WMBB News 13 - The Panhandle's News LeaderGabriel Margulies

Gabriel Margulies

Gabriel Margulies

A recent graduate of FSU, I came by my degree the long way. As the son of a globe-trotting doctor, the wild world was my first and favorite teacher. We traveled because my father built public clinics in areas where people didn't have access to medicine. And, by the age of ten, I'd lived in the Netherlands, Guyana, and Indonesia. My love of writing comes from these years.

As long as I remember, I remember loving books. And, as long as I've loved books, I've written. When we lived in places where water was pumped or carried, and electricity came from diesel or not at all, entertainment took a bit of effort. And, when I would retreat, head bleeding, from a rock-throwing war with my brother, or return trophy-less from a snake-hunt through tall-grass, I would usually end up with a book in my hands.

***

But, wherever we went, Hawaii was always home. My mom's family was from Hawaii; and every new adventure, ended and began on the East side of Oahu, in a place called Kaneohe. We settled in Hawaii, for good, once my brother and I were in middle school (amidst parental mutterings about "wild Indians" and "a formal education"). Years passed.

***

I finished high school, then did a year at the University of Hawaii, before I ran off to Oregon to be a Duck. I ended up a snowboarder. When the snow melted, I went home to Hawaii. Back in Hawaii, I tended bar for a little while, and then began guiding free diving tours. The problem with free diving tours was that, when I had a piece of Hawaiian history to share, or a brilliant insight into sea urchins, my audience was too distracted -- by rip-currents, foggy masks, and the ominous shadow sixty feet below them -- to care. I needed a captive audience.

I found that captive audience guiding open-water kayak tours, and I led these tours for almost three years. In fact, it was on a captivating kayak tour that I met the woman who would become my wife; the fetching Mrs. Margulies. She is a Panama City native. About a year after we married, we moved to the Panhandle.

Once here, I enrolled at FSU, Panama City. And, in the summer of 2011, I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Social Sciences from FSU. I began at News 13 as an intern. When the position became available, I was fortunate enough to be offered a job as the producer of News 13 This Morning. I am thrilled to be here, and look forward to bringing you the friendly and trustworthy news that you expect from News 13 (with maybe a little Hawaiian sea urchin trivia thrown in for good measure).