Jim Vance: 1-11-42 - 7-22-17

[MedicineDog]

I have never started a thread before, but this is a topic I feel is worth mentioning. The vast majority of you don't know who Jim Vance is, but he was an icon in the Washington DC area. He was a local newscaster for an NBC affiliate. He was at the same station here in the DC area for 45 years!

Unlike most celebrities in our culture, this guy was 100% adored and loved by those who knew him and welcomed him into our homes every night on the news.

He wasn't political. He was honest, sweet and downright cool. He rode Harley Davidson motorcycles and rocked a gold hoop earing. Also, he was a black dude who got a gig as an anchorman in a time when it was extremely rare.

I grew up in DC and Vance has always been there. Now he's gone. There is a void in DC that will never be filled. The DC area has been celebrating his life and I felt it necessary for you Sherpups to know a little about a great man who is no longer with us.



Also, for a laugh: Here is Vance with the late great sportscaster George Michael laughing at a model who fell on the runway. Hilarious



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Vance

 

[Swiftie]

I always watched Channel 4 news in the evening and Vance was always the anchor ever since I moved to the DC area many years ago. I loved seeing him and George Michael laugh and go at it.

 

[MedicineDog]

I always watched Channel 4 news in the evening and Vance was always the anchor ever since I moved to the DC area many years ago. I loved seeing him and George Michael laugh and go at it.

Thank you for your memory.I have never or will never know of someone so beloved by so many. He had a good run at life.

 

[Liquid Smoke]

I never heard of him but if we lost a real journalist, then this is a real loss.
Condolences to his family regardless.

 

[MedicineDog]

I never heard of him but if we lost a real journalist, then this is a real loss.
Condolences to his family regardless.

Well said. A rare breed, especially in today's day and age.

 

[cottagecheesefan]

Well said. A rare breed, especially in today's day and age.

From Howard County, but moved away 4 years ago. Didn't hear of the news, thanks for telling me, going to bring it up next time I call my parents.

 

[MedicineDog]

From Howard County, but moved away 4 years ago. Didn't hear of the news, thanks for telling me, going to bring it up next time I call my parents.

This is what I'm talking about. People in the DMV loved the guy. The fact that you will bring it up with your folks illustrates that. Thank you.

 

[sleepwalk]

Sorry for your loss and thank you for sharing this man and his legacy with us. Sometimes we forget that, as big as the world is and as easy as it is bridge those distances, our villages mean so much. Jim Vance certainly seemed to have.

 

[cottagecheesefan]

This is what I'm talking about. People in the DMV loved the guy. The fact that you will bring it up with your folks illustrates that. Thank you.

DC, and the counties right outside it, Montgomery, Howard, and Northern Virginia are always in the top 5 or top 10 richest counties in the country, and DC itself. They form pretty much a super city, all linked by public transit, and suburban sprawl.

There are tons of arts festivals, community events going on, etc. The communities in that area are a level above other areas I have lived in. Once you get close to Baltimore, and the rest of the Mid Atlantic, it quickly transitions into the rust belt. It is a distinct difference.

It is like yuppy Boston.

And not wealthy in a way that like Miami or LA is, because those have huge wealth gaps. But where the average person is realtively well off.

Anyways, my point is, this dude was the man who conveyed all the going ons, in one of the best areas to live in, in the history of man kind.

 

[Chesten_Hesten]

RIP

 

[El Moose]

I like to think He and George Michael are having a laugh somewhere

 

[Grrrr]

He always seemed like a good guy. He was on the TV in this area forever.

 

[SleepyBoy]

Jim Vance is a hometown hero. So many people loved him. I didn't know one person who didn't like him.

Super classy guy, he will be missed.

My favorite Jim Vance memory is one I couldn't find online.

It was from about the mid 90's if I remember correctly. DC was having an unusual high amount of gun violence even for DC in the mid 90s

Anyways...
After another seemingly infinite report of violence in DC, Jim Vance called out all the Thugs. Basically called them cowards. Really lays into them. It was super intense and emotional. One of the realest and most genuine moments I have ever seen on the news.

Wish I could find it.

 

[cottagecheesefan]