A resident of Clearwater since 1956, Bob started in radio as an overnight deejay in July of 1963 and left the business exactly 20 years later. Most of his career was at Clearwater’s WTAN AM/FM as announcer, program director and finally as station manager, with brief stints at Panama City’s WDLP, Tampa’s WUSF-FM, and Armed Forces Radio. 

 

The Pittsburgh, PA native left WTAN in 1983 and purchased Clearwater Printing, Inc., and ran the business until 2010 when it was sold. Along the way, he also served two terms on the Clearwater City Commission, taking office in 1995 following a special election to replace a resigned commissioner that October. He won a three-man race by a 2-1 margin following a campaign that employed the use of a promotional gimmick – handing out Clark candy bars. In 1998, Bob was re-elected unopposed but decided to leave politics when that term expired in March 2001. 

Since selling his printing business, he has concentrated on writing as a weekly contributor to Tampa Bay Rants and Raves – a political, sports and lifestyle blog, and continues to struggle with novels about an itinerant radio programmer and a second based on a 1970s political scandal in his hometown. 

 

Today (2016), Bob lives on Clearwater Beach with his wife Teresa, a retired educational administrator. They have two adult children.