Fourth Grade Epiphany

When I was 9.and we lived in Shaker Heights, Ohio, it hit me.
I knew what I was going to be when I grew up -- a newscaster.  
I told everyone.  
In 7th grade we moved to River Forest, IL, west of Chicago.

I spent a lot of time studying the local TV Anchors and Reporters, absorbing the best and avoiding the worst of what they did and how they performed.

When I was a Freshman at Oak Park River Forest High School, I nearly jumped out of my seat when my homeroom teacher read the day's announcements.
He mentioned auditions for "Newscene," a weekly news program produced by students.

After not being selected to read the daily announcements at Woodbury Junior High School in Shaker Heights, I was so determined this time.

Don Lennie led the effort to build a TV Studio in Oak Park River Forest High School in 1980.

Two years later, when I got there, I was more than a little scared and overwhelmed.

The school's population totalled more than 4,000.

After school that day, I ran to his classroom and I met my first mentor, Don Lennie.

Don Lennie

Mr. Lennie handed me a package of scripts.

At home, I devoured them.

My fears started to lift because I was thrilled to be doing something directly related to my career path.

I couldn't wait for auditions which were a week away.

I read those scripts out loud in front of our bathroom mirror until I memorized them.

At school, minutes before my audition, I sat on a toilet and went through the scripts one more time.  I remember being nervous but all that practice gave me confidence. 

Mr. Lennie sat off camera to my right.

He gave a "3-2-1" and when his left arm went down, the little red light came on.

No teleprompter, just those blue scripts.  
The words came out as rehearsed. 
When I was done, I turned and looked at Mr. Lennie.

"Wow, Kevin.  That was great!  Have you done this before?"  

"About a thousand times in front of my bathroom mirror," I said.

Everyone laughed.

My four years on "Newscene" were excellent preparation for college, radio, TV and the ensuing market climbing.

They also helped prepare me for the most important project of my life.

Everyone who contributed to the success of "A Son of Suicide" helped honor my mother, Diane Marcus Roy, in such a beautiful, lasting way that saved lives.

I'm grateful to everyone for what we accomplished.

The goal of "A Son of Suicide," as then WLS-TV News Director Eric Lerner said, was "to save a life or more, if we're smart and lucky."

Eric Lerner, General Manager, WABC-TV

My mother never took a mood stabilizer like lithium, the "gold standard," as it's often called.
It probably would have saved her from suicide.

WLS-TV Photojournalist Jackie Denn shot every interview with great care.
Jackie saved the day when she turned off the camera and turned into a therapist to my sister, father and me, literally giving us a shoulder to cry on.  She's one of the best for that and much more.

Rodney Correll elevated my words and turned them into art.

Rodney Correll, WLS-TV

It's when I became friends with then WLS-TV Executive Producer Richard Maginn who is now with WMAQ-TV, Channel 5 News in Chicago.
Everyone contributed in their own ways to make sure it was perfect.

Indeed it was.

I'll never be able to thank everyone enough.  

There I was on set for the first time on "The ABC7Chicago 10:00 O'Clock News" sitting next to two of my favorites, Diann Burns and John Drury.

John Drury & Diann Burns, WLS-TV

                                                  

I had such a case of butterflies and the biggest goose bumps.

Fortunately, my part went well.

Then it was time for "Anchor Reax" as it was called on the rundown. 

Diann Burns went first.

She said everywhere she went after the first night, people stopped her to say how moving it was.  

"They want me to tell you how much they care about you and your family."

I was quite moved myself and I said, "thank you."

John Drury nodded.  

Then he paused just long enough that it started to feel a little uncomfortable.

Right then, he looked up, turned to me and he said:  

"It took a lot of courage to do that."

I barely heard him.

I said "thank you," and hurried out of "TV-3," the third floor studio where local news was broadcast live for years before The State Street Studio was built.

Back at my cubbyhole in the newsroom, I had all of two seconds to think about what John Drury said with more than a million viewers watching.  

"Courage?"

I'll have to think about that.

The phone rang.

My father.

"I thought that went well.  What do you think?"

I didn't say anything.

I was hoping he'd say more.

"Is that all?"

"What did you expect me to say?"

"Thank you."

He also said he was proud of me.

My father, Robert Roy

Robert Roy may not appreciate how much his words meant to me then and still do.

As for courage, it took a little time to understand what John Drury meant but not long.

If John Drury said it, it had to be true.

When I look back at it now, it seems almost too good to be real.

But it happened.  I'm very grateful.

My mother deserves nothing less.  

We saved lives.

I know because people called and thanked me.  They said it made them stop and think about how ending their lives would impact their loved ones for the rest of their lives.

They got professional help.

We need a lot more mental health reporting to overcome the stigma against people with mental illnesses.

ABC7Chicago's Ryan Chiaverini agrees.

He wrote a song and produced this music video, "Chicago," which he dedicated to his brother who also ended his life.  Ryan found a way to make people smile.  What a gift.

As John Drury told me,  "It took a lot of courage" for Ryan to be so open in his own way.  

Chiaverini is donating proceeds from the video to The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, an excellent cause.  

Ryan makes everything he does look easy.

Defeating the stigma against people with mental illnesses is anything but easy.

It takes courage from all of us.

We also need love, kindness, and a massive, unprecedented campaign to educate.

It can and must be done.

I urge you to "Take the Pledge" by Bring Change 2 Mind.
Read the principles and take action.
While you're at it, check out www.KevinMarcusRoy.com.
I'd love to hear from you.
Did I mention I need a job?
Do whatever you can to help defeat the stigma.

Drury:  "On behalf of everyone here at ABC7 Chicago, I'm John Drury.  Good night, Diann."

Burns:  "Good night, John.  Thank you for watching."

Love,

Kevin Marcus Roy
Journalism ends stigma, stops suicide, saves lives.