Tom Koch's arrival at ABC13 started with a long-distance romance
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- ABC13 anchor Tom Koch is a Wisconsin native who just loves his home state, so how did he end up leaving a news gig in Green Bay and making a new home in Houston?
The answer is simple: He followed his heart.
"Tom and I met at a television station in Green Bay," said Brenda Koch, a former television reporter and wife to Tom.
RELATED: ABC13's Tom Koch will anchor his final newscast in May
The pair met at work 42 years ago where she was a reporter, and he was a weekend anchor. The pair ended up working together a lot on the weekends and realized there was a spark.
"We worked together for quite some time, and we looked at each other and went, 'Hmmm...'" she said. "And here we are."
The pair started dating and soon after, Brenda ended up taking a job down in Texas.
"I took a job in San Antonio as a reporter at a TV station," Brenda said. "(Tom) came down and liked it here. I heard about a job in Houston and six months later, Tom Koch arrived at KTRK."
And six months after a long-distance relationship, both taking turns driving between San Antonio and Houston, Brenda eventually left her reporting job for Houston and a career in public relations.
During the nearly four decades Tom has been on the air at ABC13, he has welcomed two daughters and managed to travel the world with his family, all while his alarm clock for work went off at 2 a.m.
"It's going to be a hard departure for him, even though we've talked about it for a long time and made the decision," Brenda said. "It's going to be a hard departure."
Tom will anchor his final newscast at ABC13 on Friday, after almost 40 years.
RELATED: See Tom Koch's early reporting years before he arrived in Houston
