Many years ago, when I did a small stint as a television reporter for WABI TV 5, there was a guy I worked with named Greg Dutra. Hired straight out of college, "Dutra" as we affectionately called him, was definitely brand-spanking-new. His energy and enthusiasm for the job were palpable although he had yet to refine his on-air presence.

Those of us who had the pleasure of working with him (because he really was a sweet and funny dude) found his excitement over almost anything that interested him to be charming. He would get so jazzed about the littlest things, and be eager to show off what he'd learned to anyone who would listen--whether it was related to the forecast, to his favorite sports teams, or really just anything he thought was neat.

As many do, Dutra moved on from Bangor to bigger markets. Fifteen years have passed since we first worked together. He's now working as a meteorologist at an ABC affiliate in Chicago. He even made his weekday debut on a weather segment of Good Morning America this week.


But what's just fantastic is that as much as his career has taken off, and he seems to be progressing through adulthood with ease (he's married now and has kids of his own), his sense of excitement and wonder for the little things that he finds interesting has not gone away. You can see, for yourself, exactly what I'm talking about.
Greg Dutra, ABC & Chicago Twitter
Greg Dutra, ABC & Chicago Twitter
loading...

Last week, he accidentally stumbled upon a feature he didn't know his weather computer was capable of...live...during an on-air forecast. (To be fair, a lot of things got lost in the shuffle during the pandemic, and he says learning all the ins and outs of this particular program was one of them.) But his genuine reaction to this newly discovered thing went viral and with good cause...it was fantastic.

Glad to see some things never change. Well done, Dutra.

These Celebrities Call New England Home

These celebrities all have ties to New England in some way, shape, or form!

More From WWMJ Ellsworth Maine