OPR on The Weather Channel

On May 26, Jan and I flew back to Galveston to do an interview with Jim Gagne, Producer/Editor for The Weather Channel. OPR had just completed a copy run in Galveston three weeks earlier, when we were contacted by Jim about the possibility of doing an interview for a special running on the first day of hurricane season. Jim felt that OPR’s operation in restoring photos for those hit by Hurricane Ike would make a great story. The only problem would be that we only had a week to pull this together. It is amazing how things came together in what appeared to be an impossible undertaking.

The interview was held at the historical Hotel Galvez built in 1911. Susan Antonelli was interviewed and presented with her four restored photos. Jim in his interview captured the emotions of Susan upon seeing her damaged family photos restored. Unknown until the day of the interview was that Susan’s father is dying of pancreatic cancer. Knowing the joy Susan and her father experienced seeing their family photos restored was a very poignant moment.

On June 1, the segment on OPR aired on The Weather Channel throughout the day. We knew from watching Jim work that this would be special and we were not disappointed. From the start of hearing Susan’s story to watching Jan go through the motions of restoring on her laptop; the final seconds of watching the photo ruined by mold and discoloration turn back in time to its original beauty, was moving!

Thank you Jim!

Margie Hayes