It was the end of an era today on FOX 26 Houston KRIV as the station's first ever morning anchor José Griñan signed off for the retirement life.
UPDATE DECEMBER 2023
DaLaun Dillard joins FOX 26 Houston
UPDATE JULY 2023
José Griñan honored in airplane hangar!
His final words on channel 26 were "It has been a blast."
The hours were full of loving tributes to the retiring anchor while such Houston notables as Mattress Mack and Pancho Claus also made appearances to support Griñan. Real Houston TV insiders might even notice Executive Producer Jonathan Chastain in the background shot.
Here is a transcription of Griñan's goodbye speech to viewers.
"Today is my last day on the air here at Fox 26. My tenure for the last 30 years has been a remarkable run from covering breaking news from the set, whether it be an industrial explosion or fire to hurricanes and other events like major storms that created flooding in our viewing area through car crashes or car chases, I should say, involving smart cars that travel barely over the speed limit on the freeway and national stories like the planes crashing into the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. It has been my honor and privilege to be able to bring you the news as it happened.
It has also been an honor to sit next to Melissa to bring you all of the news every morning. Her professionalism and poise have helped me through days when I had some bad days at work.
I'd like to thank you, the viewer, for allowing me to come into your homes for so many years to bring you the latest news from overnight.
I came to Houston three decades ago to start Fox News, 7 a.m., a one hour morning newscast. We went from no ratings at all to one time dominating the time slot and leading the way for growth in the morning news programming. We now do six hours of local news programming every weekday. I want to give thanks to my co-workers who have been a special group of professionals who have rolled with many of the changes through the years. They and you have supported me and my good days on my bad days on the air.
I'd like to offer a special thank you to our management team and to our station manager, D'Artagnan Bebel, for their support as well. Again, thank you all for your support and thank you for watching. I know I will cross paths with many of you in my retirement, so please do not hesitate to say hello.
And as my career here comes to a close, May this day's good news be yours."
