STATEMENT FROM ABC 33/40
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ala (WBMA) — The morning of Saturday, June 12, we learned our dear friend and colleague Christopher Sign passed away overnight.
To know Chris, was to love Chris.
His family was the single most important thing in his life which is why he ended up returning to ABC 33/40 four years ago. Chris first worked here as a reporter in the late ’90s and early 2000s.
He left for Phoenix where he spent the next 13 years as a reporter and anchor, but the opportunity to rejoin ABC 33/40 as a weeknight anchor in 2017 was too good of an opportunity for him and his family to pass up.
What most people don’t know is Chris turned down an opportunity to work for one of the national networks to come to ABC 33/40, and he made that decision because of his family.
That decision put him in a place where he could see his boys off to school in the mornings, watch them play baseball in the evenings, and take them fishing on the weekends.
Chris was a tremendous leader in our newsroom. He worked with our reporting staff on a daily basis, but also worked behind the scenes with the I-Team and with news managers on coverage of major events.
You were very likely to get an email from him with a story idea in the middle of the night. He was passionate about journalism and showed it each and every day as he pushed himself and his colleagues to be the best.
Those are all things he learned while he was at the University of Alabama playing football for Coach Gene Stallings. Chris often gave Coach Stallings credit for getting him into the television news business.
Today, our hearts are heavy and our prayers are with his wife Laura, their three boys, and their families.
ABC 33/40 Vice President & General Manager Eric Land released the following the statement on behalf of the station:
Our deepest sympathy is shared with Christopher’s loving family and close friends. We have lost a revered colleague who’s indelible imprint will serve forever as a hallmark of decency, honesty and journalist integrity. We can only hope to carry on his legacy. May his memory be for blessing.