news and rants for family & friends
Kirsten, my wife, and William Arruda have launched the site for their new book, Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand. Check out: careerdistinction.com
The book will be available June 4, 2007 at bookstores and online resellers. You may pre-order online at Amazon.
As a teen, I wanted to get into amateur or ham radio. The technology fascinates me – being able to communicate over vast distances on only a few watts of power – and the community service aspects drew me in. But being a teen at the time, I was busy doing many other things (sports, computers, cars, etc.) to commit to it fully so I held back.
A few months ago, I came across my father’s old QSL card and my interest in amateur radio was sparked again. Last week I ordered two ARRL publications, the Ham Radio License Manual (Level 1 Technician) and the ARRL’s Tech Q & A. I plan on taking the Technician exam next month and I’m currently researching which type of rig to invest in. Stay tuned…
This is a difficult blog post to make. My father, Phil Dixson, passed away at home in Piermont, New York on Friday, November 10. The entire family was at his bed side. He was only 64 and died just eleven days before his birthday.
We had a beautiful memorial service for him yesterday in Nyack, New York. I lost count but at least one hundred of his friends and colleagues were in attendence. I cannot even begin to thank all these wonderful people for the kind words and great stories they shared with me about my father.
It’s too early for me to express in writing how much I loved my father, how proud of him I am, and how much we will all miss him. I just want to think about him now and grieve a while. In time, after telling my own children more about their ‘papa’, I will write everything down.
Several online obituaries have appeared mentioning his passing. I found this one to be one of the best,
Dixson had spent the past 26 years working in the daytime television industry for the benefit of Procter & Gamble Productions, Inc. At the time of his death, he was the Senior Vice President, Managing Director of TeleVest Daytime Programs overseeing the production of As The World Turns and Guiding Light.
In November 1980, Dixson was recruited from CBS by the advertising agency Benton & Bowles, which at the time produced several Procter & Gamble dramatic serials including Another World, The Edge of Night, Search For Tomorrow and Texas. Dixson oversaw the program and production operations of all these shows at one time or another.
“With Phil’s passing, the entire daytime community and the television industry at large have lost a loyal friend,” says Pat Gentile, North American Programming Manager for Procter & Gamble Productions, Inc. “He was a consummate professional even as his illness started to take its toll on him. I feel lucky to have had Phil as my mentor and personal tutor for the past 12 years and, as we all will, I’ll miss him dearly.”
Born on November 21, 1941 in Appleton, Wisconsin, Dixson began his entertainment career at the Attic Theatre in Appleton by lugging scenery and cases of soft drinks during intermission. Throughout his high school and college years, Dixson’s interest in theatre arts grew and he returned home each summer to work as a technical director, production manager or designer on 29 plays at the Attic. Dixson holds a B.A. in English from Holy Cross College and an M.F.A. from the Yale University School of Drama in Technical Production, Design, Lighting and Administration.
He was a trustee of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, a member of the Board of Governors of the New York Chapter of N.A.T.A.S. and was a founding member, Vice President and Secretary of the New York Production Alliance.
He was also a huge fan and supporter of the daytime genre, its producers, actors, writers and staff and will be missed by all who were lucky enough to know him.”