Early 1996 - Mark Johnson approaches J.J. Wright with an idea for a
show for CCTV. A show that plays Country Music Videos.
Mid 1996 - One of the stations volunteers, Vicky, had a contact at
Aristomedia, and soon after the station starts receiving
videos
to play.
Summer 1996 - J.J. approaches Mark and informs him that videos
are starting to pile up, and wonders if Mark is still
interested in doing the show. Answer? YES!
Mark
immediately begins the search for a female
co-host. Becky Mikesh is chosen and "Go West" is
born.
Sept. 1996 - The first episode is taped at Malarkey Ranch Bed and
Breakfast in Warren, Oregon, just outside of St. Helens.
The first show closes with a locally produced video which
features co-host Mark Johnson singing the Toby Keith
hit song "Should've Been A Cowboy", which was taped
and edited by Todd Hilton, a fellow CCTV volunteer.
April/May 1998 - J.J. Wright, original producer and co-creator of "Go
West",
leaves CCTV for bigger and better things.
Chuck Purvis, who had previously been involved
mainly with CCTV's sports programming, takes over
as the new producer.
July 1999 - The one and only time Mark doesn't appear in an episode
of "Go West". Unable to stand because of cellulitis in his
left foot, Mark has Becky's husband Bob fill in for him.
Sept. 2001 - Becky leaves the show and the search is on for a new
co-host. Fill-ins during the search include Debi Corsiglia,
and Kim Johnson (Mark's now ex-wife).
Late 2001 - Tina joins the cast of "Go West" as the new
co-host.
May 2002 - Mark and Tina, along with cameraman Dale (Tina's
husband), go backstage at the Brooks & Dunn Neon
Circus and Wild West Show to interview Cledus T. Judd.
While
there, they also speak to members of Trick Pony
(Keith
& Ira), Chris Cagle, and also met Sara Evans.
Summer 2002 - Tina and Dale travel to Sweet Home, Oregon for the
Oregon Jamboree, and are allowed to interview the
exciting duo of Eddie Mongomery and Troy Gentry,
better
known as Montgomery Gentry. The duo invites
Tina and Dale to conduct the interview on the tour bus.
Nov. 2002 - Mark travels to Lincoln City with cameraman Todd Hilton
to interview the members of the Rockin' Roadhouse Tour.
They are: Joe Diffie, Tracy Lawrence, and Mark
Chesnutt. Tina
was unable to make the trip due to an
illness.
(For pictures of the guys from the tour posing for
us, see the photo page)
Dec 2002 - Just when we thought that 2002 couldn't get more
interesting, we found out that we were heading back to
Lincoln
City. This time to interview Country Music
Legend Charlie Daniels.
2003 - No interviews as of April, but we're hoping to go back to the
Brooks & Dunn concert and get a follow-up
interview with
Cledus T. Judd and maybe talk to some of the
new acts on
the tour. So, stay tuned and keep watching
"Go West".
July 2004 - We had a wonderful time talking to the 2004 Columbia County
and Rodeo Court. They are: Queen Caylee Cooper, Princess
Nichole Andrews, and Princess Rachel Swanson. We are
very proud of these young ladies and know that they will
represent Columbia County very well wherever they go during
their time on the court. (Pictures of the court are now on page 2)
July 2004 - We just recently sat down with Jim Hendrickson. For those of you
wondering who that is, he is the 2004 Oregon Elk Calling Champion.
At the time of this update (8/2/04) this show has not aired, but should
start playing on 8/12/04, so watch for that. Jim was kind enough to
take a day off to be with us on Go West and demonstrate some of what
it takes to become the Oregon Elk Calling Champion. We are hoping to
maybe go to the Wildlife Refuge in Jewel, Oregon with Jim one of these
days and see if we can get footage of him actually calling an elk into the open.
Stay tuned for more on that in the near future.
August 2004 - We are always trying to line up an interview with a Country/Western Artist
to interview, so if you hear of someone coming to the area, contact us at the
tv station at (503) 397-5886 and leave a message. Also, look for new giveaways
coming soon to Go West.
