CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Four KIII-TV legends have been added to our atrium's Ring of Honor among several other notable names in the TV industry.
Longtime 3News Sports Anchor Dan McReynolds, Anchor Joe Gazin and Meteorologist Bill Vessey and Anchor/Domingo Live Host Rudy Trevino will be permanently displayed for all guests of KIII-TV to see.
3News legends added to Ring of Honor
Sports Anchor Dan McReynolds
Following an amazing career at KIII-TV that spanned over 30 years, Dan McReynolds signed off for the last time in November 2014.
McReynolds had two stints at Corpus Christi's ABC affiliate (1975-77; 1985-2014). In between, he covered beats like ACC sports and NASCAR at WGHP-TV, Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem, N.C., including North Carolina State's improbable run to the 1983 NCAA men's basketball championship. McReynolds gained additional exposure with play-by-play duties on ABC regional football telecasts. A New York station called, but McReynolds and wife Nan opted for a return to the Coastal Bend to raise their young family.
They came home to Corpus Christi in the summer of '85. Over the next 29-plus years, McReynolds covered 18 high school state championship baseball teams, plus the advent and first decade of the Hooks. Other memorable stories include Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's 2007 NCAA men's basketball tournament appearance, a Refugio High School Class 2A football title in 2011, and the Calallen coaching triumvirate of Steve Chapman (baseball), Phil Danaher (football), and Leta Andrews (girls' basketball).
Meteorologist Bill Vessey
Chief Meteorologist Bill Vessey said "Hola, Amigos" for the last time in March of 2021.
Mr. Bill was KIII's Chief Meteorologist from 1992-2021. He was here for South Texas for numerous hurricanes and countless severe weather events.
Bill was born in the Bronx, grew up in Kingsville, and hasn't left Texas since. He earned his Journalism degree from Texas A&I, which is now Texas A&M University-Kingsville, and Meteorology from Mississippi State.
Bill began broadcasting as a country and western DJ in Kingsville. His career has also taken him to Laredo and San Antonio, where he earned the San Antonio Press Club's Best Newscast Award.
Bill is a multiple time winner of the Texas Associated Press Best Weathercast award. He's also an Adjunct Professor of Meteorology at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Anchor Joe Gazin
Shortly after Mr. Bill's departure, another 3News legend retired from a decades-long career. Joe Gazin retired in May 2021 after 43 years at KIII-TV.
Whether covering some of the most dominant stories of the day, such as the major hurricanes starting with Hurricane Allen in 1980, the death of Selena, or even through some of the more recent impacts of COVID-19 and winter storms, Joe Gazin has been the calm voice of reason when we have needed it most.
Starting out from the University of Southern California campus radio and moving on to KABC radio in Los Angeles, Joe Gazin was one of the pioneers in talk radio shows, having his own 4-hour program sandwiched between then mayor Tom Bradley and Regis Philbin. After deciding to enter the world of television in 1975, he briefly worked in stations in Wausau and Madison, Wisconsin before deciding to 'ditch the cold' in 1977 for the warmer climate of Corpus Christi, where he has worked for KIII for 43 years.
And you may have also noticed on the Ring of Honor... Domingo Live Host and 3News Anchor Rudy Trevino!
Though he has not yet retired, we had to add 3News legend Rudy Trevino to the Ring of Honor.
A sixth generation Texan, Rudy was born and raised in Beeville. After graduating from A.C. Jones High School, he enlisted in the United States Navy and earned his Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism from George Washington University in Washington D.C.
Rudy has worked as a reporter and news anchor for several stations in Texas and California, where he earned several Associated Press Broadcast Awards, California Chicano News Media Awards and two Emmy Awards for his live coverage of the Los Angeles riots and the San Francisco earthquake.
Outside of his television broadcast career, Rudy is President and CEO of National Hispanic Syndicated Radio and host of the internationally syndicated radio program Tejano Gold Countdown.
Throughout his career, Rudy has been featured in several national publications including: Time Magazine, Hispanic Business, Nuestras Vidas- A Magazine for the Hispanic Family, Billboard Magazine and more. Hispanic Business Magazine recognized Rudy as the Hispanic Business Entrepreneur of the Year for 1997, one of his most cherished honors.