I was a professional communicator all my career. I started out in radio and quickly moved to start a pilot public relations program for Methodist bishops’ offices in the U.S. It was so successful, offices were soon opening across the country.
I moved to the denomination’s Television, Radio, and film commission (TRAFCO) in Nashville, TN. where I produced radio and television programs for syndication and use in local churches.
I moved to New York City where I headed the Public Media Division of United Methodist Communications with responsibility for relating to the media.
I was executive producer of the first national radio call-in program, Night Call, which was launched following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Cities were burning. Violence was rampant. The program brought listeners into dialogue with “movement” and national leaders. On heavy nights, over 40 thousand attempts were made to reach the program. Persons proclaimed, “I never talked to a Black person before.”
My interfaith communication colleagues and I moved the Church into a concern for the effect television violence has on children, teenagers and adults. I was president of a the newly created Media Action Research Center (MARC) and partnered with research professors at the State University at Stony Brook, NY. They created Television Awareness Training (TAT) to train teachers and leaders how to mitigate the negative effects of violent television programming.
I testified before Communications Committees of the Senate and House to show how a simple 30-second spot could influence six-year-olds to find positive ways to deal with conflict situations.
I was part of a White House Conference on Children and Television.
The last five years of my career, I was president and CEO of the Odyssey Cable Network, a coalition of 67 denominations and faith organizations, the largest interfaith group in the country. The network hosted Nelson Mandella on his first visit to the United States, a huge celebration and service at Riverside Church in New York City. The network presented programs of faith, ethics, values and entertainment, all designed to create positive change.
Throughout my career, I witnessed how “word and image” could change people’s lives. I received my bachelor’s degree from Morningside College (now Morningside University) in Sioux City, Iowa, and his my master’s degree in psychology from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. In this book, I reveal a new understanding of how change happens in our lives.
I sailed my 34 foot Dufour sailboat from New York City to Maine and all ports in between, before moving my boat to Lake Ontario.
Since my retirement, I have been active as chair of the Seeking Justice Team at my church, a member of the county Democratic Committee and the CNY Sanctuary Coalition. I have attended protest demonstrations and marched in gay parades.
I am married and have four children, 16 grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren, all of whom he loves passionately.