Ever feel groggy or say something less than coherent first thing in the morning? Consider Ron Jolly, whose comments and conversations are heard each morning by more than ten thousand listeners. Jolly has been the 7am-10am host on WTCM AM since 1995, and makes mornings look easy.

Ticker: How do you describe your show?
Jolly: Oh, gosh…without direction! It’s a lame word, but it’s variety, really. You can’t pigeonhole it. It’s unpredictable. Hopefully it’s educational and you’ll pickup new info and learn something. The only things we really steer away from are new age and health stuff, and I don’t really talk about abortion or get into religion. But I’m pretty game for anything.

Ticker: Among the 10,000 interviews you’ve done on air, which are some of your more memorable ones?
Jolly: One that comes to mind early on was Larry Butcher, a Vietnam vet. I had him in on Memorial Day. He told me what it was like to come back home…I remember I had tears in my eyes and I joined the VVA [Vietnam Veterans of America] after that. Also Chuck Pfarrer, the former Navy Seal. I talked with Donald Trump during the 2012 Presidential race; he was campaigning for Romney. Also Bob Newhart was a great interview, funny and full of stories.

Ticker: Your show seems to have become more political over the years. Was that a conscious evolution?
Jolly: Yeah, it was conscious. Number one, it’s hard to suppress your opinions for no reason. It’s just not that compelling for the leader of a discussion not to say anything or fade into the background. Also things got much more political. Once we hit Iraq the first time, everything in America changed. Everything turned political in ’03 or ’04 or ’05.

Ticker: It’s a conservative talk show then?
Jolly: I would not label it as that, no. I would say the host has conservative views, but I don’t look at everything I talk about through a political prism. I only wear the conservative hat when we talk about politics.

Ticker: Some won’t listen because of your views. Does that bother you? Does it bother your station management?
Jolly: If people choose not to listen I don’t like that part of it, but I don’t care if they don’t agree with me. They’ll miss out on a lot. I don’t know percentage wise, but in three hours a day, I am talking from a conservative point of view maybe 20 percent. I probably do more arts than anyone on the radio…music, authors, painters…

It’s always been up to me, though. I’ve never had anybody say ‘don’t do this’ or ‘do that.’ I just develop a radio show that works.

Ticker: What do you make of local politics?
Jolly: It’s covered [by the media] a lot more now, and it’s more political. There’s also a lot more diversity, though. You used to have eight farmers deciding things, basically. Seems like sometimes local politicians are just looking for an issue… but I’d never want to do that [run for local office]. I salute those people; they serve so many hours for so little pay yet so much scorn and ridicule.

Ticker: And nationally? Who’s your pick for the next president?
Jolly: The most capable people won’t run; nobody in their right mind would, really. I liked Romney because he wasn’t running for ego or ambition. It has to be somebody who has executive experience, with some handle on foreign affairs, because we don’t need an amateur. So far I just don’t see anybody.

Ticker: What do you do when you’re not talking to thousands?
Jolly: I collect books. I have the best collection of books about northern Michigan, including old antique books, books about the region or by regional authors, even rare books about Traverse City from the 1880s. It’s a crazy collection. I also serve as a mentor for a [grown] foster child with children of his own.