For three decades, Rick Zeisig was the voice of the Dalton High School Catamounts, announcing every home football game.
Zeisig took over the role in 1992 when his own eighth-grade science teacher and football coach, Ray Broadrick, retired.
“When he was in his 30th year of teaching, he knew it was his last year,” Zeisig said in a 2022 interview. “Dr. John McMillian, principal of Dalton High School at the time, contacted me a year ahead of time and said, ‘This is Ray’s last year, why don’t you go behind him, learn his routine, and next year we can make you the voice and you can hit the ground running.’”
Zeisig, 61, passed away Sunday after a battle with cancer.
“You couldn’t find anybody better to serve as the press box announcer,” said former Dalton High School principal Steve Bartoo. “He did a fantastic job. The crowd really responded to him. He was very good at it, and he seemed to really, really enjoy it.”
Bartoo said Zeisig brought energy and enthusiasm to everything he did.
“He deejayed some dances for us, and he was really upbeat, always had a smile, was always the consummate professional,” he said.
Zeisig worked at radio stations in Dalton, Atlanta and Chattanooga for more than 40 years and was the disc jockey for Dalton’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s most years starting in 1994.
In 2022, Zeisig was recognized as a Hometown Hero by the Alzheimer’s Association Georgia Chapter and the Modern Woodmen of America for his efforts.
Zeisig was in the sixth grade when he decided he wanted a career in radio.
Rich Phillips, another Dalton broadcasting legend, first met Zeisig in 1976.
“I was living here and working at WFLI Jet Fly Radio in Chattanooga as a deejay,” he said. “Rick was about 14 years old and stopped me at Bryman Plaza and said that his scout troop listened to me at boy scout camp. He told the scouts that I was from Dalton. He said he wanted to be a deejay and asked me how I got started. We had a nice conversation that day.”
Some 40 years later, they would become co-workers at Dalton’s North Georgia Radio Group.
Zeisig landed his first job in broadcasting during his junior year in high school. Zeisig said in a 2020 interview that local radio personality Jeanne Burr helped him get his first job in radio.
“I was friends with (Burr’s son) Jeff and I was helping him with his movies,” he said. “I was over at their house and she says to me, ‘Zeisig, we’ve got an opening at the radio station. You need to call Walter Hooper and apply for that job. You’d be perfect.’ That’s how I got into radio.”
Phillips said Zeisig loved radio.
“He was always on,” Phillips said. “He was never lacking for words and was truly interested in everything. He never met a stranger. His quick mind made for a good interview when conducting the interview on air. His skills as an interviewer carried over into his personal life. He had the ability to draw you in to the conversation. He loved people. He was an inspiration to many people, even through his illness. His ‘never give up’ attitude helped so many people.”
Zeisig studied communications at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He won numerous awards, including three awards from the Cable Television Association of Georgia for Best Local Show in the state. Zeisig was also the inaugural winner of the Cable Television Association of Georgia Award for community service in the North Georgia area.
Zeisig was selected as the Best Local DJ in the Dalton Daily Citizen’s first Best of Northwest Georgia edition. In 2003, the Dalton City Council proclaimed a Rick Zeisig Day in honor of his accomplishments in broadcasting and his contributions to the community.
Memorial services for Zeisig are Thursday at 1 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.