Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
The late great traffic reporter Capt. Herb Emory loved Fred's Bar-B-Q House in Lithia Springs, where he did a Toys for Tots fundraiser every December.
Todd Harris, one of the owners, wanted to honor Emory after his death last month from a heart attack. So Harris is organizing a memorial motorcycle ride in Emory's name on May 31. He thinks he could draw thousands of riders who will tour the Douglasville area where Emory lived for many years. He said he already has 20 sponsors and is hoping to break $30,000. "It's grown beyond anything I've hoped for," he said Monday. "It just shows how many people he's touched over the years."
Emory was a stalwart traffic reporter in Atlanta for more than three decades, the past 23 at News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB, which is promoting the event. (Details here and to the left.)
"Fred's was his No. 1 place to eat for lunch," said Doug Turnbull, his close colleague and fellow traffic reporter. "That was his home base."
Turnbull said the rest of the WSB traffic team is still adjusting to life without Emory.
"There's not that other person that's digging as hard as they can behind the scenes," Turnbull said. "We all have to pick up the slack."
He and the others are also doing more community events. Emory would outdo everyone on that front. Last year, he attended more than 80.
"Maybe combined, we'll able to equal that number," said Turnbull, who is on his way to Taste of Douglasville today.
He said everything at work reminds the staff of Emory. Turnbull this past Tuesday was cleaning out emails and found the last one he received from Emory and started crying. "We love to hear his voice," he said. "We impersonate him all the time."
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Eric Von Haessler, seven months removed from the Regular Guys and cleared from any non-compete issues, is being tested at the most natural home for him in this market: WSB Radio. He will be making his debut on the station from 4 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 17 as a fill-in for Monica Perez.
WSB Program Director Pete Spriggs said he has admired Von Haessler's work for years. "He's smart, informed and funny," Spriggs said. "He knows Atlanta as well as anyone. As soon as I had a chance to work with him, I grabbed it. We will see where it goes. Today, I just think it is cool to get him on the radio."
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
He hopes to find more fill-in opportunities for Von Haessler in the near future.
Haessler, who was unceremoniously booted from the Regular Guys show he was with for more than 15 years last fall (details here), posted his plans for today's show on Facebook.
Only have two hours to play with on WSB (AM 750, FM 95.5) but I'm planning a Capitalist drum-circle, a dissection of my least favorite political ad of the season, and I'll argue for legalizing prostitution. I'll also be joined by Jay Busbee from Yahoo Sports and Karen Handel from the Republican primary.
"They want me to be part of the family," he said. "They've been great."
He also raised $27,000 to distribute his documentary (and passion project) about the band Drivin' n Cryin', which he finished last year. He said there will be a pay-per-view stream (undecided where) and DVD forthcoming. He screened the film in theaters a few times last year and has since trimmed it down from two hours and 20 minutes to 100 minutes. "When people are taking two bathroom breaks, you know it's too long," he said.
In January, I had lunch with Von Haessler and he was confident at the time a gig on terrestrial radio would pop up in the talk realm:
"I’ve been fielding calls since November” from potential employers, he said. “Interest is there. This doesn’t mean I’ll get a job, but I feel confident something will come along. I want to do a show that entertains people from my point of view, not a programmer’s point of view or a consultant’s point of view.”
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