Paul Legassy Public Access Executive Director Dies At Age 52

[Henry]

Paul had contacted me a while back about Public Access TV here in Fairfax, however after little interest was shown, I removed the Category on my forum:

Paul Legassey, the first and only executive director of Franklin County’s popular Channel 15 and 16 public-access television, died of a massive heart attack Sunday morning, according to his friends and co-workers. He was 52.

    The “unbelievable news,” as described by one of Legassey’s former TV co-hosts, left Northwest Access Television (NAT) viewers, guests and staffers stunned and shocked, as word of Legassey’s death spread throughout Franklin County yesterday and into today.

    “This is still blowing my mind away,” said Richard Cowperthwait, a veteran Franklin County journalist who was co-host for “The Best Darn Franklin County Sports Show on Television” with Legassey and Rick Tatro, of St. Albans Town.

    A Massachusetts native, like Cowperthwait, Legassey was not married and did not have children. He did leave a partner – Sheila Bailey, a speech pathologist at the St. Albans Town Educational Center – along with hundreds of public access viewers who got to know him as “Leg” via his call-in sports show with Cowperthwait and Tatro.

To read more, click on the following link:

http://www.samessenger.com/NewsView.asp?ID=5727

[Henry]

PAUL DAVID LEGASSEY
CAMBRIDGE
1/8/2010
    Paul David Legassey, 52, of Cambridge, died on Dec. 20, 2009, at home, after a brief illness.

    He was born on Sept. 5, 1957, in Gardner, Mass., the son of George and Germaine (Pelletier) Legassey. He was a graduate of Rice High School, the University of Vermont in 1980, and received an M.A. degree in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University in 1983.

    Paul worked at Turner Broadcasting, in Atlanta, Ga., where he served in Production for CNN Sports, Headline News, Superstation WBTS, and Atlanta Braves baseball, for three years. He returned to Vermont where he was a member of the Production staff at WCAX (Channel 3) in Burlington for 7½ years. He also served in the Communications Department for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington for 9½ years.

    In 1999, Paul was able to put all his experience to great use when he became the first Executive Director of Channel 15, the Local Access Channel in St. Albans. This was his true calling. He loved the Franklin County community and the dedicated staff and volunteers who joined with him at Channel 15 to make the station a model for Public Access TV. Through his efforts and guidance, Channel 15 has become a major source of Community identity and integration for the greater St. Albans area and was even expanded to two channels in order to serve the community more effectively.

    Paul has always loved sports at all levels, following his beloved Boston teams (especially the Red Sox) all his life. He was able to track sports at the Professional, College and even (local) High School levels with seeming ease. His own involvement included, skating, tennis, biking, hiking, and trips to Lake Placid as often as could be done. Paul finally stepped out from “behind the cameras” when Channel 15 began airing “The Best Damn Sports Show in Franklin County” which allowed Paul to discuss his favorite topic with on air colleagues and friends and loyal viewers who would call in with comments and questions.

    He is survived by his fiancée, Sheila Bailey, of Cambridge; his sisters, Patricia Thomson and her husband, Laurence, of Richmond, Vt., Judith Volinski and her husband, Benjamin, of Andover, Mass., and Jeanne Legassey, also of Richmond, Vt.; cousins, Kathleen Michniewich, and Patrick Mahoney and his wife, Elaine, all of Northbridge, Mass.; four nephews, and a grand-nephew. He was predeceased by his parents.

    A celebration of Paul’s life will be held at the Collins-Perley Sports & Fitness Center on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 10 a.m.