The VAB is extremely sad to hear of the passing of legendary broadcaster Ken Squier, November 15th, at the age of 88. 

Born April 10, 1935, the son of WDEV-AM founder Lloyd Squier, Ken practically grew up at the radio station. He made his first appearance on WDEV-AM in 1936 at the age of one and when most other kids were learning how to talk, Ken was learning how to talk on a microphone.

As a young child in the early 1940s, Ken became enchanted with car racing he saw at county fairs and by age 14, was broadcasting auto races in Morrsiville.

After studying communications at Boston University, Ken returned to Vermont and found investors to build the racetrack that became Thunder Road in Barre, which opened in 1960. During that time, he got married, had two children and also worked at WDEV.

He worked as a pit reporter for his first NASCAR race in 1971 and as his national career as a sportscaster took off, he became the Voice of NASCAR as a lap-by-lap commentator on CBS and TBS for nearly 20 years. Ken was also a founding father of the Motor Racing Network and a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

In 1979, when his father Lloyd Squier passed away, Ken took over WDEV and later formed the Radio Vermont Group. He believed in what he called “relevant radio”; that what went on air should be of a place and in service to a community. They broadcast high school sports, local music, agricultural programming and of course, the infamous show “Music To Go To The Dump By.”

He was a mentor to many in racing, radio, news, and politics, including Secretary of Agriculture Anson Tebbetts and Governor Phil Scott.  Ken received multiple Emmy nominations for his broadcasting and in 1995, Ken was inducted as a Charter Member into the VAB Hall of Fame.  

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ken’s Radio Vermont Group family as well as to the Squier family and his friends and colleagues around the country.

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