General manager Guill to leave KOLN/KGIN-TV

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BY JEFF KORBELIK / Lincoln Journal Star

The thank-you note touched Lisa Guill’s heart.

Hearing about an abused child in western Nebraska, the KOLN/KGIN-TV general manager prepared a care package for the 12-year-old girl.

It was the least she could do, especially after hearing countless horror stories during her time as a board member for the Child Advocacy Center in Lincoln.

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Lisa Guill (Courtesy photo)

But she never expected what happened next.

The girl sent her a thank-you note, saying no one had ever done anything like that for her before.

“It was so powerful,” she said. “It really made me sit down and think.”

So when Lynn Ayers, director of the Child Advocacy Center, approached her with a job offer, Guill knew what she had to do.

Guill, 47, announced Friday she is leaving the TV station to become the advocacy center’s development coordinator.

She will be responsible for marketing, public relations, coordinating volunteers and fund-raising.

Guill has been in television for 27 years, including the last 20 at the Lincoln CBS affiliate (channels 10 and 11). She succeeded Frank Jonas as general manager in 2003.

Her last day at KOLN/KGIN will be Dec. 12.

Jason Effinger, regional vice president for parent company Gray Television Inc., and current general manager at KAKE in Wichita, Kan., will replace Guill, effective in mid-December.

“It’s been very emotional for me,” Guill said.

She said she’s excited about working with Ayers and her staff, but she also will miss the work and people at KOLN/KGIN.

“I’ve been so lucky,” she said. “My 20 years has been nothing but good. Now, I get to help abused children.”

As general manager, Guill took an active role in much of the station’s multimedia expansion, including the development of the station’s Web site, adding a high definition channel and, in 2005, a new digital channel.

In addition, she was instrumental in many of the station’s public service projects with organizations such as the Friendship Home, YWCA and Hearts United for Animals.

“Lisa has been a valued employee for over 20 years, and her talents, attitude, and performance will be missed by all of us at Gray,” said Robert S. Prather, Gray Television president and chief operating officer.

Effinger boasts more than 18 years of broadcast experience.  His career began at WKBT in La Crosse, Wis. Since then, Effinger has worked at five other stations in Texas and Kansas.

“We felt it was important to have a regional vice president in Lincoln because it is one of Gray Television’s major hubs,” Prather said.

Gray is based in Atlanta and operates 36 television stations in 30 markets, including WOWT in Omaha.

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.