The man behind 'What's Right with Tampa Bay' retires

Photojournalist Bryan Gray retires this week after a remarkable 38-year run at FOX13.

TAMPA - FOX 13 viewers may not know his name or his face, but they surely know his work.

Photojournalist Bryan Gray retires this week after a remarkable 38-year run at FOX13.

The backstory:

He started in 1987, shooting news and investigative stories but quickly found his calling interviewing some of Tampa Bay's most inspirational people for our 'FOX Folks' segments, which eventually became what we know now as our 'What's Right With Tampa Bay' stories.

Bryan has videotaped and written nearly all of them in the past 20 years with (now retired) anchor Kelly Ring and most recently, FOX13 anchor Mark Wilson.

"The What's Right stories have brought me the most joy because it takes unsung heroes, and it shows the people the power of one. Because, a lot of times, the stories that I do, they're started by one person," Bryan says.

So now, after 38 years of covering the news, Bryan is convinced the world isn't as bad as some make it out to be, and many people inspired him over the years to continue finding unique people making positive changes.

"There's a lot of people doing a lot of good things. And I think a lot of times people think they need an army to start something or get something done, but it really doesn't. If you look throughout history and just throughout life, you'll see that it was the power of one that really made a difference. It's just that one person that started that one light that flickered. It's like a fire. The fire starts with a flicker, and then once the flicker hits the flames, then it grows. And so that's kind of what I really enjoy about it," Bryan says.

What's next:

So what's next for Bryan? He says he has a couple of organizations where he plans to volunteer, he'll get more active in his church and he and his wife have some travel plans.

Congratulations Bryan, and thanks for your commitment to sharing the positive stories of Tampa Bay that make a real difference in our community. We'll miss his smile and all of his hard work and will continue his legacy with these stories because Bryan Gray is clearly What's Right With Tampa Bay.

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