103.1 Power FM's long-time breakfast show host Julia Zass made the decision to hang up the headphones after 13 years.

After more than a decade of early starts, and welcoming her daughter to the world in 2021, "Jules" - as she is known around the city - said she ultimately wanted to spend more time with her family.

"[Radio] has been a big part of my life for a very long time and a part of my identity," she said.

"But it's just time ... family life and mum life has sort of taken a bit more of a priority."

Jules' radio career started while she was studying visual merchandising at university in Melbourne, when she signed up at a community radio station.

Her first job was in Taree, NSW. She was there for just over a year before moving to Ballarat.

She started at Power FM on February 2, 2009, and a week later she stepped into the studio for the first breakfast show with co-host Cam Luke.

But the excitement of the first day of a new radio show in a new job was marred by the tragedy of the Black Saturday Bushfires which happened in the days prior.

She said it was a week she would never forget.

"It was horrific!" Jules recalled.

"Our boss at the time just told us to continue with the show plan, but as the show rolled on we were getting news updates in real time of how many people had passed away.

"We had no idea how to cover it because it was such a shocking situation. The next day we threw the whole show plan out and pretty much just covered the fires.

"It was so sad and weird, because I was meant to be excited about being on air in this new job, but was conflicted because of the tragedy that was unfolding."

The pair covered the fires for the following week and held an outside broadcast at Stockland Wendouree to raise money for those impacted.

While Jules is one face of the breakfast show, she has had seven co-hosts throughout her years.

"It's always tough at the start [of a new co-host], because it's a whole new person, a whole new show," she said.

"Every different co-host brings out a different side of you because you learn to work with their personalities, which obviously takes time as well.

"I've got to learn this whole person, I've got to learn what they like, what they don't like, are they married or single? Where are they in their life? Are they planning on ditching Power FM within a year? Are they going to stick around? That kind of thing.

"Especially the later [co-hosts], I formed great friendships with them, too.

"So it was devastating on two levels when you're like, 'oh, my co-host is leaving'.

"That means my show is kind of 'falling apart', but also, I've got a friend that's leaving, and that's devastating."

But with each co-host came plenty of highlights.

Jules remembers rallying Ballarat together in 2009 to turn the city pink to raise money for cancer research and to entice popstar P!nk to visit.

Businesses, schools and residents wore pink while the city was renamed 'Pinkville' and the station to Pink FM.

During her 13 years she also got to dance on stage with David Hasselhoff, went to Port Lincoln to swing giant tuna as part of the town's Tunarama Festival and, in 2017 drove Australian Idol winner Casey Donovan and a couple of lucky listeners around Ballarat in the "Don-O-Van" while belting out some carpool karaoke.

But there is one memory that stands out for long-time listeners of the show.

"Obviously, everyone is going to say, 'what about the hand up the cow?' " Jules laughed.

"As part of a promotion we were out trying different jobs every day, and so I headed out to a local dairy farm.

"They said, 'we're going to milk cows'. That seems fair enough. 'Well, you've got to feed the cows'. Yep, cool. 'This cow is pregnant, so you get to check how the baby is going'.

"But ... how do we do that? 'Oh, you go in the rear, and here's the glove'.

"It is the weirdest sensation you've ever felt.

"That one's obviously stuck there forever, it's immortalised on YouTube of course - where all great things are immortalised."

There were also some challenging times when it came to broadcasting for Jules, particularly during the COVID-induced lockdowns.

"It was a challenge that is for sure because you're like, 'is anyone listening?'," she said.

"We were the only people in the building, it was just announcers, so it was pretty lonely in the office.

"Constantly trying to find new things to talk about that weren't COVID-related - that was a very big challenge in itself."

Jules has not just been a face and voice of Power FM, however. For many years she has been out in the community and enjoying the wonderful events Ballarat has to offer.

"I love an event," she emphasised.

"If there's something I can dress up for, or there's a fun run I can take part in, or somebody wants me to host something, yeah I'll be there."

And she has certainly proved that in her regular appearances and work at the Begonia Festival, Springfest, Rock Ballarat, Heritage Festival and even volunteering her time for community events such as Relay For Life. She plans to continue this work.

"I won't be on the radio every single morning, but I'll still be in Ballarat; I'll still be around," she said.

"Even if people can't hear me on the radio, they can hear me at the coffee shop because no doubt I'll still be getting coffees every morning somewhere."

IN OTHER NEWS:

Jules has seen noticeable change around Ballarat in her 13 years.

"I'm a bit of a foodie and I love my restaurants," she said.

"When I first moved here, the best place you could go to was the pub, and the best offering was probably a pot and a parma or something.

"We now have this huge array of amazing restaurants ... even the pubs have brought their food up to a whole new level, and the offerings are just amazing.

"We've got wine bars, so much going on all the time ... I love living here and I love the advancements that have happened in Ballarat while I've been here."

Jules said her career at Power FM could have been different if it were not for the station's loyal listeners and variety of people she met.

"Even though it's quite a large town you'll still know people. It's pretty cool that I've gotten to meet so many different people from different walks of life," she said.

"Like every regional radio announcer you intend to stay in one place for maybe one or two years, and then you go to the next big thing and you hope to make it big one day in a capital city radio station.

"Obviously, that didn't happen [to me] because I found love here, and I built a life here. I just stayed."

Jules' final show will be aired this coming Friday.

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