Marselis Parsons to Retire. Anson Tebbetts to Become WCAX News Director and Darren Perron 6 PM News Anchor
Anson Tebbetts will become WCAX's News Director at the end of May, succeeding Marselis Parsons, who has been News Director since 1984. Parsons, who has been with WCAX as a reporter, anchor, program producer and News Director since 1967, will be retiring as News Director, although he will continue to anchor the 6 PM News through the summer. Darren Perron will succeed Parsons as anchor of the 6 PM News.
Tebbetts is stepping down as Vermont's Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, a position he has served in since January of 2007. He joined WCAX News as the Rutland Correspondent 1994, moving to Montpelier in 1995 to cover state government and the legislature.
Peter Martin, President of WCAX, said, "We are delighted to welcome Anson back to WCAX as leader of the News Department. He is a gifted reporter and storyteller with a deep love for and extraordinary knowledge of Vermont. He was a farmer before he was a reporter, and even while he was a reporter. As our Montpelier Correspondent he demonstrated an extraordinary depth and breadth of knowledge about Vermont government and politics, even while producing delightful features about aspects of Vermont life off the beaten path. He is uniquely qualified to carry on the tradition of news which has made WCAX Channel 3 'Vermont's Own.'"
"Anson succeeds Marselis Parsons, who has had a distinguished forty-two year career as Vermont's leading broadcast journalist. Under his leadership WCAX News has become the source of news trusted by more Vermonters than any other. He will continue to anchor the 6 PM news through the summer.
In assuming his new position, Tebbetts said, "I look forward to building on the strong tradition of story telling and fairness that's been part of the Channel 3 newsroom for decades."
A native of Cabot, VT, Tebbetts was also News Director of WDEV Radio in Waterbury from 1987 to 1989. He graduated from Emerson College in 1987. He lives on the family farm in Cabot with his wife Vicki and their two young children.
Perron began his broadcast career in 1994 as an intern at WCAX News. He joined the News Department full time in July, 1995. Quickly establishing himself as a versatile and gifted reporter, he was promoted to Senior Reporter in 2004. Perron has anchored WCAX's weekend broadcasts, excelled both in producing series reports on a wide range of topics and in the coverage of breaking news.
In announcing Perron's appointment, WCAX President Peter Martin said, "Darren is one of the most gifted Vermont broadcast journalists of his generation. He will bring to the broadcast the perspective of a young Vermonter with a deep knowledge of his state and an ability to connect with people of all ages. He will ably carry on the tradition established by Marselis over the two decades he anchored the news."
A native of Barton, VT, Perron attended schools in Barton, and graduated from Lake Region Union High School in Orleans and Castleton State College. He lives in Burlington.
Parsons said of the transition announced today:
"It has been a privilege to be the News Director of this station for almost twenty-five years, and an honor to be invited into the homes of Vermonters, as well as viewers in New Hampshire, New York and even Quebec. I am confident Anson will continue the traditions of WCAX established by those who hired me, and I look forward to watching Channel 3 broadcasts with Darren and Kristin Kelly. They are two excellent journalists.
I am proud to say I hired all three and I have watched Anson, Kristin and Darren develop into award winning broadcasters.
It's not yet time to say goodbye, but it is certainly time to wish all three of them and all my colleagues at WCAX the best in the future."
WCAX News
Marselis Parsons
Anson Tebbetts
Darren Perron
