User:Frank Cowan

Frank Cowan (1944 - present), formerly Frank N. Cowan and Frank N. Potter, lives near Santa Barbara, California, where he is mostly retired and a freelance photographer. He shoots for Lee Enterprises newspapers (www.lee.net/newspapers), Noozhawk.com, and other clients.

Frank was born in Los Angeles, California in 1944. His family moved at age one to Tehachapi, California. His mother (Helen Brown Cowan) was a housewife who later worked many clerical jobs. She was Executive Secretary of the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach, California. His father (Frank Newcomb Cowan) was a letter carrier for the post office and a bombardier in World War II. He has a brother, Tom Potter, of Arizona, and two stepsisters, Joan Potter Martin and Myrna Potter Bowman (of Lake Oswego, Oregon). He has two children, Brian Christopher Potter, of Houston, Texas, and Erin McClure Bonilla. He has two grandsons, Nathan Xavier Bonilla, and Max Bonila. He is married to Rebecca Jane Cowan, formerly Rebecca Austin, of Arroyo Grande, California. Frank's father died as a result of the Tehachapi earthquake that occurred on July 21, 1952. Their house sustained minor damage, but the family decided to sleep outside because of aftershocks. Frank Sr. caught pneumonia to which he was susceptible as the result of injuries sustained during his service in World War II.

After his father died his mother remarried. Harold Potter was a chemist at Monolith Portland Cement Company, in nearby Monolith, California. Potter was transferred to the position of plant superintendent at the company's Laramie, Wyoming plant, so his family followed.

Frank attended University Preparatory High School in Laramie, graduating in 1962. While in junior high, at age 15, he got his first job in broadcasting at KOWB-AM radio in Laramie. He knew early in life what he wanted to do - radio and TV broadcasting and photography.

Frank worked for 20 years in the radio and television broadcasting business as a field reporter, bureau chief, assignment editor, news director, 16mm film photographer and videographer. He shot stories in 16mm film, moving to 3/4-inch videotape, often shooting and editing a half dozen stories a day. He performed as a disc jockey and television news anchor for Armed Forces Radio and Television while in the Air Force from 1962 to 1966, and in Worldwide News Operations for the Voice of America in Washington, DC from 1969 to 1973.

After leaving the Air Force in 1966 Frank moved to Long Beach, California. His mother relocated to Long Beach shortly after his stepfather Harold died. Frank landed a job as disc jockey and program direction for KNAC-FM Long Beach shortly after arriving. After KNAC's owner went out of business Frank traveled to San Luis Obispo, California, where he worked as a disc jockey at KSLY-AM. He then worked at an AM/FM radio station in Carlsbad, California before leaving to work at the Voice of America in Washington, DC from 1969 to 1973.

In 1973 he moved back to California to work as music director at KVEC-AM in San Luis Obispo. He decided he wanted to return to TV news and got a position as field reporter at KSBY-TV in San Luis Obispo. He left KSBY-TV in 1976 to become a police officer in San Luis Obispo. After working as a police officer for three years Frank left to become assignment editor at KFSN-TV in Fresno, California.

Frank has over 30 years experience in emergency management. He began working for the state of California in 1981 and served as an Instructor/Course Manager for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, California Specialized Training Institute (CSTI) until 2002. Frank developed and managed a four level "Crisis Communications and the Media" training course for public information officers and others involved in crisis communications. He developed and managed several workshops and courses dealing with crisis communications. He and his team helped train over 3,500 participants from California, the U.S., and five foreign countries.

Frank worked as a Public Information Officer in four major earthquakes, two state-wide floods, a hazardous materials incident, two urban wild-land fires and a planned event. He was dubbed "PIO (Public Information Officer) Guru" after about ten years of training PIOs.

While working at CSTI Frank had the opportunity to attend Continuing Education for Public Officials (CEPO) in Montecito, near Santa Barbara, California with Dr. David Jones. During his second year he attended a session that ultimately led him to change his name back to his father's name: Frank Cowan. It was a life changing decision.

Frank is working toward his master’s degree on “Crisis Communications in the New Media Age.” He taught a weekend intensive crisis communications session in a doctorate program at the University of LaVerne in LaVerne, California back in the 1980's.

Since March 2001 Frank has been a part time employee of Argonne National Laboratories, serving as a trainer and developer in the lab’s popular Public Information Officer Team/JIS/JIC workshops, conferences, and other training programs. He also worked as Mock Media in many Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program exercises.

He is a member of the Press Photographers Association of Greater Los Angeles and the National Press Photographers Association. He is a former member of the National Public Information Officers Association and is a two - time president of the California Association of Public Information Officers. Subscript text Superscript text