After 10 years on the YHN Network and more than 50 years of broadcasting throughout the South, J. Holland brought listeners his final newscast this week.

J. is an Alabama radio icon in every sense of the word, and he has a story that will captivate anyone with even the slightest interest in the industry.

He started his business at Valley Point High School in Dalton, Georgia, but when he finally realized he could make a living in radio, it didn't even feel real.

After receiving his first paycheck from WLJS 92-J, Holland decided to dive into the world of radio in earnest while attending Jacksonville State University.

“Radio was kind of new to me in high school,” Holland said.

“I worked with my dad and helped the electrician from the age of 11. I would run to the truck to get tools and then run back to get more tools. I started doing more things. I knew what it was like to dig trenches and pull wire. For me, it was a real job.”

RELATED: YHN Network Anchor J. Holland retires after 50-year broadcast career

“So when I got into radio, I was like, “Is this a job?'' There was no.”

Holland's first paycheck from WLJS was $88, enough to convince him to commit to radio full-time.

It was Dave Fitts of Gadsden's Q-104 (now Birmingham's 103.7 “The Q”) who taught Holland how to do news and how to do it right.

“He was at every City Council meeting, every County Commission meeting, every house fire, every car accident. He did it all, he was a legendary figure and he taught me how to make news. “When I heard Dave Fitts talk, I knew I had to stop what I was doing and listen,” Holland said.

Holland has seen it all and been part of what he describes as “real radio” and “corporate radio,” but he makes no bones about drawing the line between the two.

“The corporate model is to fire everyone and put more work into the people who remain. WATG's Ed Carroll always preached 'paying the people's rent' and serving the community. The number one rule is to go out into the community, get your license, and protect it. ”

Until the late 1980s, Holland considered himself a rock and roll DJ with a love for radio.

But it wasn't until January 25, 1983 that he discovered the world of talk radio. That was the day Coach Bear Bryant passed away.

Holland was preparing for a shift from 2 to 6 p.m. During that time, his regular job was to play records and during regular breaks he would play NBC News on the hour.

News of Bryant's death broke just before he was due to be replaced.

While talking with Ed Carroll about coping strategies, Holland came up with the idea of ​​answering the phone instead of playing a record as usual.

Carroll agreed, but what he said next would shape Holland's views on radio and the talk format.

Carroll told Holland to skip the break altogether and make up the break the next day to properly recognize Bryant.

“I went from having normal programming to not being able to do anything within 10 seconds. At this point I was getting used to it, but with about 2 minutes left I realized I couldn't take a break for 55 minutes. What the hell am I going to say? I was thinking of opening up the mic and telling them what happened, and then making a few phone calls and starting playing the record again. But that's not what happened.” said Holland.

When the show began, Holland read a paragraph from the on-air news bulletin, but before he could finish reading the short paragraph, all five phone lines in the studio flashed.

“I don't know if I've ever seen anything like that before,” he said.

Holland was on the phone for four straight hours talking about Coach Bryant, the respectful audience, Bryant's friends speaking, and everything in between.

“It was the greatest four hours of radio ever. We were laughing one minute and crying the next.”

Many years later, after a highly successful talk radio and news career, Holland joined Yellowhammer News in 2015, providing YHN newscasts to stations across Alabama.

Despite being on the air for 50 years, he never got tired of it.

“Being on the air is not only addictive, it's magical. It's kind of a thrill to be able to speak into a microphone, especially in the old days when thousands of people were depending on you.” And that never got old for me.”

Years ago, when Holland was program director, he said he wrote the following words on a note next to the microphone switch for all staff to see:

“I don't know who's listening.”

“Good luck, good luck. Always. Because you never know who's listening,” he said.

For his final Dutch newscast on Thursday, he had no intention of doing anything special, but was persuaded to do so by his YHN colleagues.

He expressed a huge thank you to everyone and concluded by quoting his favorite general of all time, Douglas MacArthur.

“Old soldiers never die, they just fade away. These procedures are over.”

And he was right.

You never know who might be listening.

Michael Brauner is a senior sports analyst and contributing writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter. @MBraunerWNSP