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'One of a kind' leaves warm legacy
By Brian Bailey
©2004 Bonesville.net
Jim Woods was probably the
nicest person I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. He could do it all,
and many times he did just that.
Eastern North Carolina lost a
true broadcasting legend with his death on Thursday.
When I first came to
Greenville, Jim was our weather anchor at WNCT-TV. He anchored the morning,
noon, and 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts. He was apparently a great “napper,”
who never had an unkind word to say despite the long hours every day.
Jim could anchor the news, the
sports, the weather, and he even filled in from time to time for another
legend, John Spence with Farm News.
Back in 1986, our station was
in need of a sports director. I had only been anchoring the weekend sports
for about a year and half and I wasn’t sure that I could do the job. Jim
Woods went to bat for me, recommending me for the position. Woods knew the
job, because he was our station’s long-time sportscaster until several years
before I arrived in Greenville.
I wasn’t around when Jim faced
tragedy, losing a teenage son to cancer. I know that loss took its toll on
Jim and his family. Still, Jim Woods was never bitter.
Jim was also a former
play-by-play voice for East Carolina during an era when icons like Leo
Jenkins and Clarence Stasavich were steering ECU into an indelible
commitment to big-time sports. His enthusiasm and love for the game and for
the Pirates was something that he shared with me from the first day that I
met him.
Jim belongs in the East
Carolina Hall of Fame. I think he’ll get there someday, but I wish it had
come when Jim could have enjoyed the moment.
In this age of computers and
instant messaging, I can still remember the old typewriter that Jim Woods
used every day to deliver the news, sports or weather. It was a classic,
just like Jim.
They just don’t get any better
then Jim Woods. He’ll be missed, as he certainly made the world a better
place.
Copyright 2004
Bonesville.net. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02/23/2007 01:28:51 AM
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