W4 Country radio host Brian “Bubba” Cowan and Airman Bryan Ehnis of Ann Arbor in Aviano, Italy.

Photo courtesy of Brian Cowan

You can’t always choose your own nickname, but you can use its power for good.

The radio station’s general manager had met the young man earlier that morning, but somehow Brian Cowan’s name had slipped from memory by the time they passed in the hallway.

“How’s it going…B-b—Bubba?” the manager said, knowing he was flubbing the name of the newly hired intern.

The morning host saw the whole thing, knew Cowan’s name, knew that it wasn’t Bubba, and found the mishap hilarious. Yet when he called Cowan “Bubba” on the air that day, it stuck.

Years later, when Cowan was interviewing for an on-air position on Ann Arbor’s W4 Country (102.9 FM), Cowan had his GM’s faulty memory to thank for landing the job.

W4 had convened a focus group of about 100 people, to see which would-be radio personalities the crowd responded to and which acts fell flat. After about a 30-second sample of Cowan’s work, somehow the Bubba name had stuck with some 96 percent of the focus group.

The job was Cowan’s if he wanted it, contingent on one thing: He had to go by Bubba. This was eight years ago and Breakfast with Bubba still owns the weekday 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. time slot.

Four years ago, Cowan decided to use his fame and the Bubba name for good, after a mother whose son was stationed at a U.S. military base in Germany contacted W4 asking for some help.

She wanted to see if there was a way to get some Arby’s sandwiches to her son who was stationed in Germany. Bubba embraced the challenge but shipping rules prevented him from mailing the sandwiches. So Cowan did the next best thing and stuffed two gym bags with Arby’s sandwiches and dry ice and embarked for the military base at Frankfurt.

Key Bank joined up Cowan in year 2, when the mission was to connect a soldier stationed in Korea with his mother, shortly after the young man’s father had passed away.

Last year, Cowan and Tim Gretkierewicz, president of Key Bank’s Michigan market, flew to Kuwait where they hooked up about 250 soldiers with comfort kits from the Red Cross — things like socks, playing cards, sunblock, some of the incidentals family can forget to send in their care packages. The troops Cowan and Gretkierewicz visited in Kuwait had been unable to return home for the holidays.

This year, rather than come onto the military bases to meet soldiers, Cowan and Gretkierewicz flew around the world to connect with soldiers recommended by W4 listeners.

Brian “Bubba” Cowan and Michael Montagne of Chelsea at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.  Montagne, who is medically retired from the Army, lost part of his leg and  part of his spine on his third tour of duty in Iraq when his Humvee hit an  explosive device. He has had more than 60 surgeries.

Photo courtesy of Brian Cowan

The trip, from Nov. 8-13, with Cowan’s “5 Days/5 Soldiers” shows airing through the 12th, spanned Washington, D.C., to Italy to Germany to Korea, Honolulu and even North Carolina. The troops and their loves ones, about a dozen and a half people in all, were treated a night of normalcy, dinner at a local restaurant and well wishes from home.

Cowan and Gretkierewicz told AnnArbor.com that the stakes could be even higher in year 5, as they’ve been offered the opportunity to ride along on a medevac run from Afghanistan to Germany back to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. That plan hasn’t been finalized but both men feel honored by the opportunity.

Cowan, who pays for his travel out of his own pocket, said that while the visits “can’t reach everyone, the troops we are able to connect with are always appreciative.”

“Politics aside, your opinion of the wars aside, our troops are fighting to the best of their abilities,” Cowan said. “This is just our little effort to put some of the spotlight on them.”

Are there any plans to get these trips sponsored in the future and perhaps reach a bigger audience or stay longer?

Cowan said “it’s possible,” but it sounds more like an afterthought. He has always paid his own way to see the troops, just as Key Bank pays its own way. 

Sponsorships might mean a chance to reach more troops, which would be great. But sponsorship also runs the risk of commercializing what started as a thoughtful way to give back, a once-a-year sacrifice that puts the spotlight on local soldiers stationed abroad, if only for a short time.

After giving the sponsorship question more thought, Cowan said: “I guess some things just aren’t meant to be monetized.”

• Click here for videos produced by Cowan and Gretkierewicz during their trip.

James David Dickson can be reached at JamesDickson@AnnArbor.com.