Don Germaise

Don Germaise has become the old-timer at ABC Action News. He was the first news reporter hired when WFTS became an ABC affiliate in 1994. Don's seasoning gives him a unique insight to news coverage in the Bay Area: Don knows most of the newsmakers, and they know him!

Don fell in love with the Sunshine State while attending the University of Florida. He worked in Gainesville, Melbourne, Orlando, Ft. Myers, and West Palm Beach before coming to ABC Action News. He'd like to call Tampa his home until he retires.

He has won numerous awards for his news reporting. Viewers seem to remember him most for his coverage of hurricanes. Don was in or near the eye of every major hurricane that hit Florida in the mid 2000s. Don broadcast live while Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne, Katrina and Wilma were coming on shore. His catch phrase, "hunker down," had viewers talking all over the state.

Don loves baseball and is a die-hard Rays fan. He has a teenage daughter and does volunteer work with the PTA, Ronald McDonald House and Metropolitan Ministries. Don spends a good deal of time giving back to the community by teaching and speaking to youngsters about leadership, community involvement and the television news industry.

Here are four things you probably never knew about Don Germaise: His favorite meal is meatloaf and mashed potatoes. His favorite movie actors of all time are John Wayne and Meg Ryan. He loves Jimmy Buffett music. He was born in Pittsburgh and raised in the suburbs of Boston.

A funny story about Don: "When I was four years old, my family took us to the Children's Zoo in Pittsburgh. We came to a pen where a big old white turkey was separated from the public by a chicken wire fence. The turkey wandered up to the fence at the same time I did. Here's when you learn something I picked up as a young curious boy. The funky red thing that hangs below a turkey's bill is called a wattle. Apparently turkeys don't like it when you touch their wattle. The turkey took a bite out of my forefinger and off to the emergency room we went. At that time, the doctors were very familiar with me and practically knew me by name. However, during this visit the doctor had trouble treating me. He was laughing too hard."