Colleagues and friends of Eldred ‘Ed’ Bethel are sharing their memories in tribute to the late veteran broadcaster and diplomat.
Former Deputy General Manager of the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas, Louis Hanchell spoke to ZNS News about what he remembers about Mr. Bethel. He said, “we were the persons who laid the foundation. The Bahamian staff who became the pioneers. He was a journalist, a broadcast journalist who took he work seriously and in that period most people who worked for ZNS, ZNS became dear and precious to them and it was all our first love. We dedicated it. We treated it as if nothing else mattered. We were that dedicated to making sure that whatever happened in ZNS was done professionally because we were laying the foundations.”
Mr. Hanchell also said, “I think the nation is poorer for losing him. But we can all learn from the tremendous gift and talents he had as a pioneer in broadcasting, as a reporter, as a diplomat, as a churchman, as a sportsman, as a husband and father who loved family.”
The current executive chairman of the Broadcasting Corporation Picewell Forbes also spoke fondly of Ed Bethel. “Ed has a great voice and impeccable delivery. He had a very strong presence over the years and whenever he opened his mouth you knew it was Ed Bethel. He became of those what we call pantheons in broadcasting. He became a manager in Freeport in the Northern Service where he made his mark and the staff, until this day, would call him ‘Eddie B’. We are saddened by his passing,” Forbes said.
