A Goodbye to a La Crosse Legend
Last night was bittersweet. We gathered at The Main for the retirement of La Crosse news legend, Scott Robert Shaw. There were laughs, a few tears, and a room full of love for someone who has contributed so much to the Coulee Region.
The night’s events were hosted by Brian Simpson, who has worked with Shaw for almost 2 decades on Rock Mornings with Brian and Jean. A beautiful and funny tribute video was played featuring former and current coworkers who have partnered with Shaw for various pathways of his career. There were moments that definitely tugged on the heart strings. But if you know Brian, there were plenty of chuckles to be had as well.
Then the people from Howie’s showed up with a gift. You may not know this, but Shaw is a frequent customer there. To show appreciation to a valued customer, they gifted him a sweater, alongside 1 free drink per day for an entire year. A truly generous present from some class act folks.
Next, Brian Michaels from Mid-West Family would take the podium. He gifted Shaw with a $350 gift card to Howie’s (boy, Shaw seems pretty set over there for a bit, eh?) as well as free Brewer tickets for life. Whenever he wants to go to a game, it’s but one phone call away, and done without question. Let’s hope a World Series can one day be included in that.
After that, former WIZM host and current La Crosse Mayor, Mitch Reynolds would make an appearance. Reynolds declared October 16th 2024 as “Scott Robert Shaw Day”, thanks to his incredible contributions to our entire region. An honor very much earned.
Lastly, Gregg “Cheech” Hall would play a song from Widespread Panic, a personal favorite of Shaw’s.
We at Mid-West Family will forever be grateful for everything Shaw did for us, both professionally and personally. His presence in the newsroom will be deeply missed. But his legacy will live on through those of us whose lives he was a part of. We’ll carry him with us wherever we go.
Happy Retirement, Shaw.
And thank you.
For everything.