Regnal Wallace
| Regnal E. "Reg" Wallace ("The radio voice of | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Born | November 5, 1934 Crowville, Franklin Parish Louisiana, USA | ||
| Died | April 13, 2016 Crowville, Louisiana | ||
| Occupation | Journalist Public relations director of Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation | ||
| Spouse | Carolyn Godfrey Wallace (married 1961-1999, her death) Children: | ||
| Religion | Southern Baptist | ||
Regnal E. Wallace, also known as Reg Wallace (November 5, 1934 – April 13, 2016), an agricultural journalist, was the first "Voice of Louisiana Agriculture" as the founding radio broadcaster of the Louisiana Agri-News Radio Network. He created and hosted the weekly half-hour television series, This Week in Louisiana Agriculture. The program has aired since 1981 and is syndidated on RFD-TV and the Louisiana Farm Bureau Radio Network, which continues to provide fifty daily radio reports to twenty-eight stations throughout the state.[1][2]
Contents
Background
The older of three children of William Edward Wallace (1900-1988), a cotton farmer, and the former Willie Eugenia Ford (1907-1994), Regnal Wallace was born on a farm in Crowville near Winnsboro in Franklin Parish in northeastern Louisiana. His brother, Ford "Buddy" Wallace (1942-2011), was also a farmer based in Winnsboro.[3] After two years in the 1950s in the United States Army, he graduated from the Southern Baptist-affiliated Louisiana College in Pineville. From 1962 to 1969, he was a sportscaster for KALB-TV, the NBC affiliate in Alexandria, Louisiana.[2]
Farm reporter
In the summer of 1969, Wallace was named public relations director for the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation by the late president James Graugnard, Sr.[1] (1922-1993) of St. James Parish in south Louisiana.[4] This Week in Louisiana Agriculture became the longest running, locally produced television program in his state. Farm Bureau reporter Carey Martin said that Wallace "knew deep down that agriculture had a story to tell and that we should all be thankful for the work farmers and ranchers do on our behalf season after season, good years and bad.[1]
Jack Dillard, agricultural editor of The Shreveport Times, noted that Wallace not only created This Week in Louisiana Agriculture but developed and produced the series. "He had the ability to tell the farmer’s story and always passed the credit on to Louisiana farmers and the Louisiana Farm Bureau. He will go into the history of Louisiana agriculture as one of its most honest and dedicated 'man of his time.' His ambition was to tell the story about who is feeding this world," Dillard said.[5]
Don Molino, the senior agricultural broadcaster for the Louisiana Farm Bureau Agri-News Radio Network, described Wallace as "definitely a pioneer in farm broadcasting because there was a time when he was the only farm voice out there. I'm proud to call him my friend and colleague."[1]
In 1997, Wallace retired from the Farm Bureau after a career spanning twenty-eight years. He returned to his boyhood farmhouse in Crowville but soon joined KMAR-FM radio in Winnsboro at the request of station owner Tom D. Gay, Jr. Wallace hence launched "Round Franklin", referring to Franklin Parish, which was heard across northeast Louisiana for sixteen years.[1]
Wallace died at his Crowville home in the spring of 2016 at the age of eighty-one. He and his wife, the former Carolyn Godfrey (1943-1999), had three daughters, one of whom, Kimberly Cupp, resides in Crowville. Two daughters, Candace and Ashley Wallace, died at birth in 1968 and 1981, respectively. Along with his wife, parents, and brother, Wallace is interred at the Harris Cemetery in Swampers in Franklin Parish.[6]
Legacy
Wallace died a month after the passing in Baton Rouge of another Louisiana farm broadcaster, Michael "Mike" Danna (1960-2016), who succeeded Wallace as the voice of This Week in Louisiana Agriculture. In 2015, Danna, who worked for the Farm Bureau Federation for thirty years, had broadcast an interview with Wallace that reminisces on Wallace's broadcast career.[2]
Ronnie Anderson, the current state Farm Bureau president, said similarly that Wallace had "a real passion for telling the farmer's story. He had a cutting-edged vision, and he used media in a way that no one else had done at the time. He was a true friend of the farmer and a friend of Farm Bureau. He will be missed by many.”[7]
The Louisiana Farm Bureau Agri-News Network still broadcasts daily agricultural reports on twenty-eight radio stations across the state. This Week in Louisiana Agriculture is still produced and aired weekly on twenty television stations and cable systems across the state. Agricultural reporter Carey Martin said of Wallace. "The original "Voice of Louisiana Agriculture" is now silent, but his legacy will live on through the pioneering outreach media he created."[1]
In 2011, the Louisiana Farm Bureau named its Lifetime Achievement Award for Wallace.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Carey Martin (April 14, 2014). Regnal Wallace: Voice of Louisiana Agriculture, Dies at 81. amscl.org. Retrieved on May 9, 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Remembering Michael Danna (1960-2016). twilatv.org. Retrieved on May 9, 2016.
- ↑ William Edward Wallace. Findagrave.com. Retrieved on May 9, 2016.
- ↑ James D. Graugnard, Sr.. Findagrave.com. Retrieved on May 9, 2016.
- ↑ Jack Dillard. Agriculture industry loses two of its finest. The Shreveport Times. Retrieved on May 10, 2016.
- ↑ Regnal E. Wallace. Findagrave.com. Retrieved on May 9, 2016.
- ↑ Greg Hilburn (April 15, 2016). La.'s original 'Voice of Agriculture' dies. Monroe News Star. Retrieved on May 10, 2016.
