Gary Knapp
Building the American Dream depicts the journey of author, Gary Knapp, from his very beginnings on a rural dairy farm in southern Michigan through his teens, his tour of duty in the army, his broadcast training and then follows him as he begins his career in radio broadcasting and branches into television. Through his remarkable passion, ingenuity and enormous energy, he overcomes whatever hurdles he encounters and turns them into advantages which eventually enable him to build a network of television stations to serve the northern Michigan area. His journey is fueled by his inability to accept defeat, his persistence in finding a way to accomplish his goals by creating innovative financing when the traditional routes failed him, his trust in, and loyalty to reliable advisors and a family who supported him through thick and thin. The reader gets a first hand look at what goes on behind the scenes in radio and television production, sales and management. They accompany him as he moves from one phase of his interesting career to the next. Author Knapp, takes us back to the days of our childhood and the simple good life about which we all like to reminisce. We can smell his mom’s apple pie baking as the family gathers around the radio set listening to Fibber McGee and Molly. He stimulates our memories of past parades, local celebrations, community events which he covered as a newsman and broadcaster and recreates the home town atmosphere of typical small towns through out our country. This book, with its motivational and informative hints, could be considered a handbook on how to attain one’s goals and dreams, or by some, a guideline showing the steps necessary to succeed in business ventures and by others, just a ‘good read.’ Gary Knapp has brought to life, a story, rich in human interest, history of radio and television, entrepreneurship and events in the town of Cadillac, Michigan, where Gary took broadcasting to a higher level while building his American dream.
