RESOLUTION NO. 120416
Honoring and recognizing Walt
Bodine upon his retirement from broadcasting after more than 72 distinguished
years in the industry and his immeasurable service to the City of Kansas City.
WHEREAS, Walton
Marshall Bodine was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on August 27, 1920, and grew
up on Kansas City’s east side, attending Longfellow Elementary and Westport
High School and spending most of his spare time at his father’s drugstore at
Linwood and Troost, where he often sat under the counter and read newspaper
articles into a microphone for the benefit of those waiting for a bus; and
WHEREAS, as a grade
schooler, Walt created a single-edition, hand-printed, weekly newspaper that he
would charge a penny to read. When one "subscriber" was finished,
Walt would snatch it back and move on to the next; and
WHEREAS, Walt
captured the stories of Kansas City in three books and countless newspaper
columns and broadcast commentaries; and
WHEREAS, Walt
worked as a journalist in TV and radio covering the brightest and darkest
moments in Kansas City history across the last seven decades; and
WHEREAS, Walt
has been the #1 friend and fan of Kansas City restaurants past and present
(even those that do not have a chocolate malt on their menu); and
WHEREAS, Walt
helped pioneer the Talk Radio call-in show format in the 1960s and kept
improving it through 2012, thus enabling tens of thousands of Kansas Citians to
be heard on the air discussing every subject imaginable; and
WHEREAS, Walt
Bodine, on the day of his last broadcast, April 27, 2012, again turned to a TV camera and spoke his signature phrase, “What do you say to that?”; NOW,
THEREFORE,
BE
IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:
That the Mayor
and Council hereby extend their most sincere appreciation to Walt Bodine for
his more than 72 years of distinguished service to Kansas City, together with
heartiest best wishes for the future; and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that this Resolution be spread upon the Minutes of the Council in
testimony thereof, and that a copy hereof be presented to Walt Bodine with the
appreciation of the Mayor and Council for his long career and his wonderful
contributions to the City of Kansas City, Missouri.
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