WJW Weatherman Dick Goddard Retires After 50 Years!

[MrCleveland]

Dick Goddard announces retirement: ‘In November, I’m stepping away from the weather maps’
POSTED 7:00 PM, MAY 18, 2016, BY KAILY CUNNINGHAM, UPDATED AT 07:26PM, MAY 18, 2016

CLEVELAND, Ohio-- After 55 years in the TV business, Dick Goddard has made a huge announcement about his future here at FOX 8 News.

Dick Goddard will continue to report the weather until November of this year, then he will be retiring from television so he can focus 100% on animal advocacy.
"For 55 years I’ve been doing the weather and I’m gonna keep doing it as we go into November; at that point I’m going to step away from the weather maps and we’re getting into total animal welfare," Dick Goddard said during his announcement.

For the past few years, Dick Goddard has been pushing to get House Bill 60 passed. The law, often called Goddard’s Law, would make it a fifth-degree felony to knowingly cause serious physical harm to a companion animal. That includes depriving a pet of food, water or shelter, or inflicting long-term pain.

"It passed the House like 83-8, quite awhile ago, but we’ve got to get through the Senate," Goddard said.

Although Dick Goddard will be stepping away from FOX 8 News later this year, his legacy and plenty of memories will live on for many years to come. He also plans to continue his involvement with the annual Woollybear Festival in Vermilion. This year's festival is on October 2.

“I was a loyal fan and admirer of Mr. Goddard’s while I was growing up here in Cleveland. I’ll never forget meeting him, getting an autograph and my picture taken with him at the Seven Hills Home Days way back in the mid 70s when I was a kid. It was a thrill then and I can honestly say that it’s still a thrill just to see him in the hallways here at the station,” said FOX 8 General Manager Paul Perozeni. “There has never been a Cleveland television personality more caring, more expert at his profession and as genuine and beloved by co-workers and viewers alike than Dick Goddard.”

FOX 8 News Director Andy Fishman added, “It’s nearly impossible to measure what Dick Goddard means to Fox 8, to the people of Northeast Ohio and to the pets of Northeast Ohio. We will do our best over the next six months to celebrate the unprecedented career of a Cleveland Television Icon."

I know there's many Clevelanders on this site and all I know is that the last of the WJW Fab Four is out...the other three are Tim Taylor, Robin Swoboda, and Casey Coleman.