The following story was written by former Breezy 101 News Director Chris Davis following the passing of Kosciusko native Ben Terry.
On the morning of April 24, 2010, it became clear that a super cell that had spawned a large tornado in Louisiana and that had stayed together as it crossed into Mississippi, would be headed through Holmes and Attala counties. I was news director for Breezy101 and Kicks96 at the time, and decided this was a dire situation. My wife Laura and I drove to the station to begin wall to wall coverage as the storm approached Yazoo County. All I had to do was make one phone call and Ben Terry was on it with us, without asking about being paid he agreed to be the meteorologist that was going to help us track the storm to try and help people in Kosciusko and Attala County.
At the time Ben was working full time for Weather Vision, a company based in Jackson that provided weather forecasts for small TV stations across the country, via satellite. He was building his chops to become the weather guru he became for southwest Louisiana.
We kept one line open for Ben, who had access to advanced radar, and could tell the tornado’s position and give a good estimate of its intensity. On the other line, Laura screened calls and helped me switch between my dad, who was following the tornado as it tore through Yazoo City, and callers who witnessed it cross I-55 through Holmes County and enter Attala County.
You likely remember that day. It was frightening. My wife, in between calls, was looking through the big front window at the station, expecting to see the monstrous cloud, now full of debris and making a horrible screeching noise associated with winds of nearly 200 mph. Ben knew his parents, friends and many relatives were potentially in the path of this storm, yet he remained calm and matter of fact, while providing warnings and updates.
The storm passed to the north of Kosciusko and caused damage on a path in the northern part of the county.
At the AP Awards that year, we submitted the audio from that day, including Ben’s reports. The station was awarded First Place for Best Spot News Coverage. Ben and Laura both have their names on the award. This wasn’t my first collaboration with Ben by any means. We have been best friends for 22 years. But, it was the one I feel did the most good. This was the first of many examples of selfless service to the community. He knew people were in danger and he used his training to help them make decisions that would keep them safe. He came to exemplify that in Lake Charles, losing a house himself to Hurricane Laura, while staying on the air to make sure people had the info they needed.
I feel my friend always did Kosciusko and Mississippi proud. He may have worked and lived in Louisiana and embraced that community. But, he learned his trade here, he got his values of service from his parents and his hometown, and he put that into practice to great recognition, up until he left this Earth.
I salute my friend, colleague and fellow Mississippian. I’ll see you again, and we’ll talk about the weather.
The news story referenced in this article can be found at the link below.
