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.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Our heartiest congratulations, Bob. There isn't a nicer or more talented person to do what you have done these 30 years.
ReplyDeleteYou have carried the torch well, after our old friend Larry Fitzgerald went home to the Lord.
You will always be Number One to us as news anchor, as a friend.
All the best always, with God's richest blessings.
Tony & Barb
The best memory I have of Bob Bartlett is of a photo on the wall of a sweet lady's room at Shady Oaks Nursing Home over 30 years ago. Mary Weathers was a patient there from a muscular dystrophy type disease, and she thought Bob was wonderful! He had posed with her in the photo and she happily told people of it for years. She reminded me a lot of Terri Schiavo in her last days. Both ladies had lives of giving smiles to others, when they could do little else than pray for those of us so busy in life. I still have the notion that some of the least suspected people for being useful and vital in this life are exactly that.
ReplyDelete