Karen Adams, president and general manager of FOX8 WGHP, issued the following statement Tuesday regarding the death of Rich Brenner.

We lost a legendary member of the FOX8 Family last night, and all of the members of the FOX8 Family – both present and past – are devastated about the loss of Rich Brenner.

Rich left us doing what he loved to do–helping the people in our community. He was speaking at the American Red Cross “Salute to Heroes” in Greensboro. During Rich’s 21 years at FOX8 WGHP, he touched more people and helped more causes than anyone.  He never met a stranger, he never rushed people, and he never forgot a face, name or sports statistic.

It’s a sad day here at FOX8, but there is laughter through the tears. Rich had a wicked sense of humor, and we are telling Rich stories while we still try to absorb that our friend is gone. We thank all our friends and viewers who are sharing their memories and sympathy about Rich. We treasure each one.

We all appreciated and admired Rich’s strong sense of right and wrong. He was passionate, extremely hardworking and cared about his fellow man.  He personally mentored so many people at FOX8 and in our community.

As you know, the Daytona 500 ran last night because of Sunday’s rainout. Rich covered Daytona for years for FOX8 and was respected and known widely by the racing community. Perhaps it was fitting that when Rich left us it was in the Daytona 500 broadcast where we shared the sad news we had just received.

Our hearts go out to his wife Judy, son Shawn, daughter Leslie and the two dear grandsons he left behind. As plans are finalized for Rich’s memorial, we will keep all up-to-date on FOX8 and our website, myfox8.com.