It’s Steve Summers Day in Rockford: Longtime radio personality honored with proclamation

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our free e-newsletter

ROCKFORD — For some, today is recognized as Star Wars Day. For others, it’s Kentucky Derby day. In the city of Rockford, the day belongs to Steve Summers.

The longtime Rockford radio personality was honored with a proclamation declaring May 4, 2024, as Steve Summers Day in the city. Mayor Tom McNamara surprised Summers with the proclamation via video message on Friday, a day before the host of The Morning Stampede on 95.3 The Bull turned 64.

More news: Pianist who now plays with 6 fingers still hits all the right notes for the Rockford Rescue Mission

McNamara said the proclamation was to recognize Summers for dedicating more than four decades of his life to entertaining, informing and connecting the Rockford area over the airwaves.

“Steve’s most valuable trait is giving back to our community,” McNamara said via video message. “For decades, Steve has poured his time, energy and talent into supporting personally important causes such as GiGi’s Playhouse, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Make-A-Wish, The American Cancer Society, the Family Peace Center, along with countless others.”

Those are just a fraction of the organizations Summers has supported over the years. He’s also helped Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross, he’s taken part in telethons for the Muscular Dystrophy Association at the former Machesney Park Mall, done the 20-mile walk-a-thon for the United Cerebral Palsy association and many others.

“My viewpoint was, you’re in a position to entertain and also at the same time do something good for the community,” Summers said. “My philosophy was always to give back and do good with what you can do.”

Summers’ first radio job was in 1982 at 97ZOK, where he initially worked from midnight to 6 a.m. from Saturday into Sunday morning and Sunday into Monday morning.

“Then I would drive to college and hit class by 8:30 in the morning,” Summers said.

He spent about a decade with 97ZOK, and later worked in radio sales and on-air in Milwaukee. He then worked at WXXQ for nearly 15 years before joining WRTB, aka 95.3 The Bull, in 2016. The Bull is a partner radio station of the Rock River Current.

“I’m very humbled, blessed and very fortunate to be in the position I am,” Summers said. “It’s a rarity in this radio world, but I will continue to do it as long as I humanly can.”

Ryan Sartori, on-air producer of The Morning Stampede with Summers, came up with the idea to honor Summers this way a year ago. He pitched the idea to McNamara during the Hard Rock Casino beam raising in July 2023.

“He certainly deserves it. He certainly deserves to be celebrated, especially for the sacrifices you make in this industry,” Sartori said. “I felt like this was a great way to say thanks from everybody to him.”

McNamara and Summers meet on a near-weekly basis to discuss happenings in and around City Hall on the This Week in the Stateline podcast. But the proclamation caught the radio host by surprise and left him, at least momentarily, speechless.

“Steve has been a tremendous advocate for the city of Rockford and our entire region,” McNamara said in a video message presenting the award. “We are so blessed and fortunate that Steve has shared not only his professional career, but his personal passions with all of our community for so many years.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas