Journalist. Raconteur. Friend. The description of Frank Perkins comes from Dorothy Estes, and it fit him to a T. As in "tanker," his e-mail handle, or the Army tank on his stationery. He was caring, too, a student of military history and funny, a natural -- and much-practiced -- storyteller. If being in the Army was as hilarious as Mr. Perkins remembered, it's a shame we all couldn't go.
Mr. Perkins died April 4. A TCU journalism graduate ('58) and a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, he served on active duty in Germany during the Berlin crisis, then spent the next 25 years in the 49th Armored Cavalry Division of the Texas Army National Guard, holding down command, staff and headquarters jobs, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. At the Star-Telegram, he began the long-running "Military Notes" column, the last installment of which ran Oct. 7.
An aggressive and skilled journalist, Mr. Perkins was a writer, editor and producer at WBAP television (now KXAS/NBC 5) from 1961 to 1979 and a reporter and editor for the Star-Telegram from the mid-1980s until retiring about six years ago. He worked on Channel 5's "Texas News" special "President Kennedy's Visit to Texas," which won the Wells Key, one of the highest honors given by SPJ. Alex Burton, who took Frank's place when he was called into the service but got to stay at WBAP when Frank came home, recalls a "wicked sense of humor." Frank also showed him how to field strip a P-38 pistol.
A stroke in October left neurological damage, but Mr. Perkins' speech and ability to hand-write letters had come back strong. He didn't have to relearn empathy and concern, as those traits never left. "Frank was a generous person who never said no to a request for help," said colleague Paul LaRocque. Added Jim Jones: "When he discovered my brother fought on Omaha Beach, a beautiful paperweight memorial of the 50th anniversary of the D-Day invasion suddenly showed up on my desk. We had periodic lunches with other Star-Telegrammers. Looking back, I wish there had been many more."
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MEETINGS
Reducing Information Overload Through Integrated Strategies
How can we communicate with clients when we can't communicate down the hall? Jerry Stevenson can fix the latter, which will improve the former, and the whole package -- ways to reduce info angst by combining print, Web, e-mail and face-to-face to cut through the chaos -- rolls out during lunch at the next IABC Tuesday.
Stevenson, principal of Dallas-based Stevenson Consulting, is an internationally recognized authority on crafting best-practice intranets. Formerly the lead strategist behind one of the world's largest global intranets at EDS Corp., his clients include more than 10 Fortune 500 firms, representing a range of industries.
Time & date: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, May 4
Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
Parking: $2.50 in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets (get ticket validated)
Cost: $17 members, $22 nonmembers, $12 students
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Fort Worth's Future: Seeing is Believing
Trinity River Vision. The Lancaster Corridor. Magnolia Green. What does all that mean for the future of downtown Fort Worth? Well, a lot, and David Berzina, the new executive vice president of economic development for the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, will provide details at the May PRSA meeting.
A highlight of his talk will be a flyover of Fort Worth created The Beck Group. The stunning sight of buildings literally growing out of the ground, coupled with artists' renderings of streetscapes and urban villages, provide an exciting idea of what economic development is all about.
Berzina joined the Fort Worth Chamber just two months ago and oversees business retention and recruitment, international business development and research. A graduate of UT Austin and the University of Delaware, he previously was senior VP for economic development with the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, which Site Selection magazine named one of the nation's Top 10 economic development organizations in 2003.
Time & date: 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, May 12
Place: Petroleum Club, Carter-Burgess Plaza, 777 Main St., 39th floor
Parking: free valet in parking garage at Seventh and Commerce streets (get ticket validated)
Cost: $20 members, $23 nonmembers, $18 students
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All This and the River Walk, Too
Respected pros in print and photojournalism will headline the joint SPJ Region 8 spring conference/National Writers Workshop, May 22-23 in San Antonio. Among the players: Edna Buchanan, mystery novelist, author of "The Corpse Wore a Familiar Face" and winner of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for police beat reporting at The Miami Herald; Barry Siegel, former Los Angeles Times national correspondent who won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for feature writing and now directs the literary journalism program at the University of California, Irvine; Eric Newhouse, projects editor at the Great Falls (Montana) Tribune, winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Price for explanatory journalism with the series "Alcohol: Cradle to the Grave"; and Cindy Yamanaka, staff photographer at The Orange County Register, winner of the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting on violence against women.
