Rusty arrived in Bakersfield in the summer of 1984, along with his wife Diane and his two young daughters, after accepting the weather job at KERO Channel 23. Back then he sat next to the venerable anchorman Burleigh Smith. Rusty figured he would stay a few years and move on to a bigger market. He was wrong. Rusty and his wife found Bakersfield to be a great place to raise their young girls. Those young girls have now grown up here. The oldest, Sarah, is a marketing manager for a major local homebuilder. His youngest, Rusti, is a fifth grade teacher and the mother of a beautiful granddaughter. Rusty’s wife Diane is a counselor at a local Junior High School.

Rusty has worked at all three news stations in town and even though his last two jobs put him on the anchor desk, weather has always been in his blood. That is why it’s so remarkable that he has come full circle, back at the beginning of his career at the very staying where it all started.

In January of ’07, Rusty suffered a brain aneurysm. After over a year and a half of recuperation, he feels it’s time to get back in the game. Rusty’s strong faith in God and his family have gotten him through some pretty rough times. Rusty feels very fortunate that he’s found a new family, the one at Channel 23.