LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WAVE) – After a 40-year career in journalism, longtime Louisville news anchor and WAVE troubleshooter John Boel announces his retirement.
Boel has spent his time in Louisville working for WLKY and then WAVE. Over the course of his career, Boel has won 106 Emmys for his storytelling. His last day at WAVE will be February 28, 2025.
“When I entered rehab in November 2010, I thought my life and career were over. A few days after I arrived, a counselor at Hazelden gave me the St. Paul Pioneer Press because it had an article in it that I should read. It happened to be about a guy I idolized in college named Don Shelby – a legendary anchor and I-Team leader at WCCO-TV. The guy I wanted to emulate. The story was new to me. It detailed how he stumbled because of his alcoholism. But he had undergone treatment, turned his life around, and was happily retiring after a fulfilling career.
They told me this story to give me hope. But I sat there and cried because at that point in my shattered life, everything seemed so unattainable and impossible.
After that, a wonderful thing happened. People encouraged me while also giving me honest criticism of my character flaws—a long list. They told me that if I did what I was told and put it in the hands of a higher power, I could do it, too. I received the same kind of encouragement, support, and honesty from countless people after the plane landed back in Louisville and afterward. One thing led to another. An offer from WAVE. Promotions. Incredible colleagues. Debt paid off. Success in journalism. Better family life. Successful children. Growth as a person. And now—I am happy to announce my own retirement.
A fulfilling career, just like Don.
My last newscast will be in 6 months, on February 28th. There’s plenty of time between now and then for all the many thank yous. So many wonderful people have helped me get back on my feet after a big fall over the last 14 years. All failures in life are opportunities. And I’m blessed to have had the opportunity to immerse myself in two wonderful families, WLKY and WAVE, instead of just one.
I’ve spent 40 years in this business trying to help people. But there are others in Wisconsin who need my help. I’m excited to do that as a son/brother/father/grandpa – not as a journalist.
At a moment like this, I think of the most surreal scene of my life. An unusually friendly, cheerful van driver who drove me from Hazelden to the airport through a snowstorm at the end of my rehab in December 2010, and talked to me and encouraged me the whole way. He unloaded my bag… backlit by the airport lights in the pre-dawn darkness… with snow pelting his jacket.
“Have a great life,” he said, looking me straight in the eyes with a big, warm smile on his face.
How can you say such a thing, I thought to myself as I shook his hand goodbye.
It was hard to believe at the time. But it turns out… I actually did it.”
“John is one of the best I’ve ever worked with,” said Matt Kummer, WAVE’s news director. “He’s an incredible storyteller, a fearless investigative journalist, the definition of an ‘anchorman,’ the rock you want on your desk or in the field during your community’s biggest moments. His life experience, the highs and coming back from the lows are an inspiration. Everyone deserves a second chance, few seize that opportunity like John does.”
We thank John for the decades of work he has done and the impact he has had in every newsroom.
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