ABC 36’s Doug High and Michael Estimé to take temporary leaves
High, 46, who co-anchors Good Morning Kentucky from 5am to 7am, Good Day Kentucky from 9am to 10am and ABC 36 News at Noon weekdays on ABC 36 with Lauren Gawthrop and Michael Estimé, reports for duty Monday June 22nd.
His last day on the air will be Friday June 19th and he will return to the ABC 36 anchor desk Monday September 7th after having served 74 days on active duty with the US Navy.
This has been his first call to extended active duty since he stated at the station, beyond his annual requirement as a reservist of 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year of military service.
Following the events of 9/11/2001 and without any prior military service, Doug High requested and was awarded a Direct Commission as an officer in the Navy Reserve Public Affairs community, based in no small part on his well-established civilian background in TV news and video production.
“Though we will certainly miss Doug’s presence on-air while he is away, we are immensely proud of his Naval Reserve service and applaud the dedication of all our country’s citizen soldiers,” said General Manager Chris Aldridge.
In addition to High’s temporary Naval Reserve service, Meteorologist Michael Estimé will be taking a temporary leave of absence to undergo medical treatment for a recently discovered vocal cord cyst. Surgical intervention is planned to take place at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.
In a post on his official Facebook page, Estimé wrote, “I’m looking forward to a healthy, happy and speedy recovery.”
Michael has a tremendous number of fans who we know will miss his presence while he’s away,” said News Director Steven France. “In response to the outpouring of well-wishes from viewers, we have decided to follow Michael through every step of his journey to recovery.”
Viewers can expect regular updates as ABC 36 News cameras follow Estimé through doctor visits, surgery and recovery.
The length of Estimé’s absence will be determined by the medical experts evaluating his condition, though he hopes to return to the air near the end of the summer.
Until his surgery is performed, Estimé will be moving from ABC 36’s weekday mornings to the station’s weekend evening newscasts.
Filling in for High and Estimé, alongside co-anchor Lauren Gawthrop, will be ABC 36 anchor Matt Groves and Meteorologist Eric Burke.
Segments from all ABC 36 news programs can be found at wtvq.com and through the ABC 36 mobile app for iPhone and Android. ABC 36 news updates can be found on Facebook (facebook.com/ABC36) and Twitter (twitter.com/ABC36News).
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