I remember the first time I was not with my immediate family on Christmas morning. It was the late 1960s, and I had just started working for radio station WFMS, the first FM station to go on the air in Indianapolis. The station was owned by a well-known local broadcast engineer, Martin Williams.

Mr. Williams was an interesting man. Early in his engineering career, he told me stories about installing two-way radio communications in commercial airplanes. He later became chief engineer at WFBM radio. After 1940, he worked as a consulting engineer and, in 1957, put the first FM radio station on the air in Indianapolis.

Let’s just say he loved old big band music, particularly performers like Guy Lombardo and Wayne King. He also featured classical music in the evenings and operated the only station in town providing programming for the city’s many ethnic communities, including German, Irish, and Latvian audiences.

Another fascinating note about Mr. Williams: as a young engineering student in the early 20th century, he met the man credited with inventing wireless communications—Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi.

Martin Williams had a large collection of Christmas music, and that Christmas morning we played nothing but holiday favorites. What impressed me most were the number of people who called the station to thank me for giving up my Christmas morning to provide the sounds of the season. That meant a great deal to me.

As we celebrate Christmas Day with our families, it’s worth remembering that countless people are working today—police officers, firefighters, emergency responders, and yes, the people who keep broadcasting up and running.

Think about those people this Christmas Day. And if you happen to cross paths with someone working today, take a moment to offer a simple thank-you. It will mean more than you may realize.