By Julian Rogers Managing Director of the Jamaica Observer I t isn't easy to talk about your friends with the general public. Chances are, things you say about your friends may be too much for some to stomach, cause your friend embarrassment and put an end to the friendship. So I run the risk of ending a decades-long friendship with Frankie Michael. I hope by the end of this piece that our friendship will be enhanced and go on for a long, long time. We met when Frankie was still attending the famous Grammar School in Antigua. It was 1971, and I worked then at the newly launched Radio ZDK as Deputy Programme Director, morning man and news producer. One Saturday morning, a group of young people arrived at the station to host the Antigua Grammar School Hour, and Frankie was among them, led by Franklyn Francis, who would go on to be King Frank-i. The members of this group would become some of the brightest ever coming out of Grammar School. Fast forward when our paths crossed as Frankie became the Director of Agriculture of Montserrat, and I was the Head of the English language service of Radio Antilles, a station with a massive footprint across the Eastern Caribbean. The station served the banana producing countries, and we carried some programmes targeting that market. However, I felt that we needed to use experts rather than in-house talent to make and present the programmes. We reached out to Frankie Michael, and soon we had a team of three agricultural experts presenting a brand new show called Roots. Station producer Linda Walrond and I worked on their radio skills. Frankie was natural at dispensing information, but his love and knowledge of Caribbean music was a welcome addition. The result was a very entertaining and informative series. Continues on next page 8
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