Several years ago I received   an email from a young man who had an interest in sports and broadcasting. Gabe Daniel had written a nice note, inquiring about working for us at SVI Media. While he was very young, we saw the enthusiasm and the potential and brought him on board to develop his skills.

SVI was the perfect fit for his interests. His first responsibilities came with a camera assignment for our sports coverage but it wasn’t long before he was the person conducting the live, on-air interviews with the coaches. He had a natural talent.

We lost Gabe this past week to health care challenges that he had been battling with for some time now. Our hearts at SVI were heavy with grief but at the same time we were happy he had been such a positive part of our team.

I asked two key people to share thier thoughts in this column as we remember and honor Gabe Daniel this week.

Dave Cazier, SVI Media producer summarized Gabe’s qualities both on and off the field of sports.

“As a friend of mine and I were discussing Gabe Daniel, he made the comment: ‘We all got to watch Gabe grow up before our eyes on SVI.’

“This is a true statement. Gabe Daniel took over as sideline reporter for SVI and ran with it. He was there for the great moments and the hard ones. He asked tough questions and praised the many great things about Star Valley teams.

“The best thing I saw from watching Gabe Daniel however was his kindness. My own children would occasionally travel with the SVI crew to events, and even though they were much younger than Gabe, he would take the time to visit with them, entertain them, and make them feel special.

“As a senior in high school, Gabe taught me more about what it means to put people first than almost anyone else. His interaction with my kids affected them so much that Mili, my daughter, wanted to follow in his footsteps and do the sideline reporting that she does now. Each time she does a report, I think of Gabe and his positivity, optimism, and kindness. The world is better because of Gabe Daniel.”

Duke Dance, SVI General Manager put Gabe Daniel at the top of our SVI student team.

“If SVI had an all-time team with our student interns, Gabe would be at the top of the list. He was a fantastic field reporter for us, but even more was a great person to be around and was someone we instantly respected.

“Our hearts are broken over his loss, and we send our deepest condolences to his family.”