As I leaned in my seat and craned my neck to peer out the airplane window, I couldn’t help but notice the vast amounts of green. The cactus I had expected. The trees, bushes and even grass were a pleasant surprise. A beautiful mountain range stretched toward the sky. A quick glance out the window across the aisle presented more mountains and more green. “This can’t be the desert,” I muttered to myself, obviously surprised by the sight below. I couldn’t help but notice the cool air whisk across my face as I stepped through the automatic doors of the airport. The sun was shining bright from its perch in the sky, but its effects were limited to light on the chilly day. As the driver weaved in and out of traffic on a busy street named Campbell, I spotted flowers growing in front of businesses. I found it odd given the cold temperatures, but enjoyed the décor it provided. There were restaurants littered on each side of the street: some fast food and others sit-down. Many were of the Mexican variety and looked delicious. Tattoo shops, offices and apartment complexes continued to fill the blocks of the congested street. We continued to drive toward the scenic mountains to the north until the driver turned at a sign labeled “Westin La Paloma.” If the mountains were beautiful than this place was extravagant. The pavement approached the entrance where massive arches stood to the left with a fountain squirting white streaks of water into the air. Long, skinny evergreens were placed against the wall next to the arches. A beige-colored roof extended from the arches overhead and to the right where the front doors of the resort waited. A gentleman opened my door and offered to park the car in the valet, to which the driver declined. Stepping through the door, which was held by another smiling man, I spotted the same style of arches on the back of the building. The three arched windows opened up to a beautiful pool outdoors with the mountains providing a majestic backdrop. Trees lined the pool to each side. A swim-up bar offered pool-goers a cool drink or quick eats during their stay. I saw a hot tub to the side and wondered why a place so warm would need such a thing. A slight breeze provided a gentle understanding. “If the entire city looks this incredible, we could definitely move here,” I thought to myself. The city was Tucson and my visit was for a job interview. KVOA News 4 Tucson had flown me in from Montana and was showing interest in filling its weekend sports anchor position. I spent the majority of the following day speaking with different employees of the station. An assistant news director named Jason picked me up at the resort and I knew right away he was a sports fan. “I will have to check with him for good local story ideas if I get the job,” I pondered as we drove along. When we arrived on-site where I met with Cathie, the news director. She had been the one to talk with me via email and schedule my trip. We discussed how operations worked in the newsroom before she led me back to the office of the general manager, Bill. I also met with a producer named Keith who picked my brain about my sports coverage in Montana. Finally, the time came to meet with my potential boss in the sports department. Paul Cicala, a local Tucsonan, was to take me out to lunch and pick my brain. Halfway through our meal at El Charro, which recognized itself as the nation’s oldest Mexican restaurant to be run by the same family, Paul received a call from the station. Apparently, what he thought to be a day off no longer was. We zipped back to KVOA so he could begin working on the nightly sportscast. We talked about coverage in Tucson from the Arizona Wildcats to the local high schools and Olympic-caliber swimmers and divers. I showed him a few tips and tricks on the editing system, one I was familiar with from my time in Montana. Suddenly, Cathie and Jason appeared requesting I do a screen test in the studio. The room was massive. A green screen for the meteorologists was constructed to one side with a large weather desk filled with computers and monitors to its left. A few feet away stood the anchor desk shaped like a crescent moon with the rounded portion in the back and the tips coming toward the three cameras in the front. A large number “4” with an NBC logo was etched on a piece of glass in the middle. A blonde woman named Rebecca sat down in the anchor chair beside me and introduced herself as the weekend anchor. She would be one of my co-workers should I get the job. Rebecca and I were to provide “cross-talk” teasing the sports coverage before I turned to a different camera and proceeded with my mock sportscast. As I continued to read the highlights appearing on the television monitor in front of me, I noticed the teleprompter lose its spot in the current story. I had previously read a book by sportscaster Jim Nantz, who recalled a time he interviewed with CBS Sports in New York. During his screen test, the potential employers deliberately froze the teleprompter to see if Nantz could think on his feet and continue to deliver the sports on his own. He did and the rest is history. “This must be the same type of test,” I thought to myself. I snatched up my scripts and began to ad lib the rest of the screen test, no different than I normally did in Montana. When we had finished, Jason rushed into the studio to apologize for the teleprompter mishap. Apparently, what I assumed deliberate and a test had actually been an accident. I was later told that ad lib was one of the deciding factors in my hiring. Two years have passed since that Monday in January of 2014. It was the day Florida State beat Auburn in the BCS National Championship game. My wife, Fallon, and I have been on many adventures since that day. Each of us has improved our career drastically: she in medical oncology and bone marrow transplants and me in the sports broadcasting. However, our time in the beautiful Sonoran Desert is coming to a close. As I type this, I am currently hours away from my final day on the job with KVOA News 4 Tucson. Soon I will be handing in my key card, completing an exit interview and punching my time sheet for the last time. I can’t help but think back to that Monday in January of 2014. What if one little thing had gone different? What if I had been too nervous to ad lib during that screen test? It’s incredible how things came together for Fallon and I to enjoy this adventure we have been on for the past two years. Today I am thankful for those who made this journey possible. Cathie, Jason and Bill were excellent resources during the hiring process and were the deciding factor in my move to KVOA. Paul has been an incredible sports director and friend for the past 24 months. Never have I met a more caring man who wants to make a difference in his community. His appreciation of his hometown goes far beyond the news to his volunteer work at local hospitals and his emcee appearances for fundraisers. The energy he brings to work on a daily basis will continue to amaze me even after I leave. I feel like he has kept me young (even though I’m younger than he is.) I know his positivity doesn’t affect just me, but all of the employees in the news room and beyond. His goofy and energetic style was the perfect balance for my own delivery and I hope viewers appreciated the work we were able to accomplish. There are far too many employees to thank individually but each department at KVOA is filled with talented workers. The hard-working reporters continue to bring complete coverage to southern Arizona while holding back their own opinions and beliefs. There were days they stood in the pouring monsoon rains and the emotional toll they likely took when finding the facts after the loss of a life. While the reporters were asking the tough questions, photographers scurry around Tucson and the outlying areas to provide award-winning video in each newscast. From the beginning of their shift to the end (sometimes beyond) they lug around the heavy cameras and tripods to provide the actual visual content seen on the nightly news. I feel like their hard work goes unseen by many, but I hope they know how appreciative I am of their help. KVOA presents viewers with six different newscasts throughout the day beginning bright and early. Each newscast has a producer, sometimes two, working tirelessly to “stack the show” and decide what will be seen each day. They are consistently communicating with the reporters and photographers to make sure things run smoothly when the show hits the airwaves. Theirs is a job that I do not envy but I am thankful for the way they complete their daily tasks. To me, the group that deserves the most praise is the one behind the scenes. Viewers will see the anchors and reporters throughout the typical newscast but it is the crew not seen that makes things come together. The director must call a clean show to avoid errors. The technical director can’t press the wrong button on a board filled with hundreds. Those in graphics must have their work finished and ready to present at the right moment. The employee running the audio board needs to monitor the levels throughout the news while making sure the correct microphones are on. Studio camera operators are thinking two to three stories ahead as they roll the heavy cameras across the floor. Master control is in control of keeping content on the air throughout the entire day. Engineers are constantly fixing a camera, adjusting a computer and trying to make sure the signal remains on the airwaves. The list of people behind the scenes goes on and on from promotions and production to the editors piecing together the video for each story. While the on-air talent gets much of the credit because their face is tied to a particular story, there are dozens of behind the scenes employees it takes to make that happen. It’s where I started and why I will always have nothing but respect for their efforts. As I finish up this post, graupel has started to fall from the overcast Tucson skies. The mix of rain and snow hits the ground like a soft hail. Add it to the list of things I wouldn’t expect to see in Tucson. Days from now, Fallon and I will load up the dogs and the few belongings not traveling with the moving company and we will begin the drive down Cortaro Farms road toward I-10. As we merge onto the interstate and accelerate, we will look around one final time at the trees and grass, the flowers and buildings. The mountains will begin to fade and eventually the cactus will disappear. The sand, what little there is, will turn to snow and eventually Helena, Montana will be the final destination. As will pull into the driveway of our new home, one thought will continue to be on our mind. Thank you Tucson. Thank you for taking a young married couple and their dogs into your lives for the past two years. Thank you for being so kind to a couple of small town Montanans living in the big city. Thank you for the opportunity to provide you with the latest sports news and for allowing Fallon to care for you as you went through one of life’s toughest challenges. Thank you for the smiles, the waves and for accepting us as your own. The kindness we have seen will remain with us forever. Thank you.
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AuthorRichie is a small-town boy chasing big-city dreams. When he's not involved with sports, he's spending time with his wife, Fallon; their yorkie, Tinker; and their Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rosie. Archives
April 2016
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