Page 36 - World Airshow News Final

...ANNOuNCER ROb REIDER REtIRES fROM AIRSHOWS.
Rob with his wife Jill (photo by Craig Scaling).
www.airshowmag.com
brought on an incredible sense of pride and emotion,
often bringing tears to the eyes of the show attendees.
No other announcer did it, and it’s one of many ways
Rob turned an airshow into an “experience.”
Rob was integral part of the airshow community. Of-
ten described as a family, Rob was like a big brother to
many of the organizers, performers, and even photogra-
phers. Whether it was suggesting better music to a per-
former, helping the sound guy with a board, or offering
a traveling photographer a better seat, Rob was always a
good friend to those he knew and worked with.
During his career, Rob has flown with both the USAF
Thunderbirds and the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. He has
been the voice coach of the U.S. Army Golden Knights
parachute team, the Blue Angels, and the Air Combat
Command Demo Teams.
Rob has been chosen by the best civilian perform-
ers in the world to create their music beds and an-
nounce their performances, and he was hired to be the
announcer of Europe’s Breitling Jet Team during their
North American tour in 2016. Rob has also announced
the “Arsenal of Democracy” flyover in Washington, DC,
and in 2020, he was chosen to be the announcer for the
nationally-telecast “Salute to America” flyover at the
White House with the President of the United States in
attendance
Rob was awarded the ICAS “Sword of Excellence”
in 2007 for his overall service and contributions to the
airshow industry, and finally – in 2024 – with many of
his friends and family present, he was inducted into the
ICAS Foundation Air Show Hall of Fame.
ROb tHE REtIREE
Rob always said that he didn’t want to “wait too long”
to call it quits, and that he wanted to leave while he was
still on top of his game. So, this past November, he did
just that. He announced his last airshow in front of re-
cord crowds during the Blue Angels Homecoming Air
Show at NAS Pensacola. He was surrounded by both of
his favorite jet teams, the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels,
who were together to close out the season. It was the
first time in history that both teams had closed out the
season together at the same venue.
For Rob, this was a well-deserved and fitting end to
a wonderful career surrounded by the colleagues and
friends who will miss him dearly. The memories will
remain, but once again, things will never be quite the
same.
As for Rob, he has already “taken off” with his next
career, that of a professional voice actor. From his own
studio in the basement of his home in Cincinnati, Rob
narrates audio books, documentaries, performs voice
overs, and continues with the monthly “ILAFFT” (I
Learned About Flying From That) podcast that he
writes, hosts, and produces.
So, I ask you…Are you ready for an audio book?
36 The Final Issue