The Saskatchewan Roughriders have named their new 'Voice of the Riders', and it's none other than Weyburn's own Dave Thomas.

Thomas got his start right here, at AM 1190.

"We had a great conversation and it was just stuff that dreams are made of. It's like, are you kidding? You want this guy from Weyburn Saskatchewan? Really. Okay, sure, I'll do it. Why not? So it was pretty cool," he shared. 

"When anybody asks where I grew up, I say Weyburn, and I'm very fortunate that I had the opportunity to get hired by my hometown radio station and given a chance to learn the broadcasting business and grow and develop and get coached along the way. And trust me, there was a lot of patience by a lot of people along the way, giving me the opportunity to do just that, and putting me in a position to succeed professionally."

He said he's probably one of the proudest Weyburnites.

"I'm still very, very proud to call Weyburn home. It was 25 years ago that I walked in the doors at AM 1190 and at that time I was just sitting there playing commercials on the Blue Jays broadcast. So very fortunate to expand my career to Saskatoon, where I was for 20 plus years and now I'm going to be calling Regina home."

Thomas said he was given every opportunity to succeed and do what he loves in Saskatoon. 

"When I moved to Saskatoon, I was given an opportunity to do an afternoon show very shortly after which they said, 'hey, you've broadcasted some Weyburn Red Wings hockey games, haven't you?' And I'm like, 'yes, I have'. So the next 10 years from that, I was doing afternoons and mornings, and then in addition to that, doing the Western Hockey League and the Saskatoon Blades broadcasts. After that, that kind of morphed into an opportunity to call more football games, so the Saskatoon Hilltops and then the University of Saskatchewan. That grew into TV, and then we got the Saskatchewan Rush National Lacrosse League team, so for parts of three seasons, I had the opportunity to follow them around North America calling their games."

"There was a World Junior hockey championship in there that I got to broadcast as well," he continued. "I was on the field doing sidelines for the Riders for three years, including the 2013 Grey Cup when we won that, at the old Mosaic Stadium or Taylor Field. I just had every opportunity and I'm very, very fortunate to have been given all those chances."

Thomas said just like anything one loves to do, working in radio requires some courage.

"It's funny because sometimes they talk about how when you're the radio guy, you're the eyes and ears, and if you happen to say, 'oh, he went to his left' when he actually went to his right, or you made a mistake, sometimes you can't always get called out on that like I do when I broadcast the television games. But in some ways, you can get called out on it more, because you need to be objective, you need to be fair. But you also need to be honest with what's happening on the field. So it can be a little intimidating that way," he noted.

Social media, he said, presents another form of scrutiny.

"There's a lot of people who sometimes like to voice their concerns. So you just need to be cautious of that, and of course, we all live and breathe everything the Riders do, and sometimes it can be the words that you're saying that they're living and breathing with, so we'll be careful."

Thomas said he's already being recognized since the announcement was made on Wednesday.

"It's amazing. So I woke up for the first morning in Regina this morning, and here it is, nine o 'clock, I stepped outside the radio station and just was looking around, getting ready to head to my next destination, and I got stopped on the street by two people. 'Hey, I saw you! You're the new guy!' I'm like, 'oh, that's great to meet you'. So Dave and Don, who were there, I can't wait to see you at Mosaic Stadium."

He added that, with this new opportunity, not only will he be calling Regina home, but he'll also make himself comfortable in the home broadcast booth at Mosaic Stadium. 

"Training camp opens up in Saskatoon on May the 12th, and then May the 20th is the first time I will be in the home broadcast booth, as I've broadcasted a number of times over the visitors booth in Mosaic Stadium, but for the first time, I'll be on the home side when the Riders host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the first preseason game of 2024."