Dear Brazos Valley,

We're still picking up from the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.  As I write this, some of you still don't have power, so it might be days or weeks before you read this.

For those of you who spent Saturday morning with News 3, either on TV, online or through three Brazos Valley Communications radio stations who simulcast our coverage, THANK YOU!

Thank you for counting on us and believing that we could give an accurate lay of the turbulent land that was the Brazos Valley under Ike's heavy hand.  It was an all-hands-on-deck situation here at KBTX Media, with some people up for more than 24 hours straight as the storm arrived.  We hope that our voices were clear and strong and accurate, as that is always our goal.

It heartens me when we hear from you that we did a good job.  Are we perfect?  No, but who is.  Like with any job or experience in life, we can only strive to do as best as we can and give all that we can muster.  A lot of people mustered a lot of strength in these 51-year-old halls to bring you the latest information.

There's a little cynicism in all of us, but more in some than others, especially some who hide behind the curtain of digital anonymity, some who hiss and spit venom for whatever reason.  I don't have a pyschology degree, so I won't try to analyze, but to those who may have thought we wouldn't come through, I hope we served you well.  Just like a political candidate for office, you don't just serve those who vote for you; you serve everyone.

I want to close with this heartening note in a time when we're searching for the good (and there is a lot in this).  Outside our studios Saturday, we often showed you a large, older tree of ours that was splintered by Ike.  But just a few feet away from that tree is a small, young, skinny tree we planted about four years ago.  It's in honor of Matthew Moore, our photojournalist and friend who died tragically in June 2004.  Looking at that tree today, you probably wouldn't know we'd been through a hurricane.  I would have never imagined looking at the first tree that our most treasured one would have gotten through it.

Matt's tree stood strong.  So should we, Brazos Valley.

Sincerely,
Steve Fullhart