* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:10] WELCOME TO, IT'S HAPPENING IN GRAND PRAIRIE. I'M GEORGIA CLEMSON, AND WE HAVE A VERY SPECIAL EDITION FOR YOU. TODAY WE HAVE OUR EXECUTIVE PRODUCER FOR GPTV, DON JOHNSON . WELCOME, DON. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. WELL, OF COURSE. AND SOMETHING BIG IS HAPPENING IN YOUR LIFE HERE. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 30 YEARS BIG. YES, MA'AM. TELL US, TELL US, UH, WHAT WE'RE CELEBRATING TODAY. WELL, AFTER 30 YEARS, I'VE DECIDED THAT I'M, I'M GOING TO RETIRE. UH, IT'S NOT BECAUSE I DON'T LOVE THE JOB AND LOVE WHAT I'M DOING, BUT THERE'S SOME OTHER THINGS GOING ON, AND I JUST THINK THAT IT'S, IT'S A GOOD TIME FOR ME TO, TO MOVE ON. WELL, AND THAT IS A CELEBRATION BECAUSE IT OPENS UP A NEW ADVENTURE FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. I DON'T HAVE TO, I DON'T HAVE TO SPEND AN HOUR AND 20 MINUTES EVERY DAY COMING FROM EAST DALLAS . THAT'S RIGHT. AND THEN GOING BACK HOME INTO EAST DALLAS, WHICH IS THE COMMUTE HAS BEEN A KILLER THE LAST 10 YEARS. YES. WHICH IS A HUGE BLESSING. NOW, DON, IT'S HARD TO PUT THIS ALL IN ONE PROGRAM BECAUSE YOU HAVE SPENT 30 YEARS HERE WITH GRAND PRIX, BUT LET'S START AT THE BEGINNING. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? IN DAVID'S CITY, NEBRASKA. I AM TALKING, YOU'RE TALKING SMALL TOWNS. THIS IS NOT EVEN A SMALL TOWN. IT'S A SMALL, SMALL TOWN. THERE WERE LIKE 1500 PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE. UH, MY PARENTS, BOTH MY PARENTS WERE BORN THERE, SO I WAS BORN THERE. MY, UH, SECOND YOUNGEST BROTHER WAS BORN THERE, AND THEN WE MOVED TO ANOTHER PLACE IN NEBRASKA. THEN WE MOVED TO KANSAS. WE LIVED IN TWO TOWNS THERE AND A LARGE ONE, UH, AT THE END IN PITTSBURGH, KANSAS. AND THEN BY THEN I, I WAS IN COLLEGE AND, UH, HAD MOVED OUT OF STATE. SO I WENT FROM KANSAS TO IOWA. AND IN BETWEEN THERE, I LIVED FOR A WHILE IN MISSOURI WHERE I WAS, UH, WAS FINISHING UP COLLEGE. SO ALL FOUR OF THOSE MIDWESTERN STATES IS WHERE I LIVED. IOWA WAS THE MOST INTERESTING BECAUSE IT LIVED, UH, RIGHT ALONGSIDE THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER IN THE QUAD CITIES. AND, UH, YOU'VE NEVER LIVED IN A PLACE WHERE A RIVER LIKE THE MISSISSIPPI, IT IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT KIND OF EXPERIENCE, AND IT WAS REALLY COOL LIVING THERE. AND YOU WENT TO COLLEGE IN KANSAS AND MISSOURI? YES. I, I WENT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS FOR TWO YEARS. MY PARENTS MOVED OUTTA STATE AND THE OUTTA STATE TUITION WAS JUST OUT OF REACH. SO THEY LIVED ABOUT 30 MINUTES AWAY FROM A UNIVERSITY IN WARRENSBURG, MISSOURI. SO DURING THE SUMMER, I HURRIED UP AND GOT ENROLLED THERE AND, UH, FINISHED UP, GOT A DEGREE FROM CENTRAL MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY. AND WHAT WAS YOUR DEGREE IN DON ? DON'T ASK TO PUBLIC PUBLIC RELATIONS. WOW. BECAUSE BACK IN THOSE DAYS, THERE WASN'T ANY RADIO OR TELEVISION, UH, DEDICATED, UH, PROGRAMS OR CAREER PATHS, BECAUSE RADIO WAS BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, DISC JOCKEYING ON TOP 40 STATIONS. UH, FM HAD JUST COME IN, IN THE EARLY SEVENTIES. THERE WAS NO REAL TV OR FILM, UH, DEPARTMENTS BACK THEN, EVEN IN A UNIVERSITY THE SIZE OF KU. SO WHEN I GOT TO WARRENSBURG AND I HAD ALL THESE CREDITS, WHEN I WAS READY, I ALREADY HAD TWO COMMERCIAL JOBS AT RADIO STATIONS. YES. BY THAT TIME IN 75, I SAID, TELL ME WHAT I CAN GET OUTTA HERE WITH RIGHT NOW. RIGHT. PUBLIC RELATIONS SOLD. I CAN RELATE TO THAT. I DID THE SAME THING. SO I WAS READY TO GET OUTTA COLLEGE. YES. SO YOU MENTIONED BRIEFLY, WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR TRAINING FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR US FOR THE PAST 30 YEARS? UH, I STARTED, UH, IN RADIO, UH, WHEN I WAS 18 YEARS OLD IN LAWRENCE, IN UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS AT CAMPUS STATION. WORKED IN RADIO UNTIL ABOUT 1975. AND THEN I MOVED TO WATERLOO, IOWA. COLDEST PLACE I EVER LIVED IN MY LIFE. UHHUH AT A PLACE THAT HAD RADIO AND TELEVISION. AND BACK IN THOSE DAYS, MOST LOCAL STATIONS DID BOTH. YOU HAD RADIO AND TV SIDES. AND THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME I GOT TO GO AND DO ANYTHING IN FRONT OF ONE OF THESE CAMERAS WAS IN 1974. AND THEN I GOT ANOTHER JOB AT ANOTHER TELEVISION STATION THAT HAD A RADIO SIDE IN THE QUAD CITIES, MISSISSIPPI RIVER. AND YOU JUST LEARNED ON THE JOB. I HAD LEARNED HOW TO DO FILM BACK IN THE SEVENTIES WHEN YOU TOOK CLASSES IN FILM, OR IT WASN'T EVEN, UH, TV PRODUCTION. YOU HAD FILM CAMERAS IS WHAT [00:05:01] YOU WERE PLAYING WITH, EXPERIMENTING WITH LEARNING HOW TO USE, SO ALL THE EQUIPMENT WAS FILM BACK IN THOSE DAYS. SO YOU CAME IN, GOT THE JOB, AND SAID, THERE'S THE CAMERA. GO OUT AND LEARN HOW TO USE YES. ON THE JOB TRAINING. AND THAT WAS IT. AND THAT, THAT WAS YOUR TRAINING. AND THE OLD GUYS THAT WERE AT THE PLACE WOULD TELL YOU SOME TIPS AND WHAT NOT TO DO AND WHAT TO DO. AND SO IT, UH, THE, THE GEAR WAS, WAS FILM. AND, BUT IN THE MID SEVENTIES, UM, ELECTRONIC NEWS GATHERING, MINI CAMS STARTED COMING IN. AND OUR STATION THERE IN, UH, DAVENPORT, IOWA, GOT THREE OF THESE NEW MINI CAMS. SO IT WENT FROM FILM TO DIGITAL TAPE. YES. AND THEN FROM THERE, UH, THE, THE CAMERAS GOT SMALLER AND SMALLER AND SMALLER. SO YOU'VE HAD WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE. NOW YOU GOT ALL THAT EXPERIENCE. AND HOW DID YOU GET TO GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS? I HAD ENOUGH OF . I LOVE, I LOVE THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, BUT THE WINTERS IN IOWA ARE BRUTAL. PEOPLE COMPLAIN HERE ABOUT WINTER, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW BAD IT CAN BE, YOU KNOW, FOR WEEKS AND MONTHS ON. SO I SENT TAPES TO EVERYWHERE, RESUME TAPES. I GOT HIRED IN DALLAS AT KDFW, WHICH WAS A CBS STATION BACK THEN. AND I'D BEEN ANCHORING AND HAD DONE STREET REPORTING. AND BACK IN THOSE DAYS, YOU DID IT ALL. YOU SHOT THE FOOTAGE, YOU CAME BACK. AND BEFORE WE HAD TAPE, YOU CUT THE FILM, EDITED THE TAPE WHEN WE WENT TO TAPE. SO WHEN I GOT TO, UH, DALLAS, I DIDN'T HAVE TO DO ANY OF THAT ANYMORE. I WAS STRICTLY A REPORTER AND ON CAMERA AND DID A LITTLE BIT OF ANCHORING ON WEEKENDS AND FILLING STUFF. SO I WAS THERE FOR ABOUT NINE YEARS. AND THEN BY THAT TIME, THE INDUSTRY HAD REALLY TAKEN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION. IT WASN'T REALLY JOURNALISM ANYMORE, IT WAS PERFORMING. IT'S DIFFERENT. VERY DIFFERENT. AND I DIDN'T WANNA DO THAT. MM-HMM . THAT'S NOT WHY I GOT INTO IT. SO YOU WERE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA AND YOUR PAST 30 YEARS, YOU'VE BEEN BEHIND THE CAMERA AND, UH, MAKING EVERYBODY ELSE LOOK GOOD AGAIN ON THE JOB. IT SEEMED LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHEN I CAME HERE, AMY SPRINKLES HIRED ME, UH, IN 1995, AND I HAD LEFT BROADCASTING FOR ABOUT TWO AND A HALF, THREE YEARS BY THEN. AND I WAS PRETTY DESPERATE TO FIND PERMANENT EMPLOYMENT WITH BENEFITS, YOU KNOW? YES. SO THE, I SAW THE JOB POSTING, IT CAME IN, I GOT HIRED. SO ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHANGES WAS COMING FROM A PRIVATE CORPORATE, UH, INDUSTRY, A NEWS INDUSTRY WHERE THE, UH, POCKETS ARE DEEPER AND THERE ARE DIFFERENT KIND OF STRESSES AND STRAINS TO WORKING FOR A CITY GOVERNMENT. AND SO THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A PHILOSOPHY CHANGE, BUT THAT, THAT, THAT DIDN'T TAKE REAL LONG. YES. AND WHEN I GOT HERE, WE, WE HAD TWO TAPE RECORDING MACHINES AND THREE CAMERAS IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER. AND THAT WAS GRAND PRAIRIE TELEVISION. MM-HMM . YOUR MOM WAS DOING PUBLIC ACCESS. WE HADN'T EVEN CHANGED IT TO A GOVERNMENT CHANNEL. IT WAS STILL A PUBLIC EDUCATION GOVERNMENT CHANNEL. SHE WAS DOING PROGRAMMING, UH, FOR THE CABLE WITH THE CABLE COMPANY AT THEIR STUDIO LOCATION. AND WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WITH THAT FOR YEARS. SO WE HAD NO EQUIPMENT. SO WE STARTED FROM THE GROUND UP, AND IT STARTED WITH, UH, EVERYTHING WITH TAPE BACK THEN IN THE, IN THE NINETIES. AND SO THE, THE EQUIPMENT THAT WE WERE USING, IT GOT MORE COMPLICATED, MORE SOPHISTICATED, AND WE WENT FROM TAPE TO A COUPLE OF VERSIONS OF TAPE EQUIPMENT. AND THEN WE WENT TO DIGITAL, UH, EQUIPMENT. WE WERE ON STANDARD DEFINITION UNTIL 2008, AND THEN WE UPGRADED TO HD. AND ALL THE EQUIPMENT HAS FOLLOWED THAT, THAT, THAT EVOLUTION. IT'S ALL GOTTEN SMALLER. THE STORAGE CAPACITY IS, YOU KNOW, EXPLODED AS FAR AS HOW MUCH YOU CAN USE AND DO. SO IT'S BEEN INTERESTING TO, TO SEE ALL OF THAT ALL CHANGES FIRSTHAND. YES. AND USE IT FOR THE, THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT I, I WAS GIVEN RESPONSIBILITY TO TURN AROUND. AND YOU MENTIONED MY MOM'S PROGRAM. OF COURSE IT WAS, IT'S HAPPENING IN GRAND PRIX, AND IT HAPPENED , AND IT WAS, WAS IT EVERY WEEK, DAWN, YOUR MOM WAS SHE WAS, WOW. SHE WAS INCREDIBLE. . SHE DID A SHOW BEFORE WE, WE TOOK OVER HER PROGRAMS, BOTH OF THEM. MM-HMM . IN THE, UH, LIKE 2005, [00:10:02] 2006, I BELIEVE. AND SHE WAS DOING EVERY WEEK IT'S HAPPENING. SHE WAS DOING A PROGRAM. WELL, GRAND PRAIRIE WA WAS, WAS STARTING TO GROW BACK THEN, BUT THERE REALLY WASN'T ENOUGH FOR EVERY WEEK . SO WE DID FOR A WHILE, AS MANY AS SHE WANTED. AND, AND THEN WE KIND OF SHRUNK THE NUMBER OF PROGRAMS. BUT, UH, I WOUND UP DOING ABOUT 200 OF HER EPISODES, AND I'VE DONE ABOUT 150 OF YOUR SHOWS. WOW. THAT'S A LOT OF HISTORY. AND ME IN THE INTERIM, YOU KNOW, I PROBABLY, AND SOMEBODY WAS ASKING ME THE OTHER DAY, YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I SAID, OKAY, SO I IMAGINE WE'RE UP ABOVE 2000 VIDEOS I'VE PRODUCED. WOW. AT LEAST. ALL RIGHT. AND I COULDN'T TELL YOU THOUSANDS OF HOURS OF VIDEO I'VE RECORDED, UH, IN THIS, IN, IN THE STUDIO OR IN OTHER SETTINGS, AND THEN OUT, OUT ON THE STREET DOING EVENTS AND THINGS FOR THE CITY OF GRAND PRAIRIE. AND PART OF THE JOB HERE HAS BEEN TO WRITE STORIES FOR THE GRAND PRAIRIE UPDATE PROGRAM AND A, A, A DIFFERENT VERSION OF THAT. AND WHEN I FIRST STARTED AND WRITE SCRIPTS FOR OTHER VIDEO PROJECTS. AND I WOULD SAY WE'RE PROBABLY LOOKING AT TWO, 3000 OF THOSE IN THOSE 30 YEARS. SO YES. AND EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED SO MUCH AS YOU SAID, UM, PEOPLE HAD TO WATCH THE SHOW OR RECORD IT, BUT NOW WE CAN GET IT ON YOUTUBE. IN THE EARLY TWO THOUSANDS, WE, WE GOT A CHANCE TO GET CONTENT TO YOUTUBE. ALL RIGHT. THAT WAS OUR FIRST, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA ONLINE THING, AND THAT THAT WAS, THAT WAS PRETTY WILD. UH, SO WE NO LONGER, YOU'RE RIGHT. PEOPLE NO LONGER HAD A VCR, UH, THE STUFF THEY WANTED TO WATCH. HER MOM HAD AN ENTIRE LIBRARY OF VHS TAPES THAT SHE RECORDED TO MAKE SURE SHE HAD COPIES OF HER PROGRAMS. YES. AND THEN YOU HAVE DONE A HUGE JOB AND A SERVICE TO THE HISTORY OF GRAND PRAIRIE BY GETTING THOSE ONTO YOUTUBE AND GETTING THAT WAS, THAT WAS QUITE CATALOG PROJECT. YES. I MEAN, BUT, UH, THAT IS, UH, HISTORY THAT COMES, I LIKE TO SAY FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH, RIGHT. WHEN SHE, WHEN SHE INTERVIEWED THE PERSON THAT ACTUALLY HAD THE EXPERIENCE, WE HAD THAT ON VIDEO NOW. RIGHT. AND, YOU KNOW, SHE, SHE PROVED, SHE PROVIDED ALL THE VIDEOTAPES THAT WERE TRANSFERRED TO, UH, DVDS, AND THEN I HAD TO TAKE THOSE DVDS AND PULL THE CONTENT AND TURN 'EM INTO VIDEO, UH, CLIPS THAT WE PUSHED TO YOUTUBE. SO ALL OF HER SHOWS ARE ON YOUTUBE. ALL OF YOUR SHOWS ARE ON YOUTUBE. AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST, UH, ADVANTAGES BETWEEN THE MIDDLE AND THE END OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST 10 YEARS OF 2000 THAT WE STARTED BEING ABLE TO HAVE NOT JUST PEOPLE WHO COULD WATCH THE CABLE CHANNEL, BUT PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD AND PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD. WERE WATCHING THOSE UT HAVE BEEN AND STILL DO WATCH THOSE YOUTUBE VIDEOS. YES. AND THEY LOVE GOING BACK AND SEEING THEIR RELATIVES OR THEIR GRANDPARENTS OR SOMEBODY THAT IS A MENTOR TO THEM. RIGHT. AND IT'S ALWAYS THERE, YOU KNOW, IF, IF SOMEBODY, YOU KNOW, SOME FAMILY MEMBER GOES, YOU KNOW, SO AND SO GRANDMA OR WHOMEVER WAS ON THE SHOW, WE HAVE A, AN INDEX WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY DRILL DOWN AND FIND BY NAME A, A GUEST THAT WAS ON THOSE SHOWS, AND THEN YOU CAN GO TO YOUTUBE AND PULL IT OUT OF THERE AND CHECK IT OUT. YES. AND DON OUTTA ALL OF THE, IT'S HAPPENING OR IT HAPPENED. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU MIGHT REMEMBER? UH, EITHER SOMEBODY, A PERSON THAT INTERVIEWED OR SOMETHING UNUSUAL? IT HAPPENED. PROBABLY, UH, EVIE HOLIDAY, YOUR MOM HAD EVIE HOLIDAY AND SHE HAD SOMEBODY, UH, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER THE OTHER ELDERLY LADY, PROBABLY DONNA ALBA, MAYBE? YES. WITH KEEP TEXAS. BEAUTIFUL. AND SHE, AND THEY PLAYED A UKULELE OUT HERE ON THE SET . THAT WAS A HOOT. THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT, TALKING ABOUT, UH, KEEP TEXAS BEAUTIFUL OR BEAUTIFICATION. YES. UH, EFFORTS IN THE STATE. SO SHE HAD THOSE TWO, THOSE TWO FOLKS ON THERE. AND, UH, WE HAVE HAD, UH, GOODNESS GRACIOUS, UH, OH, THERE'S SO MANY, UH, EPISODES. WE'D NEVER HAD A, A MELTDOWN IN HERE. MOST OF THE TIME. THIS IS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT LIVE, BUT IT'S LIVE TO TAPE. SO WE'D NEVER HAD ANY, ANY REAL EQUIPMENT PROBLEMS OR A GUEST GO GET UP AND LEAVE BECAUSE THEY WERE, THEY WERE STRESSED OUT AND COULDN'T DO THAT. BUT THAT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE, AND WHEN WE USED TO HAVE THE ARTS COUNCIL, THEY SHOWED UP A FEW TIMES IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THEM COMING IN HERE IN THE LATE TWO THOUSANDS. AND THEY CAME IN IN COSTUMES SOMETIMES. SO, AND THE SET WAS DIFFERENT. OH, YES. WE HAD A SET THAT HAD A COUCH IN HERE, AND SO THERE WAS ROOM FOR LIKE THREE OR FOUR PEOPLE. THEY [00:15:01] HAD A COUPLE PEOPLE COME IN FOR EPISODES, IN COSTUME COSTUMES. SO THAT WAS PRETTY WELL, THAT MADE IT FUN. I WAS TRYING TO THINK OF OUR, UM, SHOWS THAT WE HAD DONE OF ANY EXTRAORDINARY GUESTS. THE ONLY ONE I COULD THINK OF, THE MOST FAMOUS ONE I COULD THINK OF WAS, UH, SALDOVAR. OH, YES. YEAH. UM, AND THAT WAS BEFORE, UH, ANYBODY REALLY KNEW. RIGHT. NEW YORK TOWER TOWER. MM-HMM . BUT ANYWAY, WE'VE HAD SOME FUN TIMES AND EVEN SOME OF ON LOCATION TIMES THAT HAVE BEEN VERY MEANINGFUL. AND, UM, I'M GLAD WE CAN DO THAT. NOW, LET'S GO BACK. UM, YOU HAVE ALSO DONE WORK WITH TERRY BRIGGS, RIGHT? YOU ALL DID A LITTLE NEWS SHOW FOR A WHILE, RIGHT? , WHAT WAS THAT CALLED? BACK, BACK IN THE DAY? IT WAS GRAND PRAIRIE UP THE GP UPDATE. OKAY. UM, WE HIRED TERRY, UH, BECAUSE FROM 95 UNTIL 2008, UH, WITH AMY'S PROMPTING, AMY SPRINKLES PROMPTING, WE HAD A, WE HAD A PRAIRIE PAUSE, WHICH WAS A PET ADOPTION SHOW. WE HAD, LET'S GET GROWING, WHICH WAS A HORTICULTURE SHOW WITH SUSAN HENSON CITY'S HORTICULTURIST. FOR A WHILE, WE HAD A ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES PROGRAM CALLED KNOW THE CODE. WE HAD, UH, HEART TO HEART, WHICH WAS A PROGRAM WITH THE CITY MANAGER, TOM HART. AND THEN WE HAD ALL THE EVENTS AND PROGRAMS AND NEW POLICIES AND THINGS THAT WE GENERATED STORIES FOR ON A SHOW CALLED CITY SCENE, WHICH WAS A NEWSCAST KIND OF THING. AND THEN IN 2008, AFTER DOING ALL THAT ON MY OWN, ME, MYSELF, AND I MM-HMM . , WE DECIDED THERE WERE, THE CITY HAD GONE FROM 78,000 TO ABOUT 140,000 OR 50,000 BY THAT POINT IN 2008. I, WE COULDN'T, WE WERE, WE JUST, I COULDN'T HANDLE IT ANYMORE. SO WE HIRED TERRY BECAUSE WE WERE ALSO GOING TO GO, UH, THE TECHNOLOGY, THE CAMERAS, EVERYTHING, EDITING EQUIPMENT WAS TAKING ANOTHER EVOLUTIONARY JUMP. AND WE WERE LOOKING AT GOING TO HD FROM STANDARD DEATH. SO WE HIRED TERRY TO COME IN AND HE TOOK A TREMENDOUS LOAD OFF OF ME BECAUSE NOW HE HAD TWO PEOPLE. HE ALSO HAS A BROADCASTING BACKGROUND, SO HE KNEW HOW TO DO THE GEAR, WRITE THE STORIES, CREATE THE, THE STORIES AND EDIT. SO WE HAD A SECOND PERSON DOING WHAT I COULD DO, AND IT JUST MADE THINGS MUCH BETTER. AND MAN, WE'VE BEEN BUSY. YOU KNOW, WE REALLY STILL STAY BUSY WITH TWO PEOPLE BECAUSE THE CITY HAS JUST, THAT'S BEEN PROBABLY ONE OF MY MOST REWARDING THINGS, IS I NEVER LIVED ANYWHERE AS LONG AS I'VE LIVED IN, I LIVE IN EAST DALLAS BY WHITE ROCK LIFE. I'VE NEVER LIVED IN THE CITY AS LONG AS I, ANY PLACE, AS LONG AS I'VE LIVED IN DALLAS MM-HMM . AND I NEVER WORKED AT A JOB LONGER THAN EIGHT OR NINE YEARS WHEN I WAS IN BROADCASTING. SO WHEN I CAME HERE, AND THIS WAS A REALLY SMALL CITY PLACE PEOPLE WERE GOING THROUGH. YES. DIDN'T REALLY WANNA BOTHER WITH HAVING TO STOP BACK IN THOSE DAYS TO A PLACE NOW WHERE PEOPLE COME BECAUSE THEY WANT TO DO THINGS HERE. RIGHT. YES. AND TO WATCH THE CITY GROW THAT WAY HAS JUST BEEN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. AND TO BE ON THE INSIDE, YOU KNOW, WATCHING AND BEING ABLE TO RECORD ALL THAT GROWTH, YOU KNOW, AND STORIES AND VIDEOS MM-HMM . THAT'S BEEN, THAT'S BEEN MY, YOU GOT TO EXPERIENCE IT. YES. YOU WERE HERE AND, AND LIKE YOU SAID, RECORD IT. I THINK THAT'S AMAZING. AND FOR 30 YEARS, AND YOU'RE RIGHT, THERE HAVE BEEN HUGE CHANGES EVEN IN THE PAST 15 YEARS, 10 YEARS. OH, THE LAST 10 YEARS HAVE REALLY, I MEAN, IT'S JUST BEEN LIKE A WHIRLWIND MM-HMM. OF THINGS CHANGING IN GRANDPARENTS CHANGES. BUT YOU'VE BEEN PART OF THAT AND INTEGRAL PART AND A GREAT PART. AND I GLAD YOU MENTIONED TERRY, BECAUSE YOU ALL MAKE A GREAT TEAM AND HAVE DONE SO MUCH, UM, TOGETHER. AND NOW AS YOU PASS THE REINS ON TO SOMEONE, IT WILL BE, IT'LL BE TERRY. IT'LL BE TERRY. HE IS, UH, HE IS IN THE CONTROL ROOM TODAY FOR THIS RECORDING . SO, YES. AND IT'S ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF STRESSFUL, BUT IT'S ALSO, UH, KIND OF COOL THAT YOU COULD SIT HERE AND WATCH PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THINGS. YOU KNOW, THEY OPEN UP A LOT IN HERE SOMETIMES, AND THEY, YOU KNOW, YOU GET A PERSPECTIVE OF WHY THE CITY IS DOING THINGS THE WAY THEY DO THINGS. AND IF YOU REALLY PAY ATTENTION, YOU UNDERSTAND WHY THE CITY HAS BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL. BECAUSE THE ATTITUDE IS FROM, AND THIS HAS BEEN SOMETHING I BRAG ABOUT. I BRAG ABOUT GRAND PRAIRIE ALL THE TIME TO MY FAMILY AND TO FRIENDS AND TO MY WIFE'S FRIENDS, UH, THAT THIS CITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN DEDICATED TO DOING THINGS FOR THE CITIZENS. AND A LOT [00:20:01] OF CITIES SAY THAT SOME OF THEM DO. THAT THE GRAND PRAIRIE REALLY DOES DO THAT. EVERYTHING IS DIRECTED AT HOW THEY CAN IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR PEOPLE WHO COME TO MAKE GRAND PRAIRIE, THEY'RE FOREVER PLACE. RIGHT. YES. FOREVER LONG. AND I'VE ALWAYS BEEN REALLY, UH, IMPRESSED WITH HOW THE CITY COUNCIL HAS, YOU KNOW, DANCED WITH ALL THEIR DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES YES. BUT ALSO STAYED ON POINT TO THINGS THAT REALLY DO IMPROVE GRAND PRAIRIE. YES. THAT'S SO IMPORTANT. AND I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED THAT, THAT YOU BRAG TO YOUR FRIENDS AND YOUR WIFE'S FRIENDS. LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR WIFE. JUST A MINUTE. GLENDA. GLENDA, JEAN. YES. AND YOU'VE BEEN MARRIED HOW LONG? IT'LL BE 35 YEARS IN SEPTEMBER. I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT. AND WHERE DID YOU MEET GLENDA? UH, I WAS, UH, IT WAS AT A RACE, A A FIVE, ACTUALLY IT WAS A 5K RACE IN DALLAS BACK IN THOSE DAYS. SHE AND I WERE BOTH, UH, SERIOUS, SERIOUS RUNNERS. MM-HMM . AND WE USED TO HAVE A, A ROOM FULL OF HER MARATHON TROPHIES, SO WOW. SHE WASN'T JUST OUT THERE, YOU KNOW, LOGGING MILES. SHE WAS SUPER COMPETITIVE, SO. AND DO YOU STILL, DO YOU ALL STILL WALK RUN? YEAH, WE'RE VERY ACTIVE. SHE'S, SHE WALKS AND I WALK. I, I, I QUIT RUNNING. I JUST GOT, UH, A AFTER ABOUT, I RAN SINCE I WAS ABOUT 16 IN HIGH SCHOOL, AND ABOUT 62 YEARS OF THAT I WENT, I JUST I JUST DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH THE STRESS OF GETTING UP IN TIME TO TAKE A RUN AND COME TO WORK, YOU KNOW? RIGHT. YEAH. DON, YOU MAY HAVE TO TAKE UP PICKLEBALL. , YOU KNOW, THAT'S A LITTLE BIT EASIER AND YOU CAN PLAY INDOORS. . TRUE. I MEAN THAT, THERE'S SOME OTHER THINGS I'M, I'M, I'M CONSIDERING, BUT RUNNING AND WE DID TRIATHLONS AND THAT, SO, SO SHE IMPRESSED ME 'CAUSE SHE WAS SERIOUS ABOUT BEING AN ATHLETE AND HER PERSONALITY WAS JUST, SHE WAS, SHE HAS BEEN THE REASON I'VE BEEN ABLE TO DEAL WITH A LOT OF THE CHALLENGES OF 30 YEARS HERE, YOU KNOW? YES. AND EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY CAN DRIVE YOU INSANE SOMETIMES. . YES. SO SHE IS A GOOD STABILIZER. YES. SHE'S, SHE'S BEEN GREAT. AND HER ATTITUDE HAS ALWAYS BEEN REALLY HELPFUL. YES. AND, UH, I KNOW IT'S EXCITING TO THINK ABOUT 35 YEARS, UM, WITH GLENDA AND, UH, WHAT'S GONNA COME AFTER THE 30 YEARS WITH GRAND PRAIRIE. SO, UM, DO YOU, YOU SAID YOU MIGHT HAVE OTHER PLANS. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING OTHER THAN TRAVEL AND JUST ENJOYING LIFE? I, NO. MY, MY HOUSE AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE CHORES THAT COME WITH HAVING YOUR OWN HOUSE AND YOUR OWN YARD AND THAT KIND OF STUFF WILL KEEP ME BUSY. I DO NOT KNOW. I'VE WORKED SINCE I WAS ABOUT 12 YEARS OLD. I, THROUGH NEWSPAPERS, MY BROTHER, ONE OF MY BROTHERS AND I, THROUGH NEWSPAPERS WHEN WE WERE 12 AND 10, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. NOW THAT'S AN EARLY JOB. . EARLY MORNING I WORKED FOR, UH, MY UNCLE IN KANSAS. UH, HE OWNED A RESTAURANT AND I CLEANED THE RESTAURANT FOR HIM ON THE WEEKENDS. AND SO I'VE HAD A JOB SINCE I WAS THAT AGE. AND SO NOT HAVING A JOB WAS WILL BE, WILL BE AN INTERESTING EXPERIENCE. YES, YES. IT WILL BE FUN. IT'LL BE EXCITING. AND, UM, I BELIEVE WE'RE GONNA CELEBRATE YOUR RETIREMENT SOMETIME SOON WITH THE, UH, AT THE CITY AS WELL. THAT'S RIGHT. AND, UH, I ALSO, ONE OF MY BROTHERS STILL LIVES IN MISSOURI, AND I HAVE TWO YOUNGER BROTHERS WHO, ONE OF THEM CAME HERE ON A VISIT BACK IN LIKE NINE, UH, 2004. AND HE DECIDED HE WANTED TO COME TO TEXAS, SO HE MOVED TO FRISCO. AND I, ABOUT FOUR YEARS AFTER THAT, MY OTHER BROTHER WHO WAS LIVING IN ST. LOUIS DECIDED HE WAS GONNA MOVE AND MOVE TO FRISCO. SO NOW. THERE YOU GO. SO I NOW HAVE TWO BROTHERS IN FRISCO, AND THEN I, THE OTHER BROTHER IS STILL BACK IN MISSOURI WHERE MY PARENTS WERE. WELL, THAT'S EXCITING. YOU HAVE A GOOD PLACE TO VISIT AND YEAH, THEY HAVE A GOOD PLACE TO VISIT. THAT'S SO EXCITING. UM, NOW DAWN, IF, UM, YOU MENTIONED AMY SPRINKLES AS BEING A LIFELINE AND A, A GREAT MENTOR HERE. SHE WAS, SHE WAS, SHE WAS THE MOVER AND SHAKER FOR THE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT. AND THEN IT WAS, WELL IT WAS ACTUALLY, IT WAS MARKETING WHEN I WAS HIRED. THEN IT BECAME THE COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING DEPARTMENT. AND THEN FOR A WHILE SHE WAS ALSO THE DIRECTOR OF THE LIBRARIES. YES. TALK ABOUT A BUSY PERSON, . OH WOW. SHE CAN GET IT DONE. I LOVE IT. I LOVE IT WHEN YOU HAVE SOMEBODY, A GO-TO PERSON THAT KNOWS HOW TO GET THINGS DONE. RIGHT. AND SHE DOES. IT'S WONDERFUL. UH, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE OR ANYBODY ELSE WITH THE CITY THAT YOU'D LIKE TO REMINISCE ABOUT? WELL, I'LL TELL YOU THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, BECAUSE THE, THE EQUIPMENT HERE, UH, HAS, HAS, YOU KNOW, EVOLVED. AND SO WHENEVER WE ASKED, YOU KNOW, AND AMY AND I WOULD SIT DOWN AND DECIDE, [00:25:01] YOU KNOW, SO DO WE NEED TO MAKE ANOTHER REINVESTMENT IN THINGS TO KEEP CURRENT? BECAUSE ONE OF THE MISSIONS I HAD WHEN I CAME HERE WAS TO BRING THE QUALITY STANDARDS YOU HAVE WORKING IN BROADCAST TO BRING THOSE QUALITY STANDARDS TO GRAND PRAIRIE TELEVISION, EVEN THOUGH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A GOVERNMENT CHANNEL. BUT, SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE, MY MAIN GOALS AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN, WAS TO MAKE THIS AS PROFESSIONAL AS POSSIBLE SO THAT WHEN PEOPLE LOOK AT IT AND THEN LOOK AT SOMETHING ELSE ON TV, THEY DON'T GO, OH, WELL THAT'S FROM THE GOVERNMENT. I WANTED IT TO BE. YOU CAN'T TELL REALLY THE DIFFERENCE, RIGHT? MM-HMM . IT'S JUST A DIFFERENT CHANNEL. MM-HMM. SO THE COUNCIL, CITY COUNCIL HAS ALWAYS SUPPORTED ANYTHING THAT I GOT AMY TO SUPPORT . YES. HE SEEMED, TOOK THE COUNCIL TO APPROVE IT. RIGHT. LIKE THIS, LIKE THE STUDIO UP UPDATES. ONE OF THE REAL CHAMPIONS WAS TOM HART. HE IS THE, HE, HE CALLED ME TO HIS OFFICE ONE DAY BECAUSE THEY WERE GONNA BUILD THE, CHARLES ENGLAND WE'RE IN THE CHARLES ENGLAND TRAINING COMPLEX. YES. PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING COMPLEX. AND NAMED AFTER CHARLES ENGLAND, ANOTHER ONE OF THE GREAT MOVERS AND SHAKERS IN THE CITY'S HISTORY. AND HE CALLED ME IN AND SAID, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE BUILDING THIS BUILDING. HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE A STUDIO? BECAUSE UP UNTIL THEN I'D HAVE TO DRAG PORTABLE LIGHTS TO DIFFERENT SETTINGS SO WE COULD DO PROGRAMS. I SAID, YEAH, , OF COURSE. SO THEY, THEY CARVED OUT A SPACE, THIS WAS WHERE WE'RE SITTING RIGHT NOW, WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A, A STORAGE AREA. AND THE AREA NEXT TO THIS, WHERE I HAVE THE EDITING EQUIPMENT IN MY OFFICE WAS JUST MORE STORAGE. SO THEY CARVED OUT A SPACE IN THE STUDIO AND HE WAS, HE WAS GUNG-HO FOR ANYTHING THAT COULD IMPROVE AND, AND HELP, YOU KNOW, THE PROFESSIONAL LOOK YES. OF GRAND PRAIRIE TELEVISION. AND, UH, THAT WAS A BIG STEP. THOSE TWO, THOSE TWO FOLKS WERE PROBABLY THE ONE OF THE MM-HMM. THE, THE MOST BIGGEST RELAXING PARTS OF MY JOB. I ALWAYS KNEW SOMEBODY HAD MY BACK YES. AND UNDERSTOOD WHY WE WANTED TO MAKE MORE IMPROVEMENTS. RIGHT. 'CAUSE IF YOU DON'T IMPROVE, THEN YOU'RE JUST GETTING STALE. RIGHT. AND, UM, THAT'S BEEN SO IMPORTANT. AND THE LEADERSHIP, AS YOU SAID, THROUGH OUR CITY COUNCIL AND OUR MAYOR JENSEN AND OUR FORMER MAYOR ENGLAND AND FORMER MAYOR, CITY MANAGERS AND CURRENT, IT'S ALL A TEAM EFFORT. AND IT DOES MAKE GRAND PRAIRIE. UM, PEOPLE DON'T KNOW UNLESS THEY SEE HOW FABULOUS GRAND PRIX IS. SO YOU'VE MADE THAT HAPPEN. AND, UH, HOPEFULLY WE PUT THE WORD OUT THERE, . YES. PE IF THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT GRAND PRIX, I ALWAYS SAY NOW, UH, WHEN WE GET INQUIRIES ABOUT GRAND PRIX, WHO WOULDN'T WANNA COME TO GRAND PRIX? PERFECT LOCATION, GREAT PEOPLE TO WORK WITH. AND, UH, YOU'VE MADE, SENT THAT MESSAGE OUT AND GOT THAT MESSAGE TO OUR MAYORS. MAYOR JENSEN HAS BEEN GREAT. HE REALLY HAS. HE, UH, HE, HE BOUGHT, HE KNEW IT WHEN HE, WHEN HE TOOK OVER FOR CHARLES ENGLAND, YOU KNOW, AND THAT WAS A, THAT WAS A, THAT WAS SOME BIG SHOES HE HAD TO STEP INTO. AND HE REALIZED HOW IMPORTANT, YOU KNOW, VIDEO AND SOCIAL MEDIA. THAT'S BEEN THE, THE OTHER REVOLUTION WAS, WAS THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND WHAT IT CAN DO FOR YOU IF YOU APPROACH IT AND USE IT CORRECTLY. AND THE CITY HAS, YOU KNOW, AND MAYOR JENSEN, RON HAS BEEN REALLY GREAT AT EMBRACING THAT HE HAS. AND, UM, WE APPRECIATE HIM. AND, UM, BUT TODAY WE'RE FOCUSING BACK ON YOU. APPRECIATE ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR THE CITY. WE APPRECIATE, UM, OH, WELL, I APPRECIATE YOU PERSONALLY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR US, FOR WHAT'S HAPPENING AND FOR MY MOM AS WELL. AND I WON'T ASK YOU WHO IS EASIER TO WORK WITH. I'M NOT EVEN GONNA GO THERE. . AH, YOU'RE, IT, IT'S A DIFFERENT, WE A DIFFERENT, IT'S A DIFFERENT, A DIFFERENT, IT'S, IT'S A DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHY, THAT'S ALL. BUT, UM, UH, IT'S BEEN SUCH A PLEASURE WORKING WITH YOU OF COURSE. AND YOUR PROFESSIONALISM. I CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON YOU, DON, AND, UM, THE CITY CAN AS WELL. AND WE APPRECIATE YOUR PAST SERVICE AND WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT WHATEVER YOU'RE, YOU CHOOSE TO DO IN THE FUTURE BECAUSE IT WILL BE A CHOICE FROM NOW ON. THAT'S RIGHT. AND THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE I'LL HAVE TO GET USED TO THAT I CAN DECIDE NOT TO DO ANYTHING OR DO SOMETHING TODAY, . YES. SO YOU CAN, I WOULD SAY LOOK INTO YOUR CAMERA AND JUST TELL 'EM WE'LL SEE YOU LATER OR SEE YOU AROUND OR HOWEVER YOU WANNA SIGN IT OFF FOR YOURSELF. OKAY. , IT'S BEEN AN ABSOLUTE PLEASURE WORKING FOR THE CITY OF GRAND PRAIRIE AND AN ABSOLUTE [00:30:01] JOY WATCHING HOW THIS CITY HAS EVOLVED FROM WHERE IT WAS WHEN I CAME HERE IN 1995 TO WHERE IT IS TODAY. AND I KNOW THAT IT WILL CONTINUE TO BE A VERY SUCCESSFUL PLACE TO LIVE, WORK, AND PLAY. YES. LIVE, WORK AND PLAY. I LOVE IT. THANK YOU, DON. YOU'RE WELCOME. FOR, IT'S BEEN A JOY HAVING TO INTERACT WITH YOU ONCE A MONTH HERE AND IN THE OTHER PROJECTS THAT WE'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN. MY PLEASURE AND GOD BLESS YOU IN YOUR FUTURE ADVENTURES. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY. AS ALWAYS, I'M GEORGIA CLEMSON REMINDING YOU IT'S HAPPENING IN GRAND PRAIRIE. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.