Patrick Mashburn is a Central Class of ’94 graduate who makes a living entertaining thousands of people every day. Many know him as “Dodger,” the idiosyncratic radio personality of the Evansville, Indiana classic rock station, 107.5 WABX .

“I was a late-comer to radio,” explained Mashburn. “Many people in the industry grew up talking into toy microphones or pretending to be on the radio.  That never happened for me. Growing up, I wanted to do something with animals, [for example,] work at Sea World or at a zoo.  I even went to college thinking that, but things changed after my first two years of college. It wasn’t going well, and I decided to do something different. I even returned to Central to talk to a former teacher, Mrs. Deborah Perdue.  After talking to her, I decided my future was either in teaching history or radio and television.”

Mashburn decided to go out-of-state after graduation. He attended the University of Kentucky for two years until transferring to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, where he graduated in December of 1999.

“When I got to UT, I was sure I wanted to work in television. It wasn’t until I got an internship at a sports radio station that the radio bug really bit. Once I started doing it, I realized how much I enjoyed it and that I was pretty good at it,” stated Mashburn.

“After graduating from UT, I was lucky enough to get a job right away at a local sports radio station. About two years later, the sports station changed formats. I was kind of at a crossroads. I started doing air shifts on the music radio stations in the building. I liked it. It allowed me to be a character, to be different than I was one-on-one, to bring out some of my personality.”

Mashburn’s pursuit of radio prompted him to relocate several times in order to find full-time jobs. In all, Mashburn has worked in three different states.

“After doing part-time work on the music stations, I knew I needed to get a full-time job to further my career. That’s how I ended up in Evansville. There was an opening for a night show, and I jumped at it. I spent about two years in Evansville at WABX in the early 2000s, but I wanted to see if I could go further in the business. I randomly applied for a job doing radio production in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To my surprise, I got the job. After nearly five years in Milwaukee, family brought me back to Evansville, where I am today.”

Mashburn has worked with WABX for nearly nine years in total, but “Dodger” came about after his move back to Evansville from Milwaukee in 2008.

“I said from an early age I never wanted to sit at a desk, wearing a tie and pushing paper for a living. So radio has worked out well. I love the fact that I can reach a large mass of people and entertain them at the same time.  Being on the radio is therapy for me.  I get to share my thoughts with thousands of people on a daily basis.  I also get to be crazy or rant about something that is on my mind, all in the name of entertainment. Dodger is a character I play on the radio, but luckily it’s not too far from who Patrick really is.”

Patrick Mashburn has been able to experience a variety of people and places while also achieving a great deal of success because of radio. He is an inspiration to anyone pursuing their dreams.

“Radio has given me so much over the course of my career. I’ve worked with many incredible people. It’s given me the opportunity to travel [and] to work in places I never would have imagined. My voice and my name have been broadcast on national radio shows. I’ve met and interviewed rock stars and athletes. I love Chattanooga, but radio has given me the chance to get out of my bubble and to push myself to be better and keep growing. That is the best thing radio has given me.”