It has been nearly twenty years since I joined the 11Alive News staff back in December of 1988, when Vince Dooley was still the football coach at the University of Georgia, Sonny Bono was the Mayor of Palm Springs, and compact discs were the new musical rage.
I was born in Atlanta's Emory Hospital while both my mother and father were working in the Dekalb County school system. My father was the track coach at Druid Hills High School, where he coached legendary Atlanta news anchor John Pruitt. My mother taught at S.W. Dekalb High School and at Briarcliff. We moved when I was three-years-old, and eventually wound up Gainesville, Florida, where I grew up.
I returned to Georgia to attend college in Athens where I studied journalism as a Bulldog. While at UGA, I ran cross-country as well as indoor and outdoor track.
Broadcasting has taken me on a whirl-wind tour of the South. I worked at WRBL-TV in Columbus, GA, WAAY-TV in Huntsville, AL, and WSPA-TV in Greenville, S.C., before accepting a job with WXIA.
My favorite thing to do is spend time with my family. My wife Cady is an artist who started her own ceramic business several years ago, and has been quite successful. My oldest, Robert, is a fledgling writer who is now studying English and Journalism at the University of Georgia. My teenage daughter, Caroline, is an adventurous soul who participates in cheerleading, diving, dancing, and track and field. My youngest, Rachel, is also a dancer, and a very talented tennis player.
I also try my hand at tennis, playing on my neighborhood ALTA team, although some parts of my body are trying to convince me to give it up. My aging body has become better suited for my other hobby, reading. My favorite book of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I devour anything written by Carl Hiaasen and Nelson DeMille, and love classics such as All's Quiet on the Western Front, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and George Orwell's 1984.
I am a member of Dunwoody United Methodist Church. My faith is a vital part of my life. I have been teaching youth Sunday School since 2002; the youth tend to teach me as much or more than I teach them. Every Tuesday morning at 7 a.m., you'll find me at the Hickory House in Dunwoody where I meet with a group of men from my church for a discussion about faith and the Bible.
Television reporting allows me to see and experience something new everyday, and brings me in contact with people I otherwise might not ever meet. It also provides me with a venue for telling stories, another passion of mine. My favorite stories are those about people who have overcome challenges, people who have faced the downside of life, and have emerged stronger than they were before.