By William Smith
Community Editor
Most people need to hear a friendly voice in the morning.
For the past 15 years, Savanna Evans has loved her job — working on radio. She has been the friendly voice on several local radio stations, including KGRS and 101.7 The Bull. But at the end of the month, Evans will say goodbye, and she will miss her time behind the microphone.
“I think what I’m gonna miss the most is, this is gonna sound so cheesy, is being that happy voice for someone in the morning, who might be struggling and can’t see the positivity,” Evans said.
“Everyone is going through something in their lives, and if I can just be a bright spot to get someone’s morning started, it makes me feel good.”
That positivity is not faked. Listeners can hear it in her voice. Her genuine enthusiasm is tempered by years of voice training, resulting in liquid-smooth delivery that never sounds manufactured.
“I always smile when I do my show,” she said. “Even if I’m sick or going through something or I don’t feel good. I put on a smile because I want to make somebody else feel happy in the morning.”
Evans started working as an on-air-personality at Pritchard Broadcasting at 17 before graduating from West Burlington High School. She wasn’t even sure about the job until she walked into the studio and watched someone else do it.
“It just felt like something clicked,” she said. “I can’t describe it any other way. And it felt like I finally figured it out. Maybe this is it.”
Evans, who began broadcasting under her maiden name Savanna Quam, juggled school, a part-time job at Subway, and a part-time job at Pritchard Broadcasting. She ended up working 10 years for Pritchard and is closing out five years with Titan.
She quickly transitioned into full-time employment at the radio station and moved into her new career without hesitation. It was like going to school and getting paid for it.
“I just wanted to learn everything,” she said. “I wanted to learn how to board op (operating the sound system). And then I wanted to dabble into the news department and see what that was all about. And learn how to do a voice track, learn how to do an on-air shift, and how to be a personality.”
Evans never stopped working. She inherited that work ethic from her mother, who raised Savanna and her sister on a single-family income. Savanna’s mother worked at the record store in Westland Mall before it became FYE, resulting in long nights.
Now that Evans has two daughters, she does not want to let her work life overshadow her family. She arrives at work around 4 a.m. every weekday and never gets to take her daughters to school or stay with them when they are sick.
“I text them every morning, asking how everybody is doing. I don’t want to have to ask him (her husband) every morning. I want to be there with them,” she said.
Her husband, Derek Evans, recently purchased Heartland Packaging in West Burlington from his parents. He spends his mornings getting their daughters to school while Savanna is at work.
Now that dynamic will switch.
“They (Savanna’s daughters) are such a fun age right now. They just love life right now. And they’re happy. They like learning, and they like going to school. They still love mom. And I want to just soak it all in as much as I can. Because you only get one shot,” Evans said.
Evans’ recognizable voice is not going to go to waste. For the last three years, she has been freelancing voice work for every kind of media imaginable — audiobooks, video games, and YouTube videos.
It is part of the job she never wants to let go of. When she is on air, her entire presence transforms. Her hands wave excitedly in the air. Her natural exuberance elevates to the same intensity as a stage performance.
And now she has time for the more important things in life, such as taking her daughter to her first Backstreet Boys concert.
“I mean, I’ve seen them (Backstreet Boys) three times, and my 7-year-old now wants to see them. So now I can take her because now she is a Backstreet Boys fan,” Evans said.