My interest in broadcasting goes back to my early childhood when everything at home stopped at my parents and grandparents homes and we watched the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. At a very young age, I got a sense that news was very important and something that I wanted to be a part of.

Growing up in Williamsburg, some classmates and I started a newspaper and sold it on the street when we were in the 5th and 6th grades. By the time I was 14, I started hanging out at the local radio station and they let me do local announcements and pull wire stories for newscasts. I remember running to the control room with word of Elvis' death and helping people with information about big floods along the Cumberland River. When I was 15, WEZJ radio had me doing a regular air shift on the station, playing country music and doing local news. A year later, we started a cable tv station and I produced and anchored the news while also playing basketball and serving as class president. Those busy days got me in shape for a career in news.

I attended what is now the University of the Cumberlands and continued working in radio and TV and then transferred to Eastern Kentucky University where I earned a degree in broadcasting and political science.

The summer before my senior year at EKU, I did an internship with WKYT and got to work with people I already respected from watching them on tv, including my now great friend and co-anchor Barbara Bailey. I was supposed to be here for the summer, but so far, it has lasted nearly 25-years. I still like to think of myself as youthful, but I am now the longest serving male anchor in the history of Lexington television.

The opportunities at WKYT have been endless. As an anchor on "NEWSFIRST at NOON" since 1986, I've been part of what we like to think is one of the nation's best midday newscasts. We emphasize live reporting and breaking news and it's a site to see us writing stories and confirming information right up to the last minute!

After a stint on the morning news in the early 90's, I anchored our 5:30 evening newscast for twelve years, before returning to the newly revamped "27 NEWSFIRST THIS MORNING" in August 2006. Yes, the 3:20 AM alarm is early, but I really enjoy the morning news and I hope it shows.

What can I say? I guess I've seen it all in local television... I've done everything from introducing local singers to interviewing world famous stars to covering presidential inaugurations to brushing a dog's teeth on TV! For several months, I was WKYT's acting news director, in charge of our entire news operation. And I currently serve as managing editor which gives me a strong voice in our editorial direction.

I'm really proud of KENTUCKY NEWSMAKERS. For more than 20 years, I've interviewed governors and US Senators and other leaders and it has become the state's most watched political and public affairs interview program. It pleases me that leaders often call me and want to do the show, even though they know there will be some tough questions. It always has special excitement as elections approach! I've always thought it to be both wise and responsible for WKYT to keep its commitment to KENTUCKY NEWSMAKERS.

Along the way, EKU has done me the special honor of inducting me into its "Hall of Distinguished Alumni" and Williamsburg High School added me to its "Hall of Fame." No honors could be more special to me and I try to help both of those entities whenever I can. My work has also been recognized by the Associated Press and I'm proud to have been a part of newscasts honored with Emmy and Communicator Awards.

I am active helping Kentucky Children's Hospital raise money and in recent years I helped spearhead an effort to build a downtown community park in my hometown. Through the years I've been the guest speaker and emcee at numerous events throughout the region.... I especially enjoy Madison County's "Pops at the Park" event which I have hosted for many years.

For fun, I love to work out with weights and run or use a cross-trainer to stay in shape. I also like to boat and I read a lot, especially about Kentucky history and the national political scene.

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