By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, filed October 26, 2010
Long-time WXIA-TV meteorologist Flip Spiceland voluntarily left the station in early 2008 for what ended up being a short-lived public relations job which lasted all of three weeks because a grand jury went after the company for fraud.
Spiceland then repped North Metro Technical College. But that college merged with another one, leaving him jobless again.
Recently, he found a position with the United Way, helping with fundraising in Paulding County working out of the Douglasville office. "I'm delighted," he said. "It's really rewarding."
He's used to still being recognized "almost constantly."
And with a name like Flip Spiceland, that's understandable. He said when he calls companies to remind them about United Way contributions, people have called the area director to make sure it wasn't a joke. He also does face-to-face presentations with companies. The last one he did, in which he discussed logistics related to the campaign, ended with a Q&A. The first question: "Is Flip your real name?'
(It is more or less. His birth name is Philip Howard Spiceland but his parents always called him Flip.)
Spiceland worked for 21 years at CNN as well from 1980 to 2001 before going to WXIA for seven years.
I asked him if he's glad he's not having to do the Wizometer, the recent gimmick WXIA introduced in which they rank weather each day from 1 to 11. He is glad he doesn't have to do it though he can't blame the station for the marketing tactic. He said this morning he heard Chesley McNeil, his replacement, give today a 5 out of 10 and noted tornado warnings. A colleague in his office today mused: "If a tornado warning means a 5, if he says 2 or 3, should I run for my life?"
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