The Legend of Dave

The angst of not being able to blog about politics (I don't want to lose my job) brought me to a subject I feel just as passionate about and dearly miss.  A Facebook post by the always lovely Suzanne Phan caught my attention and produced the inspiration for this bit of writing.  Dave Marquis celebrated his 19th year of work at News10 in Sacramento.

Most of you who read this blog regularly have no idea who Dave Marquis is or why I would take the time to write about him.  Dave, quite simply, is one of the most marvelous repositories of humanness that you will find walking this planet.  Dave has worked as a television news reporter for almost 40 years.  I've worked with smarter reporters, Dave Helling, I've worked with better looking reporters, Dale Schornack (who happens to be a work colleague of Dave's) better writers, here's to you Bob Thill, and better MMJ's, yes you Dr. Mel Stone.  But none of them could compare to the bundle of energy that Dave brings to the table everyday.

Dave is a student of history, politics, fine literature, and yes, even the ladies.  His only fault that I can see is that Dave will and has eaten any bit of food left lying about the newsroom.  He has a weakness for all things sweet.  And yet he remains rail thin and unbelievably healthy.

I knew who Dave Marquis was way back in 1987 when he worked at a competing station in Phoenix.  When we laid eyes on each other when I came to Sacramento in April 2010 to interview for a position at the station it was as if two long lost souls had found each other.  We became instant friends. 

Dave loved covering breaking news with a passion.  He can stand in front of a wildfire or a snow storm and spin a tale of whoa or about the enduring human spirit with the best of them.  Dave is fearless in trying to bring that something extra to a live shot or a standup.  His sense of reporting adventure is boundless.

The sad part is I only got to work with Dave for one year.  The great thing is Dave made a very difficult year in my life bearable.  We would share dinners together and talk about the world.  Dave had lived everywhere, had an amazing family history and had full experienced the 60's.  In many ways he lived the life of a big brother that I never had.  I could spend hours listening to him tell stories about his adventures, his family, his love of food and his love of the ladies.

For a time another News10 co-worker Brandon Atchison was posting Dave videos on Facebook where we would get a quick take on the woes of the day from the uniquely Marquis perspective.  One of his takes so well summed up the frustrations of working in television news I shared it with journalists in Russia during one of my seminars there.  They knew the angst that Dave and Brandon were enduring, it was a message that wasn't lost in translation. 

I can't wait until our paths cross again.  Here's to hoping Dave decides to visit Southwest Florida or perhaps a journey on my part to Northern California.  News10 has a treasure of endless reporting energy in Dave Marquis.  He's the last of a breed of television news reporters who actually understands the stories he reports.  For him it's not about being on TV, it's about a story well told.