LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- When you're talking Thunder Over Louisville, the roars and booms can make it hard to actually listen to what one anyone is saying. However, there's one set of silky smooth pipes that rival Barry White and rise above the noise.

"If there's a reason for my voice, it's nicotine and bourbon," Wayne Hettinger said with a laugh.

Long before Hettinger became the face of Thunder, there were fewer flashy beginnings.

"I'm from a long line of German potato farmers," he said. "We had a small truck garden farm on Hikes Lane."

An interest in production at Seneca High School took him to a Louisville TV station.

"I was there for two months and then I got drafted into the Army," Hettinger said.

When you're talking Thunder, the roars and booms can make it hard to actually listen to what one anyone is saying.

He was based at Fort Knox during the Vietnam War, although he was never deployed. Next came time at a production company.

"When corporations were doing sales meetings and needed sets designed and production for their presentations, that's what Visual Presentations did," Hettinger said.

He often worked with Kroger, and a flashy luncheon he was behind ultimately led him to what would become Thunder Over Louisville.

"I mean, you couldn't imagine it," Hettinger said.

He was 33 years old during the first one, and he's 79 now. That has a way of making a guy reflect.

"I really don't want to toy with what I'm going to do for my last one because I don't want to know when the last one is," Hettinger said.

He already has Thunder plans for next year and the one after, solidifying Hettinger as a name and voice Louisville will always love.

Thunder Over Louisville Coverage:

Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.