A Little Bit About Fred
Chances are, if you're visiting this site, you already know who Fred Olson is. Or, if you stumbled in here, you want to know more about the geek who put all of this together.
My full name is Frederick Andrew Olson, but everyone calls me Fred. Occasionally, I'll use aliases like Eric, Rick, Andrew or Andy when I don't want someone to know my real name (telemarketers).I could tell you I'm 28 years old, but depending on when you read this (and when I update it), it may or may not be accurate. Instead, I'll say I was born on Jan. 7, 1974. You do the math.
I'm the third of four children (3 of 4 would be my Borg designation - ha ha!). Billy, the oldest, lives in Tempe, Ariz. Mary, next, moved to Houston this summer (from El Paso). Scott, the youngest, is happily married in Houston.
Mom, Johanna, moved from El Paso to Houston in late Sept. 2002. Sadly, my father, William (Bill) passed away in Feb. 1994.
I spent the first couple years of my life in Bisbee, Ariz. Needless to say, I don't remember too much of the old town. Still, I get an eerily familiar feeling every time I go back.
No, most of my childhood memories revolve around the town of Fabens, Texas. It's a dusty little rural town of about 8,000 outside of El Paso along the U.S./Mexico border. It was a place to call home for many years. Click here for more about Fabens.
College consisted of four years at the University of Texas-El Paso, where I picked up a business degree in marketing. During that time, I also worked at KVIA Channel 7 as a producer of the morning newscast. I also had a part-time position at KTEP 88.5 FM.
A few months after graduation, I moved to the 10 p.m. producer's position at KVIA. Not only was the work fun, but the hours were MUCH better.But I got a little tired of the heat and dust of the desert. It's a nice place to visit, but it's not the best place to live, in my opinion. So in Dec. 1998, I moved to Omaha, Neb., to start a new life.
Omaha has been great to me. I started working here as the producer of the 6 p.m. newscast at KETV Channel 7. When the station launched a new Web site, TheOmahaChannel.com, I thought that looked like a fun job, so I applied for and accepted a position as the managing editor of the site.
Indeed, the work is fun. But, because of budget cutbacks in the company, the managing editor of TheIowaChannel.com was fired. On a personal level, it bothered me because I consider him a good friend. On a professional level, it meant more work for Fred.With the help of the Web staff in Kansas City (yep, TheKansasCityChannel.com), we have managed to keep TheIowaChannel.com updated, though perhaps not as complete as it was under its previous manager.
My latest bit of extra work happens every Sunday afternoon when I host a few hours of music KVNO 90.7 here in Omaha. That gig is pretty much just for the fun of it.
So here I am, enjoying my little life in Omaha. I've made some incredible friends, but I'm not certain that I will be in Omaha forever. The company I work for, Internet Broadcasting Systems, manages several sites for stations around the country. Who knows? I might move to Chicago or Washington D.C. sometime in the future. Whatever happens, I look forward to it.
Contact Info
It seems to me that in this wired and digital age, nobody should ever be out of contact from other people (unless you're crawling under rocks in Utah). Therefore, here is the pertinent data to reach me:Home
2512 S. 72nd Ct. #18
Omaha, NE 68124
402.392.0631 (h)
402.319.2380 (c)
folson@cox.net
frederickolson@cox.net
Work
2665 Douglas St.
Omaha, NE 68131
402.522.7734 (w1)
402.522.7745 (w2)
402.319.2380 (c)
402.522.7733 (fax)
folson@ibsys.com
folson@theomahachannel.com
folson@theiowachannel.com
folson@hearst.com