Stachak colleagues share memories
4/22/2012For more than three decades Stan Stachak has been an evening news fixture for northwest Ohio viewers. With the 63-year-old chief meteorologist at WTVG-TV, Channel 13, retiring at the end of May, The Blade asked some media colleagues to share their thoughts.
"I am going to miss him. He's always the calm in all the storms and he has always embodied our philosophy to inform but don't alarm. ... When Stan tells me to 'go to the basement' in a storm, I don't think twice." -- Diane Larson, Channel 13 news anchor
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"It's nice to see someone in our business work at the same TV station for three decades, in his hometown, retiring on his own terms. A devoted family man, a man of great intellect, a man with a dry (sometimes wicked) sense of humor ready for the next chapter. Well deserved!" -- Lee Conklin, Channel 13 news anchor
"Stan is the most trusted name in weather in northwest Ohio, and all of our forecasts just got a little cloudier now that he's leaving." -- Dave Holmes, Channel 13 sports director
"I've emulated his style of presenting and forecasting the weather ... the calm, authoritative voice." -- Jay Berschback, Channel 13 chief meteorologist
"Stan never misses a beat or breaks a sweat. We could have a tornado bearing down right on the 13ABC building and I'm certain that Stan would be as cool as a cucumber analyzing the storm and helping our viewers stay safe. He [also] has such a quick wit. " -- Kristin Emery, Channel 13 meteorologist/reporter
"I've known Stan for many years ... What a small world [that] when I arrived in Toledo 15 years ago on my desk was a large plant from Stan with a welcome to Toledo note attached to the soon-to-be big plant. I still have that plant, and when Stan told us he's leaving full-time weather to retire from the night shift, I thought about how kind he was 15 years ago. Good luck my friend." -- "Blizzard" Bill Spencer, Channel 13 meteorologist
"Thirty years is an incredible run. I can't tell you how many people I have met in Toledo that have said to me 'I grew up watching Stan Stachak!' " -- Robert Shiels, WTOL-TV, Channel 11, chief meteorologist
"What I've enjoyed most about Stan is his ability to deliver the weather without a lot of fanfare. Always cool and calm in the midst of the worst Ma Nature could throw at him. I've tried to do the same with my career … and he's the best example I can think of when it comes to 'grace under pressure.'" -- Norm Van Ness, WNWO-TV, Channel 24, chief meteorologist
"Things just won't be the same without him around. " -- Doug Moats, WUPW-TV, Channel 36, chief meteorologist