News anchor happy at home in Lantana

For area residents’ the face of Keith Garvin is recognizable from his work as news anchor for Dallas CBS Television stations Channel 11 and Channel 21 and previous work as an ABC network news reporter and anchor. But Lantana residents might know him as a neighbor’ the husband of Lisa and the father of four girls actively immersed in the community life. For Garvin’ the easygoing lifestyle’ friendly neighbors and beautiful scenery of Lantana provides a welcome respite from the life of a hard-driving journalist who co-anchors CBS 11 newscasts from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. each evening and the TXA 21 newscasts from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays. “We love it here’” said Garvin’ whose family is now in its second Lantana home since relocating from northern Virginia back in January./ A native-Texan who grew up in Bryan-College Station’ Garvin is happy to bring his maturing family to a home closer to his relatives and those of his wife’ who is from Las Vegas’ Nev. Garvin went to work in Dallas last November and brought his family down here in January. Initially’ he expected to move to Flower Mound or another suburb closer to Dallas’ but when a station co-worker invited him for an evening in Lantana’ it opened his eyes to moving a little further out. The next morning he drove back to the development’ looked around and was favorably impressed. The father of resourceful and adaptable daughters’ Garvin expected to handle the adjustments of moving away from friends they had developed in northern Virginia. The friendliness of their Lantana neighbors and the sheer number of young people living close by helped a lot. Garvin said he moved into a block that was home to about 40 kids and six were waiting in the front yard to greet his daughters the day his family moved in. “Our neighbors are friendly and fun-loving. Everybody looks out for one another.” he said in an interview with Lantana Living./ Garvin took a long road back to Texas. At 17′ he was a talented football player’ but too small to get a scholarship offer from Texas Aamp;M’ a place where he would have loved to play. Instead’ he went to a California junior college where he enjoyed a growth spurt that won the attention of recruiters from the University of Nevada’ Reno. There he played safety and outside linebacker for two years while earning a degree in broadcast journalism. He started his broadcast career with a PBS station in Reno as a producer’ writer and studio camera operator’ learning the business on the other side of the camera. Working in Fresno’ Ca’ and Raleigh N.C.’ Garvin received offers to go into major markets as a writer and producer. But he knew he wanted to be in front of the camera’ so he remained in mid-market cities. In Raleigh’ he was able to spend 2/1/2 years as a reporter and news anchor. In 2003 he received the assignment of a lifetime’ a chance to serve as an embedded journalist with Marines from Camp Lejeune N.C. / He spent three weeks in Kuwait; then accompanied the Marines in Iraq for four weeks of intense combat reporting and experience. Garvin’s work attracted the attention of ABC news and soon he was working for the network. The work often required lots of travel and time away from his growing family./ Thus’ he was eager to accept the better hours and better money to work as a local news anchor in Washington D.C. from 2006 through 2009. At time for contract renewal’ Garvin received a call from his agent wondering if he would be interested in working in Dallas. He flew down in August’ greeted by 100 degree afternoon temperatures. “Fortunately’ I love the heat’” Garvin said with a laugh. After looking over the situation and the economic advantages of living where there’s no state income tax and lower cost of living’ Garvin and his wife decided he should accept the opportunity.” It’s worked out well. “My family is happy and doing well’” he said they’ve adjusted to the relocation even more quickly than they had expected. His oldest daughter will be a varsity cheerleader at Denton Guyer High School this fall. And he’s enjoying his work’ which despite the long hours’ is fun and satisfying because he gets to work with people he really likes./