Regional chapter of National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences inducts Click into Silver Circle
He worked for more than 30 years in Portland television.
Vancouver, though, was always home.
Now, Carl Click has found a permanent home within the Silver Circle, a Hall of Fame if you will, in the Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Click was introduced into the Silver Circle at the 57th annual Northwest Regional Emmy Awards this past weekend, which were streamed online. The plan is for this year’s honorees to be invited to next year’s award show in order to be highlighted in person.
“It’s very nice to be recognized with all the other people who have been in this area over a long time,” Click said. “I know them all from our market, and Seattle, and even some from Spokane. I know all the people who have had some longevity. To be included in that group is really heartwarming. Our commitment to this area, to get recognized, is really a nice honor.”
Click, who graduated from Fort Vancouver High School in 1979, was an intern at KGW in 1982 while he was in college at Washington State. He began working at KGW in Portland in 1983 as a sports reporter. Six years later, the focus turned to news, with an emphasis on featuring people in the community. He also became an anchor on the top-rated morning news broadcast.
In 2005, he moved over to the KATU set, where he anchored the morning news. He also hosted AM Northwest for more than a year.
Silver Circle honorees must have at least 25 years of service in the industry. However, it is more than the job. Induction criteria also includes a person’s contributions to the general community as well as the training of others for careers in broadcasting.
Click, as his nomination application details, has always made time for more than just his career.
“Carl was my mentor for years,” said Nick Voll, the television production supervisor for Vancouver Public Schools.
Voll worked with Click at KATU. It was Voll who put together the nomination application for Click.
Voll noted how Click would help any young person in the industry, how he visited “countless” classrooms in the region, inspiring young students. After he retired from the news industry, Click taught video production at Jason Lee Middle School for three years. He also was a basketball and tennis coach at the high school level. In girls basketball, he was the head coach at King’s Way Christian, Ridgefield, and Columbia River.
His love for sports and broadcasting continued beyond his work time at KGW and KATU, as well. When a Vancouver radio station stopped broadcasting local high school sports, Click started a streaming service and was the play-by-plan man for playoff games featuring Clark County teams. He was one of the first in the state to provide such a service. He called state championship games for the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association and Oregon School Activities Association.
Click also volunteers with charities, most notably the Humane Society. And he is quick to say yes, when he can, to organizations needing an emcee at a banquet.
Much of that work is right here in Clark County.
“It’s my home. It’s been my family’s home all my life,” Click said.
His father, Bill Click, coached the Hudson’s Bay Eagles to the state championship in boys basketball in 1964.
“I was lucky enough to be able to work in my hometown for 31 years in an industry where people tend to move around a lot,” Click said. “We were able to put down roots and be involved and help make it a better place. We were lucky to be able to do that. That opportunity does not present itself to many people in our industry.”
Carl and Jil Click just celebrated their 34th anniversary. They have two adult children, Jack and Sarah. Carl and Jil moved to Central Oregon a few years ago. Carl coaches tennis and is a substitute teacher at Sisters High School.
Still mentoring, still serving.
That is Carl Click.
