That fresh powder was 'love at first sight'

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Ken Verdoia was fresh out of college in the fall of 1974, working as a part-time radio announcer and bartender in San Jose, Calif., when he sent a letter to old friend Jim Braden, who's now spokesman for Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon.

In effect, it said: "I've thrown what I own in the car [namely my ski gear], and I am driving the West looking for a start," he said. "Can I sleep on your couch for a week while I do some skiing and look around the media outlets?"

Braden said yes. Verdoia showed up around Thanksgiving.

"The next day I was at Alta as the lifts opened. There were 6 to 8 inches of fresh powder, the likes of which I had never seen. It was love at first sight."

A day later, Verdoia landed a job at KALL Radio. In 1981, his lengthy career in public television began. Since then, he has been KUED's senior producer for public affairs and production director, collecting 17 Emmy Awards as well as other honors from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Utah Humanities Council, the University of Utah and the Society of Professional Journalists.

As for skiing, "I have slowed down dramatically," Verdoia said. "So the turns are fewer and far between. But there is still a memory of fresh powder in the early morning that convinced me that Utah was the right place."

And every now and then, he and Braden pull out that letter "to remind me that I was 'just passing through.' "

All profiles by Mike Gorrell