Friday, May 1, 2015

Remembering Joel M. Van Citters: 1949-2015

When you develop personal and professional relationships over a certain number of years there will eventually be loss. People move on. They sometimes drift away. Sometimes, as in the case of my dear friend and former creative partner Don Adamec, they depart suddenly, leaving behind confusion and a sense of loss that is impossible to describe. In other cases, because you’ve been out of touch, news of their passing doesn’t reach you until a bit later.
I learned just the other day of the passing of Joel Van Citters. Talented, accomplished and supremely confident, Joel was a pleasure to work with. As an award-winning TV Producer-Director he knew what he was doing, had little patience for B.S., whether from clients or creative directors, and the clients, for the most part, admired the way he got the job done. We weren’t close personally, but I will remember very fondly the time we spent together and the quality work we produced together.

A few years back we worked together on a promotional video for Ringling College of Art & Design’s International Design Summit. When we needed a young woman to do some moves on camera, I suggested my daughter, whom Joel had never seen. Without hesitation and in a distinct "been there, done that" tone, he reminded me that when the client says, “Let’s use my daughter as a model, she’s really pretty,” it usually means she has a face only a mother could love. In this case, I sent him a few photos of Devon, who was then 18 years of age, and his response was priceless. He first wanted to know if I had a machine gun turret under the front porch to keep the boys away and, second, when can we shoot? Devon and Joel enjoyed working together. 
I’ve posted the video to the CCM YouTube Channel
Finally, here's the link to Joel's Herald-Tribune Obit


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