Monday, September 28, 2009

Thanks Dan

People come and people go. It is part of life, part of any company. But, when you visit thousands of people in their homes every night, departures are much more obvious. So when we said so long to Dan Edwards the other night, we got calls and e-mails. There is a lot of turnover behind the cameras, in all parts of the KTAB building, but it's those of us who are on the air that people know and react to when there is a change.
Dan was with us for more than 2 years, doing his weather thing at 5, 6 and 10pm. And doing the overnight severe storm coverage thing which has been a staple of KTAB since we signed on the air. Any type of weather is important to those of us in the Big Country, but when it gets nasty, we really pay attention. Dan had the technique of sitting at the computer, moving us around the area getting different views of the storms and then walking back to his position in front of the radar image. Talking (and making sense) the whole time. Very smooth.
Dan also enjoyed working with various maps and charts, to create something which would visually show the weather he was talking about. He called the forecast more accurately than most meteorologists we've seen come and go over the years. His goal was to make his air time meaningful, educational, even fun. He did that.
Here's wishing Dan and his family well. Thanks, Dan.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

30 Years Ago, Part II

Maybe you were watching the 10pm news tonight. Parts of it were about me. I don't know that I agree with the decision to devote valuable newstime to cover me, but they didn't consult yours truly. It turned out to be great, and I'm humbled by the kind words that Angela, David, Dan and Victor Sotelo had to say about me.
There were other nice things said, at a gathering at The Grace last Saturday. My family was all there, along with KTABers and friends from the community. From my bosses to current co-workers to former teammates it was a very flattering evening. And some of what they said may be true. Besides David Robinett, "kind" words from the past by former Sports Director David Bacon, former co-anchor Fran Adkins, Chief Videographer Andrew Carlson, General Manager Eric Thomas, and News Director (and soon to be stand up comic) Austin Kellerman. The "social" was not a roast, altho the Bloopers you saw on the air were played and stories about me and us (which some found hilarious) were told.
What I've been able to do for the last 30 years (+8 at KRBC) is to tell stories about you. Some were sad, some were uplifting, some were funny. But our reporters and photographers have been on many of the back roads of the Big Country to find out what's going on.
We've traveled the world together, you and me. I've been to several places in Europe and Africa covering Dyess missions. Co-anchor Jennifer Douglas and Jason Kumalo also reported from Africa. I have reported live from Las Vegas and the MDA Telethon, from Fort Worth after a tornado tore thru downtown Cowtown, from College Station when the Bonfire collapsed, and from around Abilene and the Big Country. Our crews have covered elections, Super Bowls and special events from across the country.
And it all started from a very nice studio on South 14th in Abilene, Texas.
Our total number of employees has never been large, but founder Bill Terry lived up to his original hiring goal: hire good people, work them hard, pay them well. (All true, except for the pay part). He did a great job of selecting and hiring good talent.
Next time, I'll bring back some names that you old timers might remember.