User:Rick Gleason/Richard Lee

Short Biography

Hello, I'm Rick Gleason and was born in the small community of Clearfield, Pennsylvania part of Clearfield County. My family has deep roots in the area where nine generations have made their homes and created lives for themselves and their families. My father died when he was 31 and I was subsequently adopted at the age of two by his sister. I grew up in the Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C. just six miles from the White House and 225 miles from my birth place. I knew from about the age of twelve, when listening to my first transistor radio, that I wanted to be on the radio. Those dreams were fulfilled beginning at the age of fifteen as a board operator at a Classical F-M radio station in Takoma Park, Maryland.

Later at age nineteen I joined the Air Force and served as a firefighter before being accepted as a staff member of American Forces Radio and Television. I would train at the Department of Defense Information School (DINFOS) at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis. During my years in the Air Force I worked part-time at several radio stations in California as a D-J. I went on to serve at Da Nang Airbase in South Vietnam before my discharge and then enrolled at Brigham Young University where I majored in Broadcast Journalism. While in school I worked at a variety of local radio stations and later at KTVX-TV in Salt Lake City where I worked in television production for their two evening newscasts.

After college, married with a young family, I went on to work as a television news reporter and anchor. My employment took us to Billings, Montana where I helped to put KHMT-TV on the air for the first time and worked as Promotions Director. I then went to Missoula, Montana and KECI-TV as a news reporter covering Missoula County news as well as the station’s sports anchor. Later I would move to Bend, Oregon where I reported, produced and co-anchored newscasts at KTVZ-TV.

I've made my home in Washington state since 1983 and have worked in several vocations including as an owner of several businesses with experience signing both sides of a payroll check. For several years I returned to broadcasting and worked at 104.1 KXDD, 100.9 Cherry FM and KIT-AM in Yakima, WA. While there I worked in a wide variety of capacities from country music and oldies D-J, to talk show co-host and Imaging Director.

I've been a family historian researching my genealogical roots since a teenager and now have a database of more than 18,000 names, all with sources and many with notes and stories that need told. When not researching family history, or sitting in front of a microphone, I enjoy writing on a variety of subjects and post regularly to my blog, "Stories I Share With Friends." Other activities include watching movies, listening to music, reading, Apple computers and other gadgets, and spending time with family and friends. I have a wide variety of interests and am a regular contributor to social media as well as Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects.

Links

• From my Blog: Family History and the Story Tellers

• My Rootsweb Online Family Tree (Updated Regularly)

• My Genealogy Documents Shared on the Internet Archive

• My FindaGrave Profile

• Facebook Page

Contact me at:
Email Address: ricksgenealogy@gmail.com