Most likely when John Brett Reynolds was born 39 years ago, he was wrapped in black and gold swaddling clothes with a red and white canopy over his bassinet. His birth was being announced over WRUS by his Uncle Lon, on the faculty and staff message board at Western Kentucky University by his granddaddy Roy Dickey, and throughout the seats and rafters of Rupp Arena by his Uncle Rick.
JB Reynolds was born and bred to be a fan of the Russellville Panthers, the WKU Hilltoppers, WRUS radio, and sports announcing.
The graduate of RHS and WKU has been doing play-by-play of Panther football games over WRUS and announcing big sports events at RHS for over half of his life.
He and WRUS General Manager Chris McGinnis, who also has been his game broadcasting partner, have announced, however, that he is giving up that role.
The demands of his day job—regional vide president of First Southern National Bank—and a desire to be available and present for the activities of his children are Reynolds’ reasons for calling it quits.
Only President Alex Keltner—also from Logan County—ranks higher on the FSNB ladder than John Brett and his two fellow vice presidents on the First Southern corporate ladder. He oversees six FSNB branches from Princeton to Bowling Green. A lot of traveling is involved.
FSNB encourages its employees to be involved in their community. In fact, Rusty Clark, who also has held the position Reynolds is in now, hired him full-time to work for the company. They both had part-time roles as assistant coaches under Dennis Pardue in Russellville Panther basketball. But the bank job has to come first, of course.
“Not only does a football broadcast last about three hours a week, but there’s the travel time. And I don’t believe into going into a game without advance preparation,” he says. “I watch a lot of game film on the opponent, and I do a lot of research before a game.”
Additionally, his seven-year-oid daughter Lorelai is into gymnastics and cheerleading, and his four-year-old son, Sawyer Rhea, is already playing teeball. “The Rhea is a tribute to the home of the Panthers, Rhea Stadium,” JB acknowledges.
As a result, a 71-year era of the Sosh family being part of WRUS appears to be coming to an end, In 1959, W.P. ‘Winky’ Sosh bought a share of five-year-old WRUS. He had been general manager since 1954. Although Roth Hook remained a partner, the Sosh family owned and ran WRUS for decades before selling it to a man who had risen among the ranks of their employees, Bill McGinnis, Chris’ dad.
Winky and Emily Sosh had three children. Lon graduated from RHS in 1961, Emily in 1963 and Jean in 1974. Lon was part of the station for decades, beginning in his teens. He became known on the daytime airwaves as “Big Daddy Bob Alou” and in the evenings as talented sportscaster Lon Sosh. He made WRUS’ sister station KQ 101 FM into an area sports giant.
Even after Lon and Marie Sosh sold the FM station, Lon’s former brother-in-law, Hilton Ashby, continued to sell advertising for WRUS. Before Hilton retired, Lon had returned as an air personality and John Brett was doing sports.
Ann Sosh married broadcaster Rick Leigh and they have lived in Central Kentucky throughout their adult lives. He was the public address announcer when the Logan County Cougars won their state championship at Rupp Arena in 1984.
Jean married fellow RHS graduate Mark Reynolds. Both are graduates of WKU, and they are ardent supporters of both schools’ teams. Mark’s dad, Roy Dickey Reynolds, was the RHS principal through much of his youth. He left after Mark’s sophomore year to become one of the top student recruiters at Western.
Mr. Reynolds’ only coaching role at RHS was creating the tennis team. At Caverna High School where he worked before coming to Russellville as guidance counselor, he was simply known as ‘Coach.’ That’s what it says on his Hall of Fame plaque at the Cave City Convention Center, which is first on the wall. The plaque next to his is for Dennis Doyle, the future major league baseball players whom Reynolds brought to RHS as basketball coach,
John Brett’s dad, Mark Reynolds, was a three-year starter on some outstanding Panther tennis teams.
Winky Sosh was an early athlete at RHS and became one of the leading basketball officials in western Kentucky. In those days, only one official worked high school games at a time. Lon played basketball for Coach Jim Young.
So, it was natural for JB to get deeply involved in sports. His first memories of playing a sport were attending a basketball camp for kindergarteners and first graders conducted by high school coaches Phil Todd and Kim Swift. He later played basketball for a couple of years for those coaches.
Tennis was the sport at which he excelled naturally, considering the background of his grandfather and his dad. He and close friend Alex Watkins were one of the best doubles teams in RHS history. Later, they became football broadcast partners from 2009-20.
John Brett was a station intern at WRUS while still in high school. His first football broadcast came during his senior year at RHS. He and former Panther football player Matthew Montgomery were the broadcast team. That was a throwback to when Mongomery’s grandfather, Pat O’Brien, was Lon’s football partner for many years.
He also got to work some games with his Uncle Lon, who had returned as an air personality for WRUS. That was a dream come true except Lon didn’t let him talk much as first. “He made it clear he would let me know when he thought I was ready to talk more,” John Brett laughs.
The last few years he has teamed with his boss, Chris McGinnis, as a broadcast team.
“Chris has been a great friend to me. I think so much of him and his family. I actually talked to him when I was trying to choose between a career in radio and banking. He gave me good advice, and I have enjoyed working with him on broadcasts, too,” Reynolds says.
“I don’t feel like I’m leaving him in a bind, though, because he has two good young broadcasters in Lucas Celsor and Will McKenzie who can fill my role smoothly.”
McGinnis says, “I can’t tell you how proud I am to have shared the press box with John Brett Reynolds. He was born to be the “Voice of the Panthers,” and he lived up to the moniker in every aspect. The impact the Sosh and Reynolds families have had on this community is immeasurable, and so it makes sense that Mark and Jean’s son would so effortlessly carry on the Panther Pride tradition. As his family, and his responsibilities at work, grew, I knew there’d be a day that it would come to an end. Honestly, he stayed far longer than I expected, simply because he loved it.
“I am proud to have shared the press box with John Brett Reynolds. He earned the right to be mentioned in the same breath as his uncle Lon. And that’s about the highest praise I can give him.”
Highlights for JB besides doing broadcasts with Lon are working the 2017 regional basketball championship final between Coach Todd’s Pedro Bradshaw-led Panthers and eventual state champion Bowling Green, and calling a state championship football game in 2021 matching Coach Mikey Benton’s Panthers and Pikeville.
He also treasures his friendship with Coach John Myers, who was at the Panther helms for most of the football games he has called.
John Brett has also been the “Voice of the Panthers” as the announcer for all but one Hall of Fame induction ceremony RHS has conducted and for the introduction of the 50 Greatest Panthers in Russellville football history.
John Brett says a highlight for him has been having his dad by his side for almost every broadcast he has done. Mark has been his statistician throughout the years, The last two years, Mark and Jean Reynolds have kept the stats at home. Like his Uncle Lon, John Brett does such a good job of announcing yard lines and distances that an experienced stat team can manage the numbers without seeing a ball snapped. Jean, who recently relinquished her role as the long-time president of the Russellville Alumni Association, says she and Mark are retiring from being statisticians, too.
In conclusion, John Brett Reynolds would tell us—as his Uncle Lon did for decades, ‘If you can’t play a sport, by all means be one!’