Just think about it. How many people can you name in television news that started their careers in the black and white film days and made it all the way through to the digital era ... in the same market ... with the same station?

Not many, but WESH's Dave Marsh did it. The man who has been forecasting the weather for Central Florida for nearly 37 years is retiring, Channel 2 announced Monday afternoon. Marsh's last day at the station will be on July 31.

"I've had an incredible run and I've been blessed to work with great teams of WESH broadcast professionals over the decades," Marsh said in a news release. "I've been fortunate to witness the tremendous growth of our area. I've also been humbled by the outpouring of affection from my good neighbors throughout the Central Florida community over the years."

Marsh added, "Few people have the opportunity to spend almost their entire career with one company. I may be retiring, but because of my long history with WESH, a part of me will always be here."

Marsh began his career at WESH on Dec. 2, 1968, joining the station after working as a weather forecaster for the U.S. Navy and National Meteorological Center (renamed the National Center for Environmental Prediction) in Washington, D.C. Interesting in that the man who would become a Central Florida broadcasting legend replaced another -- Charles Stump. He was the first meteorologist to appear on TV in Florida, coming to WESH in 1960 and would go on to work at WFTV for seven years after he left the WESH weather office to Marsh in 1968.

One of my first Central Florida TV memories is of Dave standing in front of his black and white 'Radar Weather' screen in WESH's Daytona Beach studios in the 1970s. Over the years, Marsh earned a reputation as a trusted weather expert. When Danny Treanor at WFTV was easily the most popular weather person on local TV in the early '80s, research supposedly showed that even the most loyal Channel 9 viewers would switch to Dave whenever severe weather approached.

Now with retirement looming, Marsh said he's looking forward to the opportunity to spend more time with wife Karen, daughter Lisa and grandson Jarrett. And even after his final newscast, WESH GM Bill Bauman said Marsh will continue to represent the station at community events throughout the area.

Best of luck, Dave.