What started as a bit of a lark more than 20 years ago has turned into a way of life for Morris public address announcer Jeff Vogen.

In the spring of 2005, Vogen and his friend, Mike Busdicker, each had a daughter playing softball for Morris. Unfortunately, there was no public address announcer at the games back then to announce the lineups and introduce the players as they came to the plate.

So they formed a team.

“Mike Busdicker and I each had a daughter on the softball team,” Vogen said. “We could hear the announcer from the baseball games and thought it would be nice if the girls could have something like that, too, so we just started doing it.

“It worked out well, and we had fun. Pretty soon, we were asked to do the football games, too. I kept on doing it, and it’s been more than 20 years. I started off as a volunteer, but they pay me a little bit now. I also do quite a few girls basketball games in the winter, too.”

It’s a far cry from what Vogen, who is married to Kathy and lives just north of Seneca and south of Newark, the town in which he graduated high school in 1976, imagined when he was young. That time was spent dreaming of airplanes.

“I worked in aviation my whole life,” Vogen said. “I am retired from the Morris Airport, which I managed for a while, and I worked for a lot of the big airlines, such as Delta, as well as at O’Hare, as a line mechanic. I have always had an interest in aviation. It’s something my dad instilled in me when I was young. He would take me to the airport, and I would see the planes. I wanted to learn to fly, which I have done.

“I went to Lewis University for a little bit after the Vietnam War. I didn’t serve in the military, but I learned some things at Lewis, and I was fortunate to have lots of people to learn from along the way, and I have my pilot’s license in several categories.”

When he isn’t taking to the air, Vogen stays on the ground and works the farm he has grown up on. And, on certain Friday nights in the fall and some days during the winter during girls basketball season, he is at the high school.

“It’s kind of a routine now,” Vogen said. “I didn’t think I’d still be doing this 20 years after we started, but here we are.

“When Mike and I started doing the softball games, we had so much fun. The girls on the team and the people in the stands enjoyed it, so we kept doing it. We were having more fun than we probably should have been, and we still do.”

While Busdicker is no longer Vogen’s partner, he and the football crew – timekeeper Dave Carr and scoreboard operator Mike Munts – are among those in the press box during home football games, and they have their own fun and traditions. One of the main ones is that they each throw in a few dollars every game to buy a few 50/50 raffle tickets.

“We always said if we ever do win, we’ll donate it back to the school,” Vogen said. “We actually won one this year. It was hard not to laugh when I was reading the number because I realized it was ours. And, yes, we did donate it back.

“We have a lot of fun in the press box.”

Vogen said he might have to put an “R” jar in the booth this fall. With Morris changing its nickname to Warriors, he knows he will have to be careful not to use the previous nickname.

“I know it’s going to happen,” Vogen said. “I am going to try not to let it happen, but it’s kind of difficult to get the old name out of my head.”

Having seen more than 20 years of players and games, Vogen said it is hard to come up with a favorite moment over those years.

“I wasn’t announcing then, but I watched all of John Dergo’s games,” Vogen said. “I started football the year after John graduated, but he’s the best I have seen wear that jersey on that field.

“Every year is exciting. When I started, I knew the kids I was announcing. Then I got to know the kids coming behind them. It’s fun to know how much hard work these kids and coaches put in and then make it to the playoffs. Every playoff game is exciting in its own way, so it’s something new every year.

“It’s been great, and I don’t have any plans to quit right now,” he said. “I am so happy that Kathy allows me to do this. It has just become part of our routine that I will be gone most Friday nights in the fall and Monday and Friday nights in the winter, so we plan accordingly.”