That’s Jeff Mielcarz on the left. He is the reason I’m in Atlanta this weekend. Tonight at 6:00 PM he’ll be marrying Lauren.
I had told him I wanted to visit The Weather Channel, where he works. He said, “Yes.”
I said, “Jeff, you’re getting married in a few hours. Wouldn’t you rather have someone else take me? Maybe there’s something you need to do?”
He was having none of that.
I met him at The Weather Channel at 1:00 PM. The Weather Channel is located in a nondescript modern office building in the Atlanta suburbs. There is a small sign at the entrance to the parking lot, but no signage on the building itself that I could see.
I snapped a few pictures of their satellite dishes before a guard came out to ask me to stop. He was pleasant, and I understood. I stopped.
Inside, the building is modern and nicely appointed. I’ve always felt you can judge a company solely by its lobby – and their lobby is nice with photos and awards, plus a split screen of some of their programming.
The studio itself is in a working newsroom, very much as it looks on the air. I was a little surprised by how connected it is to the working guts of the newsroom, where people were walking around and staying busy. The forecast area, in the back, is behind glass.
I saw a few people I recognized from TV, including Bob Stokes, Mark Mancuso and Stephanie Abrams. I think Mancuso was there when they went on the air! I also ran into Dr. Greg Forbes, their severe weather specialist.
The facility is very nice, don’t get me wrong. And, Jeff showed me where they’re geting ready to build a bigger studio. But, last night I was at CNN and this just doesn’t compare.
Did you know that the first place TWC considered locating was the complex in Bristol that was soon to be occupied by ESPN?
TWC wisely concluded that New England was a risky place to locate a weather center; they could envision blizzards blocking forecasters from getting in there. So Atlanta, it was to be; and Bristol-ESPN was to be destined.
My favorite TWC guy was the late John Hope (known to some as “Pops”)- he was the all-time great hurricane expert. What a passion he had for his work. I think he worked until his 80s.
Yes, I have his autograph on his picture. Great guy!