John Shand: 1917-2008

...if you live in Richmond at any time between 1948 and, say, 1990, you know the name John Shand.

You know he was the first voice ever heard on a television station in Richmond, Virginia.

You know he gave the first legal identification announcement in Richmond television history on April 22, 1948.

You know his legendary handlebar mustache (that put Rollie Fingers to shame).....

You know his work as "the South's First Anchorman", the voice of the Yellow Cab commercials, and the man who led WTVR-TV 6 to its prominence in not just Richmond television, but in the annals of local television station history.

Only 19 stations were on the air, none south of a line from Washington, DC to St. Louis, when WTVR hit the airwaves. So indeed it is "The South's First Television Station".

And it wouldn't be close to what it is today and what it has meant to Richmond for these 60 years without the presence of John Shand.

Article and links to video, including an interview done just two days before his death are at this link.