Uncle Kernen's Blog

I had to share this. Sabrina Black is a Specs Howard radio graduate that passed away in 2006. Her husband founded the Sabrina Black Foundation to help cancer patients cover their medical bills. The Specs Howard Street Team shot this wonderful video to tell more people about the foundation. You can donate by visiting SabrinaBlackFoundation.org.

We're back! It’s been a while, since all of my “enablers” have been extremely busy with their real jobs, they’ve been unable to enable me!  Anyway, it’s great to be back and there’s a lot of stuff to talk about.

The BIG story is that we are now the Specs Howard School of MEDIA Arts. This reflects the school's diversification into graphic design, film and digital media arts. We're really excited to have the new programs and see the school keep growing! 2010 also marks our 40th anniversary! I'm glad to be part of the school's past and looking forward to the future.

Speaking of 40 years... our own Mr. Specs Howard received a Proclamation from the Oakland County Board of Commissioners on December 9, 2009 for his outstanding accomplishments:

"NOW THEREFORE I, Bill Bullard, Jr., Chairman of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners, together with Commissioners Janet Jackson, Eric Coleman and Helaine Zack, do hereby proclaim commendation to Specs Howard for his outstanding accomplishments and community service efforts."

Way to go Mr. Howard!

Now on to the my favorite part of the blog...grad updates! As they say on TV “BREAKING NEWS!”  Our good friend and grad, Mac Kelly (Wolfman Mac), creator and host of Wolfman Mac's Chiller Drive-In has been picked up by the network Retro Television and will be on a hundred or so stations in 45 states and the District of Columbia.  WOW!  As I’ve told many classes, an idea is worthless unless accompanied by perseverance and no one exemplifies this better than the Wolfman.  From humble beginnings on a Public Access Channel in Saginaw, to succeeding in being allowed to BUY AN HOUR on Channel 20 to now nationwide, we are delighted for him and proud that he’s an Specs Howard grad!

We're proud to report that Fox 2 has added yet another member of the Specs Howard Hall of Fame to their newsroom.  In addition to V.P. of News, Dana Hahn and Jackie Paige, Ed Saenz has been hired as their Assignment Editor.  Ed was in Media Relations for Chrysler for many years until their "recent unpleasantness," and remembered that waaay back, he had interned at Fox 2 and had maintained contact with them.... and as they say, the rest is history.  In addition to these three, we are very proud that close to a dozen other staffers are grads too.

And yet another grad and Specs Howard Hall of Fame, Kathy Hoekstra, was one of three questioners on the 2009 Republican gubernatorial debate on Mackinac Island joining moderator Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.  Kathy is no small show.  The other two questioners were John Fund of the Wall Street Journal, and Stephen Henderson of the Detroit Free Press editorial team.  There is no end to the possibilities that a broadcasting background can bring.

Melissa Noack, RTV-14-07 can’t be happier with her job at CHUM Radio, Windsor.  “Is my job challenging?” she writes.  “YES…but that is part of the reason I love it so much.” After writing a commercial, she often finds herself thinking:  “Would Sue Kinney have given me a good grade on this?”

Recent grad, Gino Vicci sent Brad Richter an e-mail to let him know that he had accepted an internship at Channel 4 as a camera operator for Click on Detroit's "Friday Football Frenzy" even though his career goal is on-camera sports.  To his great joy, the first week he was there he was asked to be ON CAMERA TALENT!  He said he'd never had the chance to do the talent position if he hadn't taken the camera internship.  He also confirmed that all the things he'd be told here about basics like showing up, and being willing to go the extra mile with passion and enthusiasm REALLY WORKS. He also credited Brad with encouraging students to carry a PA Backpack.  He said on several occasions having an extra XLR, his own mike, batteries and extra Mini DV tapes made him a hero with "the Boss".

Who wouldn’t want to trade the depressed economy, dreary winter skies, snow and cold weather for a TV reporter job in West Palm Beach, Florida?  That’s just what Specs grad Kelly Downey did.  Take a look as she reports from a movie set being shot in her area. (Photo left).

Kirk  Montgomery, another grad, was the Master of Ceremonies for a major concert in Denver featuring The Spinners.  What a surprise to see one of his Specs classmates of over 20 years ago one of the Spinners!

As I share many great news stories about Specs students, there’s also a sad one. Jessika Baier was passed away as a result of an automobile accident on Dec. 8.  She had become a local celebrity after an appearance on American Idol and her role at the radio station, WKHM-FM in Jackson, MI.  Jessika was the mornings show co-host with station manager Jamie McKibbin.  Within two hours of announcing Baier’s death, the station received about 500 e-mails and 1,000 Facebook messages from listeners expressing condolences.  The Specs family also wants to express our condolences to Jessika’s family, friends, and associates.

I'd like to use this opportunity to encourage you to be safe on the roads this holiday season. Please remember to friend Specs Howard on Facebook and MySpace and follow on Twitter. Happy holidays!