Two Good Men

Last evening, I watched a KPTS (our local public televisions station) program called “One-On-One.” It is an interview show where the host interviews a person from the area. That person may be a politician, business person, volunteer, media personality, and the like. It is usually one who is fairly well-known in the Wichita area.

The edition that I watched last night was an interview with Merril Teller, retired chief meterologist for KWCH, the CBS affiliate in Wichita. Many of you will remember Merril. He's doing fine in retirement, and seems to enjoy being able to “go and do” without the burden of work.

Teller has been with KWCH since 1981. He has seen huge changes in both the television media as well as the way weather is presented on the air. His 38 years of work at the same station (although it has changed hands several times and call letters as well), is seldom equaled anywhere in the broadcasting industry.

The host asked Teller a question that took him back to the early years of his career when KWCH was dead last in the Wichita market. It was not a good time for the station. It was a time of old, outdated equipment, large turnover of employees and talent, and generally not a good place to work.

Merril reminisced that the turnaround came when a couple of guys from Hays, Kansas purchased the station, poured a lot of cash into it, brought in new management, and made the station much of what it is today...number one in the market. Those two guys were Ross Beach and Bob Schmidt, who at that time owned the Hays and Goodland television stations as well as several radio stations and cable television franchises.

Merril hasn't been the only one who has credited Beach and Schmidt for the turnaround at the station. Several of the personalities who have since retired from there have credited them with bringing the station back from the brink.

I knew Mr. Beach and Mr. Schmidt. I worked for them for several years at both Hays and Goodland. They were great to work for. They cared for their employees, gave us everything we needed to succeed, and kept the stations in good equipment. They were personable, approachable, and well-respected in the community. The culture in their world was one of honesty, integrity, ambition, drive, and compassion. In later years, they engaged in several philanthropic endeavors, including a revamping of the Hays-located Sternberg Museum and the establishment of the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center on the campus of Fort Hays State University. It is no accident that their purchase of KWCH brought about change that resulted in hurtling that station to number one in the market.

This post, unlike most, has nothing to do with religion...but rather is one that looks at two good men who were able to effect profound change for the better wherever they were, through the timeless principles of honesty, fairness, integrity, and compassion. Those principles, contrary to what we see much of nowadays, are not outdated or passe. They continue to work whenever and wherever they are invoked. Use them. Believe in them. Let them guide you in your daily life.