Pam Koupal
After graduation in Dec. '77 started out as an evening news producer for KCTV in Kansas City...working with notable Mizzou alum, John Ferrugia. Left KCTV after about a year and a half to join KSDK in St. Louis as producer and later executive producer...where I got to work with fellow Mizzou grads Linda Williams, Mike Murrie, Art Holliday...and last, but certainly not least...got to share an office with my former advisor and mentor...the great Max Utsler!??. Those were the days!
Job change sent my family to mid Missouri where I moved away from tv news and became communications director for the Missouri Lottery. Served a short time as acting executive director there before my family moved west once again...this time to Topeka. Joined the Kansas Lottery as marketing director...then left to write/edit/publish the monthly newsletter for the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries. Even spent a little time teaching news writing at our local university before leaving to devote full time to raising my 3 boys. Now a part of that sandwich generation splitting my time between caring for an aging parent and visiting my kids who are spread out across the country.
Never slows down...but love catching up and hearing from so many of you! Thanks, Dan, for the memories and for getting the ball rolling.
Bruce Breslow
OK, so at her request, lets start the "what are you doing now and where have you been" emails
Bruce Breslow-13 years on TV each night as a sportscaster. Play-by-Play at 8 summer Olympic Games. Real Estate commercial sales, Mayor of a small town of 95,000, started an ad agency, real estate again, then to state government in Nevada. I've been the director of Business & Industry for Nevada the past four years. I can't keep a job.
John Loesing
Thanks Dan ... great stuff as always
Won't bore you with the details, but I was in grad school with the class of '77, and have much greater affinity with you guys than with my own '74. As the old man in the group, all I say is keep on keepin' on.
From KOMU to WCIX and WCKT Miami (sportscaster); SportsTime Cable Network Cincinnati (sportscaster); Financial News Network Los Angeles (more sports); and then full circle back to community journalism, today, with Beverly Hills Television ("Beverly Hills This Week" news update); and Acorn Newspapers (Southern California weekly chain).
More than 40 years straight as a working journalist-broadcast, print ... love it all.
Ready to hang it up, but as there is no gold watch at the end of the rainbow, alas, I just keep on keepin' on.
Would love to try to make the reunion. Cheers, all.
Warren Mills
After Mizzou I spent four months in Savanah at WSAV as reporter, photographer, fill-in sports anchor and fill-in tape editor.
Two and one half years at KTBS in Shreveport, La. as photographer, reporter and one-man-band.
Sixteen years in Indianapolis at WTHR as photographer and an additional 20 years doing digital work, including building the company's first website.
Now I'm semi-retired, building websites on a freelance basis.
Jan Sokoloff Harness
1 year as a traffic manager/substitute reporter at KBEA/KXTR: Kansas City
8 years at KUDL-FM, and part of that time also WHB-AM: reporter, news director, talk show host: Kansas City
8 years at University of Missouri-KC, managing news bureau, assistant director of communications
Switched to PR, communications, agency life. Writer at Corporate Communications Group; Creative Director of Blades & Associates
Almost 15 years ago, I went out on my own as a writer/editor/creative coach. My client list shifts, but GE is currently the biggest client, with others including Ryder, Alzheimer's Association, and a bunch of smaller companies - oddly enough, not all in the U.S. and very few in KC.
According to my financial planner, I should work until I'm 70, and have an expected "end of retirement" date at 100. "End of retirement" does not, as I originally thought, mean I'll be going back to work at that point ...
Cynthia Schreen
Wow 40 years.. I remember I was excited because I had a job waiting for me at the big WGEM in Quincy Ill.
Great memories of J School and my friends.
Dave Rickey
I spent 7 years at WSFA-TV in Montgomery, Alabama. Great station to start out with (including my roommate and the station's sports guy named Dan O'Brien ... hah.) After seven years I jumped ship to corporate communication and worked with companies like Blount, Inc, Alabama Power Co., AmSouth Bank, ALFA Insurance/Alabama Farmers Federation, and Birmingham Business Alliance. I am now a consultant with the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, a non-governmental economic development organization. A lot of my focus -- and passion - is now directed toward my 1 1/2 year old grandson and my one-week! old granddaughter!!
Christopher Abel
Aug'77. Went to KATV LITTLE ROCK as photographer/reporter. Great place to learn especially with a phenomenal editor named Ed Eaves who went on to ABC 20/20.
June '79 decided to go full time reporting at WOI-TV in Ames/Des Moines as state house reporter. Great training for gov/politics reporting.
Jan'81 got a call from WFTV Orlando to be anchor/reporter in a much larger market. Covered space shuttle and international news. Central America documentary on Sandinistas in Nicaraqua.
Jan '85..offered O and O reporter job at KMOX-TV St. Louis. Station was sold a year later with many layoffs to cut expenses
Aug '88 ..offered CNN network reporter in Dallas bureau..covered primarily SW region but did cover Miami riots and many hurricanes
Sept '92 ... due to layoffs at CNN and overall dissatisfaction with working conditions, I left journalism and retrained as a CFP to build my own investment firm. Hard change to make but it was either move my growing family to a city they did not want to live, risk divorce or stay in Texas and be with the family of 3 kids and wife for all weekends, evenings, soccer and birthdays.
Nov 2016 Sold my investment firm..semi retired now. Open to opportunities ... LOL And so it goes.