DCI's Dan Potter recognized with first-ever Make-A-Wish honor

Drum Corps International personality and professional radio journalist Dan Potter — who holds a longstanding post as one of the recognizable on-camera "faces" and on-microphone "voices" of the drum corps activity — has been on the sidelines for plenty a moving marching music performance.

But this past November, for once, it wasn’t a horn line that brought Dan Potter to tears.

As part of his more than 30-year-and-counting radio career, currently with Cox Media Group’s KRMG in Tulsa, Potter has been reporting on behalf of Make-A-Wish Oklahoma as host of the radio station’s “Stories of Light” for more than a decade.

“It’s a fundraising campaign that we do with them the week before Thanksgiving every year,” Potter said. “And it has turned into the single largest revenue stream for all of the state of Oklahoma for Make-A-Wish.”

This time, though, wholly unbeknownst to him, Potter was the subject of the story. And just like the many powerful drum corps moments he’s witnessed over many years, it hit home.

“They totally surprised me,” Potter said.

Potter — who serves as host of the KRMG Morning News — has been the recipient of a number of notable awards throughout his career, but arguably the most unique came as a complete surprise, when Make-A-Wish Oklahoma dubbed him its first-ever recipient of its Community Volunteer of the Year Award.

KRMG’s Dan Potter awarded first-ever Community Volunteer of the Year Award from Make-A-Wish Oklahoma

And if that wasn’t enough, the emotional honors on Potter’s behalf didn’t even stop there.

“I get choked up talking about it,” he said. “They named the award going forward after me. So, from here on out, it's going to be called the Dan Potter Community Volunteer of the Year award.”

 

Other awards he’s received throughout his radio career have been special — not to mention his recent reception of a Marconi Award for Medium Market Personality of the Year, an honor often referred to as the “Oscars of Radio.”

But according to Potter, “(The Make-A-Wish award) eclipses that by far.”

Potter’s experiences alongside Make-A-Wish have helped bring optimism and hope to countless individuals in his home state of Oklahoma. Through “Stories of Light,” Potter has been able to meet hundreds of children battling challenging illness, with a goal of generating donations for Make-A-Wish’s programs.

“During the year, I talk to kids and we get their stories,” he said. “We record their stories about their illnesses, about what having their wish fulfilled has meant to them and to their families, and we play those stories on the air during a three-day ‘radio-thon.’”

“Over the course of the entire campaign,” he added, “we've raised a total of over $4 million for Make-A-Wish of Oklahoma.”

All in all, the awards and accolades have proven very meaningful to Potter throughout his career, and his Make-A-Wish honor is no exception. However, it’s the impact he and his colleagues have been able to have on so many that stands out far above those achievements.

“The kids we've been able to help mean everything to me,” Potter said. “And beyond my passion for drum corps, my passion for this particular event is strong.”

Ultimately, it’s that kind of fulfillment — not necessarily awards, but a visible and tangible impact on lives — that Potter says is the inspiration for his work, both inside and outside of the marching music community.

“One of the reasons I'm involved in drum corps and marching band is because there's immediate feedback right from the performers and from the fans,” he said. “When you get the chance to see that you've had a community impact, a real impact, that means everything.”

Learn more about Make-A-Wish Oklahoma's "Stories of Light"