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WRAL-TV Reporter Dan Wilkinson Dies Suddenly |
Dan Wilkinson
1958-2003 |
CBC suddenly lost one of our devoted employees on Thursday, October 30, 2003. WRAL-TV Reporter Dan Wilkinson, a 9-year staffer of CBC divisions including Tobacco Radio Network (TRN), Capitol Networks & WRAL-TV, won several awards for his work in farm reporting. Wilkinson followed in his father’s footsteps, CBC veteran & retiree Ray Wilkinson. The senior Wilkinson worked in the fields reporting for 32 years with the company.
Overall, Dan Wilkinson spent 20 years in the reporting field, with 10 dedicated to farm reporting. He covered the agriculture beat for WRAL and gave the current corn, tobacco, and other market prices each day during the noon newscast.
He began at CBC as the Director of Agricultural Productions for TRN in August 1994 and transferred to WRAL-TV News as a Specialty Reporter in 2001. He often hit the road as a one-man show, managing the camera, reporting & editing himself. “My job is to tell the viewer just what I see,” he once said.
“The story of today’s farm is very interesting and a very good window on much of the rest of the world around us.”
Born in Rocky Mount, Wilkinson majored in speech communications at NC State. He received his Eagle Scout in 1973 and was a member of WRAL-TV’s Explorer Post 5 with the Boy Scouts. He served as president of the NC Farm Writers & Broadcasters Association from 1991-92 and held a variety of other leadership roles in his field. He received the “Best of NAMA” from the National Agri-Marketing Association and several other awards. An active participant with the Boy Scouts, he also served the community.
Wilkinson is survived by his wife, Babs; two children, Daniel & Kaisey; and his parents, Ray & Emmylou Wilkinson.
Visitation will be held Sunday, Nov. 2, from 3-5pm at Bryan-Lee Funeral Home on Wake Forest Road in Raleigh. The funeral will be held Monday, Nov 3 at 2pm at Providence Baptist Church, located on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh.
