Some days you think things are going to be great — and then you get a reminder about how never to take anything for granted.
It happened to me today when I learned of the passing of Gary Moyers, a former co-worker at The Advocate-Messenger and currently a photographer, writer, videographer and production manager for the Cats’ Pause. But Gary was so much more than a co-worker.
If not for him, I would not be doing this blog. If not for Gary, I would not be on social media. If not for Gary, I would not have been able to keep working when I parted ways with the Advocate-Messenger about five years ago — and move he had already been forced to make.
He was my blog mentor. He was my social media guru. He was my tech genius. If something broke, Gary fixed it. If there was a way to do something better, Gary taught me how.
And get this — Gary would never let me pay him anything for all the hours of work he put in helping me.
We had some many cool times together. Here’s a few that jump out:
— 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville. Gary was an avid golfer and a really, really good player. We got credentials for this event and were even more excited with J.B. Holmes in the field because he has family in Danville. We loved every minute of the event and at one point even put our media credential inside our shirts so we could just cheer and interact with fans.
Gary Moyers was very proud of Maria Montgomery’s success and didn’t miss a chance at Rupp Arena to take photos for her. (Gary Moyers Photo)
— Anything Maria Montgomery related. Gary first had the idea for me to check and see if Maria Montgomery would maybe be interested in doing some videos and other work for vaughtsviews.com. She said yes and we had so many terrific interviews at UK Media Days and other functions with her. She came to radio shows and Gary normally recorded them all to put on my blog. He was so proud of the professional media personalty/model Maria became.
— Putting together a book on UK’s 2012 national championship team. I got credit for writing the book when basically all I did was edit stories that I had already done and then Gary formatted them to work in the book. He let me know what to write and when to have it done. He picked out all the photos and layouts. It was his idea to get Mason County’s Darius Miller to do a couple of autograph signings when the book came out and obviously we had Maria there for interviews. Gary put his heart and soul into that book.
The list could go on and on from high school events to UK games to special events. If you needed somebody to work or help, Gary was going to be there.
And when I had computer issues — and I created a lot and wonder now how I will even keep a computer running — he was always able to quickly help. If something went down on the website, Gary fixed it. When I needed my own website after leaving the paper, Gary took care of it.
He loved his job with Darrell Bird and the Cats’ Pause. Obviously he enjoyed football and men’s basketball coverage but he was happiest covering UK women’s basketball, softball and volleyball. He loved the sports and the incredible athletes on each team. He loved sharing his photos with the athletes and those are the sports we always talked about — not football and men’s basketball. And he also had a special place in his heart for Special Olympic athletes.
Gary Moyers always smiled when he was with any of his grandchildren.
And we had one other bond — we both dearly loved our grandchildren. We both probably had been work-a-holics way too long but the one thing that made us both stop was the grandkids.
I really don’t know how to say goodbye to this man. I feel for his wife, Debbie, and daughter, Stephanie Baker. I feel for everyone who worked with him. I feel for fans who knew him and liked his work. I feel for the many, many friends he had not only in Harrodsburg where he lived but across the state.
God made a good one in Gary Moyers and I guess he just needed him now up in heaven to maybe fix a computer glitch, take a few photos/videos or lay out some special Heavenly publication. Whatever the reason for calling him home, it sure won’t be the same here without Gary Moyers.
