Almost every meteorologist's biography you read on any website starts out with, "I knew I wanted to be a meteorologist from the time I was a kid."
This is not so true for me. My first passion was for journalism and politics.
I cut my teeth as an intern for Arkansas's Second Congressional District long before I was tracking severe weather in that state.
Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I lived through the winter of '78 by digging a tunnel out of my house.
I then moved to Arkansas in the early 80's where I graduated from high school, received my degree in broadcast journalism at Southern Illinois University, studied with the BBC in Britain, and interned with CNN in Washington D.C. I then returned to Arkansas for that first job.
Once I got into TV at KFSM in Fort Smith, Arkansas, it only took a few months before the "weather bug" bit me.
The weekend weather person had gone, and my boss asked me if I wanted to fill in. I didn't know beans about weather, but I loved geography and I knew every county, city and "one horse town" between Oklahoma City and Memphis.
The station offered to pay my way through a university meteorological program, and that started me down the path.
I met Mrs. Hale a year after I started in TV. She's from Texas, so were married in Anderson, Texas.
We were both hired on at WLEX TV in Lexington, Kentucky, where I was the morning meteorologist and she was my boss.
It wasn't a problem since we'd already been together a few years, and I was used to her running the show.
It wasn't long before our son Quentin was born and we had a family.
The urge to gain experience in large market TV drew me to Kansas City, where I learned more about weather and television than I ever thought possible.
However, I realized I wanted to return to an environment where I could have more elbow room and be free to express myself.
In 1999, I got a call to be the chief meteorologist for KGBT.
After a quick check of the map, I knew we were heading to Texas.
Since coming to KGBT and The Rio Grande Valley, I have enjoyed myself.
A chance to update a weather department from the ground up was a once-in-a-life-time opportunity, while building a new house and settling into our church made us feel even more at home.
Then it happened! Miss Pickle came into our lives, and it hasn't been the same since (just ask Quentin).
Now, instead of Mrs. Hale running the show, our daughter Camryn pretty much dictates how the day will go and we love every minute of it.
She's a fifth generation Texan and there's every chance she may run this state someday.
Quentin and I slip away to the shooting range whenever we can to give the girls a break.
At work, I am constantly updating computers and software, keeping up with weather protocol and managing our weather staff.
Most recently I decided to challenge my brain and go for the new American Meteorological Society's Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval.
I don't mind telling you I was scared.
Six months of study for a test that encompassed almost all of the science of meteorology, and I passed it with room to spare. I have to thank my wife for that.
She pushed me very hard to get the new seal.
Now the future awaits. There are tons of new computers, programs and possibilities to explore.
That's what I love about this job.
The opportunities don't stop and neither do we. We are going to keep growing, and we are going to keep improving the 24/7 Weather Center by bringing in the latest technology and continuing to make our weather team what it is - Best in The Valley!
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT