conference basketball games.

He was a member of the ABC-TV sportcasting team for more than ten years handling such assignments as Major League Baseball, NCAA Football, College Football Scoreboard, NBA Basketball and Wide World of Sports. He was also the voice of the New York Jets for nine years and was at the microphone for the Joe Namath led Jets’ upset win over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

Harmon’s long list of special assignments include the World Series, the All Star game, the Uberty, Holiday and Bluebonnet Bowl games, the East/West and North/South Shrine games, and co-anchoring the telecasts of the World University Games in Moscow in 1973.

He is one of only two announcers in major league baseball history to call two perfect games. Harmon holds degrees from Graceland College in Iowa and the University of Denver. In 1971, he became the third recipient of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ Outstanding Alumnus Award. Two previous winners were President Richard M. Nixon and Congressional Medal of Honor winner and former American Football League Commissioner Joe Foss.

Harmon is also the recipient of Graceland College’s Distinguished Service Award and The Rockne Club has named him Sportscaster of the Year.

In 1977, he founded and is President of Merle Harmon Fan Fair Corporation, with approximately 100 “Merle Harmon Fan Fair” stores owned and franchised across the United States. The retail stores feature authentic licensed Iogo-bearing apparel worn by pro and college teams.