Eddie Gregory, voice of the Coquitlam Express, once said he'd heard of a one-man band. But, he had never heard of a one-man broadcaster/public address announcer/music player/photographer/game-night coordinator/communications director.
Over the past two decades, Ron Gallo has filled all these roles, and many others, for the Prince George Spruce Kings. And he has loved every second of his involvement with the Kings, the community-owned B.C. Hockey League franchise.
But life brings changes, and Gallo is making a big one. With his 50th birthday drawing near, and saving for retirement on his mind, he has taken a job as a salesman with Prince George Motors and that means he will be scaling back his duties with the Kings next season. If everything goes according to plan, he'll stay on as the public address announcer and music man on a volunteer basis but his responsibilities will end there. No more broadcasts - home or away - and none of the other tasks that typically had him at the Coliseum at 9 a.m. on game days to make sure everything would run smoothly.
Gallo was a full-time employee of the Spruce Kings this past season but, before that, drew only part-time wages. Earlier on his timeline with the team, he was a pure volunteer.
To be clear, Gallo never did any of it for the money. He spent so much time around the team because he loved to be there. The Spruce Kings staff, players and game-night hosts were his extended family. He was part of something bigger than himself and that was payment enough.
Gallo's passion for the Kings was evident to any spectator who attended even a single home game in the past 20 years. His rumbling, spine-tingling introduction of the Spruce Kings prior to the opening face-off, his announcement of goals by the home team and his knack for finding the right music for any moment - all these things demonstrated his personal investment in what was happening on the ice and in the seats. If he ever sensed a lull, he'd take it as a personal challenge to ramp things up.
And yes, on occasion, Gallo's emotions got the better of him. One night, during a fight-filled game at the Coliseum, he let his opinion slip out of his mouth and into his public address microphone for all to hear. To his credit, he knew he had made a mistake and, from that point forward, worked that much harder to not cross the line that divides fan from professional.
When Gallo first started with the Spruce Kings all those years ago, he was green as could be. He had a background in sports broadcasting and as a deejay and was asked to lend his talents to the Kings at a time when many of their volunteers were jumping to the freshly-arrived Prince George Cougars. As the new guy, he worked alongside public address announcer Reg Feyer and music man Brent Stone so he could get familiar with both jobs. Feyer left the booth at the end of that season and Stone departed a couple years later and that's how Gallo ended up pulling double duty. Over the years, he became so proficient at performing his P.A. responsibilities and keeping the music going that he even started shooting photos from his perch above centre ice.
Since Gallo's announcement of his move to P.G. Motors, he has been inundated with messages of congratulations from around the BCHL. Notes have even come from broadcasters and players from other teams, wishing him well and thanking him for his contributions.
Fortunately, Gallo won't be completely gone from the Spruce Kings. That would be like taking peanut butter away from jam.
Next season, fans will still hear his familiar voice over the P.A. system and will be able to groove to his tunes. In that respect, he will remain an integral part of the game-night atmosphere that Kings' watchers have come to enjoy.
But all the pre-game prep work Gallo used to do will be up to someone else because he'll be busy matching customers with vehicles on West Central Street.
If Gallo brings the same energy to his new gig as he brought to his old one, he'll be a top salesman in no time at all.
