Dan Ronan

Dan Ronan (born c. 1959) is the Senior Director of Communications, Media Relations and Marketing at the American Bus Association, a Washington D.C. trade association representing the Motorcoach, Tourism and Travel Industry. He joined the ABA in June 2011 after three years as the Media/Corporate Communications and Community Affairs Manager for the American Automobile Association of Texas/New Mexico, based in Irving, Texas. Ronan was hired at AAA in 2008 after a more than 20-year career in network and major market television.

Early life and education

Dan Ronan was raised in the Chicago neighborhood of Rogers Park by his grandparents, Leo and Agnes McDevitt. A lifelong Cubs fan, while a freshman in high school, he regularly helped clean Wrigley Field after classes. As an adult, Ronan became close friends with retired Cubs, Hall of Fame Baseball Broadcaster Jack Brickhouse. One of Ronan's sons is named Jack in honor of Brickhouse.

Ronan graduated with a B.S. degree in 2003 in Agriculture Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison after attending the University from 1978-1982. His college education was interrupted after the unexpected death of his 19 year old, younger brother Tim, whose life was taken when the car he was a passenger in was run off the road by a suspected drunken driver. Ronan later finished the five credits and earned his diploma. He has taken additional studies in aviation at Georgia State University and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he was trained as an airplane crash investigator.

Ronan holds a commercial pilot's license with multi-engine and instrument ratings. Because of his brother Tim's death, Ronan has dedicated his professional life, first as a news correspondent, with AAA Texas/New Mexico and now with the American Bus Association to transportation safety issues and he's considered by those in the national and Texas media as expert on both automobile and aviation related matters, having won several awards for his reporting on these subjects.

Career

Early journalism career

Ronan began his love of journalism while in high school. He worked at several suburban radio stations in Chicago as a news and sports reporter, including acting as the live moderator/host of the Waukegan, Illinois City Council Meetings, broadcast on WEFA-FM, while in his junior and senior years. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison he covered the State Legislature and Governor while carrying a full load of classes.

1983 to 1987

In 1983, Ronan joined the Mutual Broadcasting System in Arlington, Virginia as a news editor, starting on the overnight shift as a tape editor. Within two years, he was promoted, often supervising the newsroom at night with the legendary network anchorman Fred Lowrey. Down the hall, Larry King was hosting a five and a half hour nightly show, interviewing guests and taking calls. Later Ronan would represent all of the radio and television network news divisions for two speeches as the "pool producer" for President Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office and at Camp David, Maryland. He would also serve as the network producer for speeches for other high ranking government officials including then House Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill.

1988 to 2001

In 1987, Ronan joined WJLA-TV in Washington, DC, as an assignment editor through 1988. From there he was hired at CNN in Atlanta, starting as a writer before being promoted to Correspondent. Ronan was awarded a "National Emmy" for his writing as part of CNN's coverage of the Oklahoma City, Alfred Murrah Federal Building Bombing. Eventually Ronan joined CNN's start-up network, CNN/Financial News, reporting for that network and on "Moneyline" with Lou Dobbs.^[1] In 2001 Ronan left CNN.^[2]

2001 to 2007

He then joined WAGA in March 2001 as a reporter.,^[3] Ronan is credited with breaking the February 2002, bizarre story of the Tri-State Crematory scandal and its owner Ray Brent Marsh, who had 300 or more bodies in his backyard, many older than five years old.

Ronan also traveled to Havana, Cuba with former President Jimmy Carter when Carter met with Cuban ruler Fidel Castro. Other highlights included leading WAGA's coverage of the shutdown of Hartsfield/Jackson International Airport in the hours after the September 11th attacks. Ronan was presented an RTNDA "Edward R. Murrow Award" for Journalism Excellence for his coverage of the Space Shuttle Columbia explosion and he also was honored with four Emmys while at WAGA.

In addition, he was one of the first journalists selected by the Pentagon to be "embedded" with U.S. Soldiers to Kuwait and Iraq, in the weeks just before hostilities started. Ronan filed more than a dozen stories from the Iraq/Kuwait border while living with troops from Fort Stewart, Georgia. After the war started, he was selected to "embed" with the Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) as it deployed to Afghanistan.

Ronan joined WFAA-TV in August 2003, serving as a senior reporter through November 2007. While at WFAA he specialized in coverage of the aviation industry, in particular the Southwest Airlines accident in Chicago and the repeal of the Wright Amendment in Congress. He earned his second RTNDA "Edward R. Murrow Award" as part of WFAA's coverage of a 18 wheeler, truck hijacking/kidnapping that resulted in high speed chase through several Dallas area cities. At WFAA, Ronan was awarded three Emmys, one for his coverage of a fatal tornado. The others were for his investigation of a deadly, New Year's Day Plane crash and personal stories of Texas families dealing with the loss of a loved one in Iraq. His reporting of the Addison, Texas plane crash helped change the way air traffic controllers now handle pilots and planes that are in distress.

Ronan also reported while on board two NOAA weather flights that made numerous tracks into the "eye" of two of the most dangerous Atlantic hurricanes ever, Ivan and Rita. His reporting on Hurricane Rita was featured on ABC's "Good Morning America."

After leaving WFAA in 2007, Ronan was a freelance correspondent for the Dallas/Fort Worth bureau of CBS Newspath. He also worked as a freelance Media Relations Specialist for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, highlighting the severe shortage of controllers across the country.

AAA Texas/New Mexico

In May 2008, Ronan joined the American Automobile Association of Texas and New Mexico as the Manager of Corporate Communications and Community Relations. Just weeks into the position, gasoline prices hit four-dollars a gallon and Hurricane Ike struck Houston. Ronan helped lead AAA's media coverage through both major stories, including spending 6 days in Houston in the aftermath of Ike.

Ronan was AAA's regional spokesman, responsible for all of the newspaper, radio, television and social media coverage in both states. He was frequently interviewed about the dangers of texting and emailing while driving, gasoline prices, automobile safety, drunken driving, highway and road construction, fuel conservation and insurance issues. In addition he was responsible for AAA's strategic media planning and crisis communication plan.

Public service

Outside of AAA, Ronan is a volunteer, serving as a Member of Board of Directors and Executive Committee of "Snowball Express", a registered 501(c) 3 non-profit, assisting the families of servicemen and women killed defending our nation's freedom. As part of the team, he has helped plan and organize two December galas, where hundreds of Snowball Families are honored for four days with an all expenses paid vacation, two weeks before Christmas. Snowball Express Five is December 9–13, 2010, in Dallas. In December 2009, Snowball Express was selected as ABC News 'Person Of The Week' and was featured as the last story in the series by anchorman Charles Gibson, one week before he retired. Dozens of other stories were done about Snowball Express on Fox News, CNN and other media outlets.

Ronan also served five years as a member and one year as Chairman of the Communications Industry/Faculty Advisory Board at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Personal life

Dan and Lori Waffenschmidt-Ronan have six children, 5 of which are adopted. Lori is the Manager of Broadcast Communications at American Airlines in Fort Worth, after having previously worked at CNN as an Executive Producer and at National Public Radio in Washington as a News Anchor on "All Things Considered." Because of the care and love Ronan received as a child from his Grandparents, he and Lori are big believers in adoption. Leo and Agnes McDevitt were in their early 70's when he moved in with them while in the 3rd grade and he lived with them through his freshman year in high school.

Three of their children were adopted from Foster or Group Homes in Georgia and were under the protection of the Department of Children and Family Services. Part of the story of their joys and struggles with adoption are in the recent book by National Public Radio Correspondent and Host Scott Simon "Baby, We Were Meant For Each Other." In his book, Simon tells the story of the joy he and his wife Caroline discovered after adopting two girls from China. He also details the experiences of several other families who have adopted children including Sportswriter Frank Deford and his wife Carol. Lori and Simon worked together at NPR for 5 years before she joined CNN.

A fan of both professional and college sports, Ronan is a 1983 graduate of the Joe Brinkman Umpire School in Florida, umpiring college baseball from 1983 through 1995 and officiating high school and small college basketball from 1981 through 1992.

Today, he continues to play competitive ice hockey once or twice a week in the Dallas based MCHA as a goaltender.

Awards

During Ronan's career he was honored by his colleagues with eight Emmys and two Edward R. Murrow awards for journalism excellence, most notably for his coverage of the Space Shuttle explosion. His first National Emmy came at CNN for his work as a news writer during the first hours of coverage after the Oklahoma City bombing. His most recent Emmy came in October 2007, for his reporting and writing about north Texas soldiers and volunteers who served in Iraq.

References

1. ^ Feder, Robert (1999-09-17). "Channel 7 returning to the Emmy contest". Chicago Sun-Times: p. 47. "Dan Ronan, a former Chicago area radio newsman, has signed on as an Atlanta-based business reporter for CNN's Financial News Network..." 
2. ^ "CNN Washington, Showbiz Anchors Cut". CBS News. 2001-01- 23. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/01/23/entertainment/main266529.shtml. 
3. ^ Feder, Robert (2001-07-05). "Anchor's away for Jay Levine at Channel 2". Chicago Sun-Times: p. 57. "Dan Ronan, a Chicago native and ex-CNN correspondent who recently left the network after 12 years, has landed as a reporter at WAGA-TV in Atlanta..." 

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Name	Ronan, Dan
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Date of birth	1959
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