MACON, Ga. — The celebration of Frank Malloy's 40 years on the air continues.
Working with Frank is a blast. Frank's co-anchor Lori Johnson enjoys it so much she did it twice -- first from 2000 to 2005, and then 10 years later from 2015 to the present.
Frank has touched countless lives, so Lori wanted to share a few thoughts from people who used to work with him and some who still do.
Lorra Lynch Jones (13WMAZ News Director) says, "Frank is my friend first -- he's one of my best friends."
"The thing about Frank Malloy is he is Central Georgia's newsman. There's nobody like him. He's a trusted source, he's been there so long. WMAZ is very blessed to have somebody like that," said Adam Murphy (CBS46 investigative reporter, 13WMAZ 97-99).
13WMAZ's former general manager also has fond memories.
"Frank and I were competitors in Columbus and I tried to get him hired over there, but he wouldn't come and work for me. When I came back here to Macon, I had an opening and I said, 'Well, Frank, what about Macon?'" said Don McGouirk (Former 13WMAZ president and general manager, 82-05).
David Chandley (Fox 5 Atlanta chief meteorologist, 13WMAZ 85-87) gives Frank's on-air presence much praise.
"He was the Jim Nance before Jim Nance. He was just that smooth on the air all the time," Chandley said.
"The transition from sports to anchor was one that Frank was made for," said Dodie Cantrell (13WMAZ 87-08).
Liz Fabian (Mercer Civic Journalism Senior Fellow, 13WMAZ 93-98) says when she and Frank worked together in the 1990s, they had a type of synergy.
"When we really worked together in tandem, it was during the flood of '94. I was out with the live truck reporting from all over where people were in trouble, where the water was rising, and Frank was back here on the anchor desk," Fabian remembered.
Jeff Dudley (13WMAZ general manager and president, 01-now) gives Frank his flowers when it comes to his hard work and dedication to Football Friday Night.
"Frank could have stopped being a part of Football Friday Night along time ago after he transitioned to news, but again, this is just a part of the passion that he has. He loves Football Friday Night," Dudley said.
Raymond Tubb (13WMAZ content manager, 89-05 and 18-now) also praises Frank's FFN work and his desire to shine the spotlight on Central Georgia's high school football players.
"The stars are the players. The high school players are the stars of that show, not the personalities, not the people doing the highlights. The players are the stars of the show," said Tubb.
"He'd always hit you with a, 'Fired up, PC!' or any type of, 'Fired up!' -- you know it's going to be good," Jonathan Perez (13WMAZ 16-19) said about Frank's enthusiasm.
Chris Porter (First Coast News sports director, 13WMAZ 03-09) appreciates Frank's leadership and mentoring skills.
"He's a great leader. He's passionate, he can teach. He's just that dude," Porter said.
When it comes to giving Central Georgia all of the numbers and polling on election night, Lorra Lynch Jones says there's no one like Frank.
"He is the master of election coverage. I cannot think of anybody better in the state of Georgia at covering elections," she said.
"When I think about Frank Malloy, I think about the hundreds of thousands of lives, he's touched," Fabian expressed.
Chris Holcomb (11Alive chief meteorologist, 13WMAZ 86-91) says Mr. Malloy's influence is felt among many who have worked with him.
"I'm sure that Frank has seen so many people come through, be it reporters, producers, anchors, or meteorologists like me who have come and gone through the station, but we all became better journalists, better meteorologists, better broadcasters because of Frank's influence on us," Holcomb stated.
Another former meteorologist for the station, Chris Smith, says Frank would always make sure his coworkers had a place for the holidays.
"You work a lot of holidays and things like that and he would make sure we were invited to his house for the holidays," Smith said.
Perez remembers his daily greeting.
"He would walk into the newsroom and always just say "hi" to everybody," Perez said.
Mary Therese Griffin (13WMAZ 97-06) speaks of his mentoring ability.
"What a great mentor to have Frank Malloy guiding you and helping you through this crazy world of television broadcasting. If you got a stamp of approval for something you did from Frank, that meant everything," Griffin said.
Darnay Tripp (NBC 7 San Diego Sports Anchor, 13WMAZ 09-12) praises Malloy's dedication.
"Frank is absolutely great at what he does, but he's so invested in the work that he does and that's what really stands out," said Tripp.
Wes Blankenship (13WMAZ 13-16) says Frank is synonymous with 13WMAZ.
"You know, I think the fact that so many people automatically think about Frank Malloy when they think about WMAZ speaks volumes to how much he means right now, but what he means to generations of people watching it," said Blankenship.
This doesn't even scratch the surface of the people who've had the pleasure of working with Frank Malloy.
It’s a joy to see how many people think so fondly of Frank! We love you, Straight from the Heart.