Robert Lawrence:  

Hello all, Born in Seattle, came to Ft, Lauderdale via Levittown, N.Y. a few blocks from where Billy Joel grew up. At Stranahan, underachiever in some things, overachiever in others. I needed a good kick in the butt. No one would give me one (although I think Lexie Wilkes tried), so I graduated from SHS and kicked my own butt. And now, the rest of the story: Where to begin. I guess my pursuits have usually been dominated by the need to be among the first to know or the need for adrenaline rush. After dabbling in aviation...the ground floor of aviation at Eastern Air Lines while going to BJC, and while doing so, learned to fly, soloed, thenI decided the world would be a safer place if I stayed away from the cockpit. Decades later, as a TV reporter in San Diego I got to fly in Blue Angells' F/A 18 plane number 7, their 2-seat trainer-backup plane. I spent 10 years in the Army Reserve, and became a commissioned officer after the first 2 years, after going on active duty to the Infantry Officers Candidate School at Fort Benning, GA, AKA Benning School for Boys. An obligatory but abortive go at family business, then I moved on to broadcasting, where I stayed for 41 years, and remain today. I started at a radio station in Miami (WKAT), moved on to a radio/TV operation in WPB (WEAT) where I became Operations Manager of two radio stations, did on air work, radio and TV commercials and weekend TV sports and hosted 4 MDAA telethons. I moved over to news when the TV station was sold and the news director asked me to anchor weekends and report three days a week. Also shot and edited news film, then video when the technology replaced sprocket holes. After gaining anchor and producer experience I moved to a main anchor job at the CBS station in Little Rock Arkansas, then Toledo, Ohio where, besides anchoring and reporting, I hosted a weekly live call-in show called Hotline. There was a stint in Miami at WTVJ and finally the move to San Diego, CA where I anchored and reported news...Expand for more