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Quincy TV station gives 50-year retrospective
By Cindy Iutzi/Gate City Staff Writer
Representatives from WGEM celebrated their 50th anniversary at the Keokuk Area Chamber of Commerce's RAP Breakfast, sharing a video retrospective of the station's programming from 1953 to 2003.
In a presentation that dovetailed with WGEM's agenda, Keokuk High School's mass communications class kicked off the chamber's new breakfast starter - Good Morning Keokuk. The presentation was introduced by Mark Bartlett, a senior at KHS.
A series of commercials created, produced and acted by members of the class, such as a promotional for the Hoe Down Hotel, warmed up the crowd for the featured speaker, Leo Henning, general manager and vice president of WGEM.
A part of the Quincy Broadcasting Company, and owned by the Oakley and Lindsay families, WGEM "is one of the leading small market broadcasting companies," Henning said. The station was the first television service in the area, broadcasting Sept. 4, 1953, he said.
Henning said WGEM offered the first color, the first stereo and the first digital service in the Tri-States Area.
Because of a technical glitch, WGEM's 50-year retrospective could not be shown on the large screen set up for the attendees, but a video version showed a stream of shows and news clips that have been broadcast on WGEM over the years.
Watching Johnny Carson host the "Tonight Show" as a young man, advance through his middle aged years and then end his career as an active, white-haired star in his own right, RAP breakfast participants also saw small clips including in part, the Lawrence Welk Show, Bonanza, the Beatles arriving in the United States, Vietnam footage, Civil Rights marches, Martin Luther King speeches, Woodstock, the moon landing, shuttle launches, Princess Diana, the Great Flood of 1993, the memorial service for the fallen Keokuk firefighters, tornadoes and more.
Henning said the station set up its Southeast Iowa news link in 1998. Currently Emily Engberg, who emceed the RAP Breakfast, covers the news locally for WGEM.
"Interfacing with the community is what WGEM all about," Henning said. "We strive to be first in the area."
Henning said that ethical, responsible and accountable service is the company's aim, delivering the service that the company promises.
"Our deepest hope is that in our anniversary year ... WGEM has come to mean something in your lives," Henning said.
Atmos Energy sponsored the RAP breakfast and Vermillion Brothers was the business of the month.
In a presentation that dovetailed with WGEM's agenda, Keokuk High School's mass communications class kicked off the chamber's new breakfast starter - Good Morning Keokuk. The presentation was introduced by Mark Bartlett, a senior at KHS.
A series of commercials created, produced and acted by members of the class, such as a promotional for the Hoe Down Hotel, warmed up the crowd for the featured speaker, Leo Henning, general manager and vice president of WGEM.
A part of the Quincy Broadcasting Company, and owned by the Oakley and Lindsay families, WGEM "is one of the leading small market broadcasting companies," Henning said. The station was the first television service in the area, broadcasting Sept. 4, 1953, he said.
Henning said WGEM offered the first color, the first stereo and the first digital service in the Tri-States Area.
Because of a technical glitch, WGEM's 50-year retrospective could not be shown on the large screen set up for the attendees, but a video version showed a stream of shows and news clips that have been broadcast on WGEM over the years.
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Henning said the station set up its Southeast Iowa news link in 1998. Currently Emily Engberg, who emceed the RAP Breakfast, covers the news locally for WGEM.
"Interfacing with the community is what WGEM all about," Henning said. "We strive to be first in the area."
Henning said that ethical, responsible and accountable service is the company's aim, delivering the service that the company promises.
"Our deepest hope is that in our anniversary year ... WGEM has come to mean something in your lives," Henning said.
Atmos Energy sponsored the RAP breakfast and Vermillion Brothers was the business of the month.
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