“ He took the world of broadcasting very seriously and mentored me for decades.”
“ He was not afraid to ask difficult questions to everyone, from the Members of Parliament to the person in the street.”
“ He spent a lot of time advocating and creating good, strong, dialogue for the airwaves. No topic was ever taboo for him.”
All of this and much more was said by founder and CEO of Gina Spence Productions Dr. Gina Spence, about local broadcasting legend Everest DeCosta, who graced Bermuda’s airwaves for
over 60 years before officially retiring from the Bermuda Broadcasting Company in 2015.
Mr. DeCosta, also known as “Silver Fox” and “ EDC”, passed away earlier this week, as he was understood to be in his early 80’s .
Dr. Spence, who worked with and was mentored by Mr. DeCosta throughout her BBC tenure, recalled his one-of-a-kind personality and sense of humor, as well as his camaraderie with PLP and union stalwart the late Laverne Furbert.
“ He and Laverne had this [unique] relationship and were both very forthright individuals,” she said. “ He was very well-rounded in broadcasting and [given his vast industry experience], you can imagine the experience that he brought to the airwaves on a daily basis.”
TNN’s Trevor Lindsay, who also worked with Mr. DeCosta at BBC for many years, recalls his various quirks, such as his frequent–and often, longer than normal–smoke breaks, his easily-recognizable heavy steps and shoes and his many cans of Diet Pepsi.
The two most important lessons that Dr. Spence learned from Mr. DeCosta, according to her, was to never take her work home and to always be true to herself and what she values.
Some other big names who made BBC radio what it was are Webster B. Tucker, Kelly Zuill, David Lopes and Donna-Mae Masters and Marlene B. Landy, to name just a few.
Dr. Spence and the TNN staff and advisors would like to extend sincere condolences to Mr. DeCosta’s family during this very difficult time.
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