DALLAS — WFAA's longest-tenured employee is receiving a special recognition from Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson for his 50 years with WFAA and dedication to broadcast journalism
Jerry Cadigan, WFAA's production operations manager, has worked at the station since 1973, and will this weekend celebrate his 50th anniversary with the company.
In Johnson's special recognition extended to Cadigan, the mayor writes that Cadigan has been recognized by his colleagues as a leader and positive influence at WFAA and within the Dallas broadcast community as a whole. The special recognition also applauds Cadigan's decades of serving as a role model to hundreds of area students with aspirations of working in broadcast journalism.
"Jerry Cadigan's five-decade-long service to the station and the Dallas community is a constant source of inspiration," Johnson writes.
Cadigan, a Dallas native and a Southern Methodist University graduate, had earned numerous accolades during his five decades with WFAA, including countless Regional Emmy Awards, Press Club of Dallas Katie Awards, WFAA Employee of the Year honors and a national Edward R. Murrow Award.
"Since joining WFAA in 1973, it is estimated that he has been connected to nearly every major news event that has occurred in the market since then," Johnson writes.
Cadigan's work extends beyond his role at WFAA, as he has mentored students and young employees and supported their advancement at stations across the country and around the world.
One of Cadigan's pivotal roles at WFAA in the '90s was helping the station become the first in America to launch high-definition television on a VHF signal in 1998.
"It is Jerry Cadigan's outstanding commitment to broadcast media in the City of Dallas, inside and outside of the television studio, that makes him such a celebrated and integral member of our society," Johnson writes.
