1 week Ago By Jeff Kiger
ROCHESTER — A big iconic voice — Big Mark Clark — is stepping away from the radio microphone after 28 years on the air in Rochester. Clark announced Monday that his last day as the afternoon drive host and program director at iHeart Media’s Laser 101.7 station will be Friday.
Counting six years in Tulsa, Oklahoma before arriving in Rochester, Clark has spent 34 years working in radio. “I've been blessed with working for good companies and having great coworkers. Just being able to do something I've loved for 34 years has been great.
I couldn't be happier,” he said. ADVERTISEMENT While he won’t be on the air, he will still be talking to people in Rochester. Clark is shifting career gears to start as a sales consultant for Rochester Toyota .
“I have had a huge passion for cars my entire life. One of my favorite things I've done every summer is partner with the Stewie Cruisers car shows in Stewartville,” said Clark. “When we started talking about this, my wife said, ‘You realize that you have picked out every single car that we've ever gotten in this family and you did a great job at it.
You have a knack for it. Why wouldn't you want to do this?.’” Coincidentally, his new career will start on the same day his time in Rochester radio started.
His first day on the air here was Sept. 16, 1996. His first day with Rochester Toyota will be Sept.
16, 2024. During his years as local radio personality, Clark has been the voice and the face of many area causes , like Toys For Tots and the Shjon Podein Children's Foundation . While he fondly remembers those events and his time on stage with famous hockey players and actor Matt Damon, the less flashy events were also very memorable.
“I think the ones that mean the most to me were small bar charity events for people with MS, somebody that was dying of cancer, or somebody that had an immediate need. These were people that had no other way of helping themselves,” remembered Clark. “For me, those were some of the more special moments, not to say that the other ones aren't.
When you can help affect somebody's life on such a personal level? It doesn't get much better than that.”.
