4,277 Days Ago

Hard to believe that today is the day. My last day at KFVS-TV.

My first day at KFVS was October 6, 1999. I started as a 24-year old out of college ready to forecast my way through winter and spring storms. Who would have thought that I endured my way through tornadoes, hail, flooding, flash flooding, ice storms, snow storms, heat waves and blizzards?! I have seen a lot during my time at KFVS.

If you read my blog much you probably know I like numbers. Here's a number for you... 4,277. That is the number of days I worked as an employee of KFVS. That is 32.2% of my life!

I have enjoyed my time at KFVS. There is a rich history at the station. Yes, the television building and transmitter have stood for many years but it is really the employees of KFVS that make it what it was in the past and what it is today. What it is today is much more than when I started.

When I first arrived at KFVS it was just a television station. Now it operates three television stations (KFVS, WQWQ - The Heartland's CW, The StormTeam Weather Network), three websites (kfvs12.com, mykfvs.com and hyper-local county-by-county microsites), four iTunes video feeds and soon to be, two mobile applications. It is amazing the amount of content that is being pushed out of the building in downtown Cape Girardeau.

There are a few people I need to thank. A special "thank you" to Samantha Farris for keeping me grounded and making my time in Cape Girardeau enjoyable. You helped make this time go by quickly. I can't thank you enough!

Thank you Chad Fryman for being a good friend, letting me stay at your place until I found an apartment and introducing me to the news director that eventually hired me.

I can't thank everyone I have worked with over the years, but there are a few I would like to give a special "thank you" to all of the current and former members of the Heartland StormTeam (Bob Reeves, Brian Alworth, Jordan McCollum, Jason Lindsey and Laura Wibbenmeyer). I have spent many, many, many hours working besides the above mentioned group. I am going to have fond memories of sitting in the Weather Center with Bob. Not so much talking weather but talking about all kinds of topics under the sun.

I would also like to thank you, the viewers, for letting me in to your homes every night, afternoon and morning. Sorry for the times I cut off the end of your favorite television show, golf tournament or basketball games. I really didn't intend to wipe out the ending.

Everyone in the "Heartland" (southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, northwest Tennessee and northeast Arkansas) has been very welcoming to me since I arrived and I truly appreciate that.

Although my time at KFVS is over, I am not finished. I am going to continue this blog. I will continue to forecast weather for the KFVS viewing area, especially during big storms. I am planning on going back to providing live streaming coverage of storms, especially at night. You are also likely to see a few new features as well over time.