By Justin Damasiewicz
After 28 years at his post, Raymond High School’s sports public address (PA) announcer Doug Allton is just about ready to hang up his microphone. This football season may be the last time that Seagulls fans will be able to listen to the voice they have become so accustomed to hearing over the loud speaker during football and basketball games.
Doug had originally intended to retire from PA announcing after last basketball season. He and his wife of 22 years, Wanette, are both retired from their day jobs and want to travel. However, when their home in Raymond did not sell as quickly as they had hoped, Doug contacted Raymond’s athletic director, Jason Koski, and volunteered for one more fall season.
For Doug, the reason for coming back for football season is simple. It is his way of donating his time and giving back to his community.
“I’m certainly not in love with my own voice,” Doug says with a smile. “I don’t get some kind of thrill or power trip from having the microphone in my hand. It’s just a matter of donating time. It’s tough nowadays to get a contribution from somebody, to get an hour of their time. Not only has (PA announcing) given me something to do, but I feel good about giving my time to the school. There’s a lot of self satisfaction in giving time to the school and doing something for your community. That’s my incentive, nothing else.”
Many years ago, Doug also used to broadcast Raymond’s away games for a local radio station. However, when he was first asked to step behind the microphone, the whole experience was new to him.
“I don’t think I was the greatest fan in the stands,” Doug says. “When the athletic director asked me if I would do the PA announcing, I told him I would. My thought was that he was just trying to get me out of the stands so I wouldn’t be so hard on the officials. Then I just kept getting asked every year after that and I kept saying yes.”
Regardless of the reason that Doug ended up in the booth, his simple and professional approach to announcing games makes him an ideal fit for his position. According to Doug, the key is to “keep it simple.” When describing the play on the field, “less is more.”
“When the play is over, say the players name, the yardage gained, the down, the yards to go, and announce any penalties,” Doug says.
“Be professional. Try to be a class act. Try to keep it clear and concise,” Doug adds. “It’s hard to find help sometimes, so you get a youngster up there that wants to scream and holler and do play-by-play, but that’s not what (a PA announcer) is there for.”
Doug also gave back to the community by coaching youth baseball in Raymond for 28 years. When Doug was coaching baseball, he was also responsible for a lot of the field maintenance.
“People always said that if they couldn’t find me at home, they could find me at the ball park,” Doug jokes.
Doug has spent the last 28 years perfecting his craft, but occasionally his experience can lead to an amusing slip up.
“I’ve been doing this for so long that every once in a while I’ll announce a player with his father’s first name, because I was doing this when his dad played ball,” Doug says.
Doug is able to easily laugh off an occasional mistake, in large part because of encouragement that he has received, both from Seagulls fans and visiting teams and coaches.
“Through the years I have gotten a lot of compliments from people who came in here from other schools,” Doug comments. “Especially as a volunteer, it’s nice to receive those kinds of compliments. Then you know that people appreciate what you’re doing, and it makes it easy to want to keep doing it.”
Originally from Rock Springs, Wyoming, Doug moved to Raymond from Mount Vernon, Washington in 1977 to take a job as a sales representative. After a few years, Doug left that job for a job with Cascade Loggers Supply in Aberdeen, where he worked for 18 years before retiring. About one year later, he came out of retirement and worked at Bud’s Lumber in South Bend, where he worked until retiring for good in 2011.
Doug is an avid sports fan. His favorite teams are the Seattle Mariners, the Seattle Seahawks and the University of Washington Huskies. According to Doug, even if he and Wanette travel around for the rest of their lives, you will pretty much always be able to find him in Peoria, Arizona in March for the Mariners Spring Training.
“People have been asking where we are going to live when we sell our house and leave Raymond,” Doug said. “I tell them ‘some place I haven’t been before, but you’ll always be able to find me in Arizona in March.’”
