That is One Very Loooooong Goodbye...

Longtime WRAL (Raleigh) Anchor David Crabtree says he is going to retire.

But, since this is TV news, this is not his two weeks notice, or even his two months notice. 

Crabtree says that he plans on stepping down at the end of the year, not this year mind you, but 2018. 

Talk about planning ahead. I don't know I'm during this weekend and this guy has already planned until the end of 2018. 

Crabtree has been WRAL’s lead male anchor since taking over the role from Charlie Gaddy in 1994. 

“David is one of the most seasoned and talented journalists in the country,” says WRAL-TV News Director Rick Gall. “On the anchor desk, his compelling and engaging delivery stand out. He's outstanding during breaking news and continuous coverage when the stakes are highest. Our viewers have truly depended on him.”

“It’s now been 23 years, the best years of my career. It’s also time to pass the baton to Debra Morgan just as Charlie Gaddy did to me,” Crabtree says.

The next chapter begins in late November of 2018, when Crabtree will step away from the camera to a permanent role in the Episcopal Church. He was ordained a permanent deacon in 2004 and is on track to earn his master’s degree in Theological Studies from Duke University Divinity School in the spring of 2018. As a deacon, Crabtree has worked on issues surrounding death row and hospice care. This is the work he will focus on post-WRAL.

H/T WRAL

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