Arizona's Family-KTVK, 3TV Phoenix

There are a lot of great people who haved worked at KTVK over the years and this past week, I had the good fortune to see many of them. The occasion was tragic-- we were attending the memorial service of Jim Cox and Scott Bowerbank, the photographer and pilot who died when 3TV's helicopter crashed. As we gathered to remember Jim and Scott, those of us who have moved on from KTVK also remembered our time there.

I think all of us who worked for KTVK feel blessed to have done so, especially in the era when the Lewis family owned the station. It was one of the last of the family owned stations. When you needed something, you didn't send it up the corporate ladder to get it approved, you just went to Del and Jewell's office and asked. If you ran into Del in the elevator, he might tell you about his Cadillac that could get clear to Los Angeles without re-filling. And from time to time on the intercom, you'd hear an all building page-- crates of grapes from the Lewis farm were in shipping. There was also the occasional barbeque in the back lot.

A lot of us either learned our craft or honed it at KTVK. One of our bosses said he liked to hire good people and let them do their thing. A lot of corporate wonks SAY that, but few actually do it. Phrases like, "if you go too far, we'll pull you back," were not uncommon.

In television, perhaps more than any other business, people move. A lot of us have moved on since the Lewis years. Some went to bigger markers, some were rational and left the business. But so many came back for the memorial service. I could barely walk a few feet without running into someone. Others wished they could have made it. It's testimony not just to the two fine men who died last week, but to the family that Del and Jewell Lewis built. I think a lot of us realized it was special when we worked there. I just didn't realize how special it was till I left.