Written By WRAL-TV Sports Anchor Bob Holliday
Mark and I spent countless Friday evenings together on the highways and by-ways of Eastern North Carolina. We covered high school games from Rockingham to Elizabeth City, often facing a stiff challenge in terms of our ability to get back to the station on time.

We never missed a deadline. Mark was fearless. When plays would come toward the sideline on which we were shooting I would always back up (got to protect the knees!), and of course I would suggest to Mark that he do the same. Three or four times I watched Mark follow this pile of football players, shoulders pads, and helmets right to the base of his feet. He never backed up. And never got hurt on the sidelines.

One Friday I'll always remember is an evening we covered Northern Durham at Elizabeth City Northeastern. Mark's steering column broke just as we drove into the school. Somehow he got the car parked, although he couldn't steer it. There wasn't much time to plot our next move-the game had begun. While Mark continued to shoot I tried to get in touch with Brian Pittman, who was supposed to meet us in Williamston with the sat truck. With the help of the local police, we got word to Brian to come the rest of the way to Elizabeth City. Mark shot and edited the game flawlessly. We sent our story back to the station. Then Brian and I drove back to Raleigh, so that I could anchor on Saturday. Mark stayed with the car in Elizabeth City until it was repaired. By Monday the broken steering column was just a memory.

Mark loved news and he loved technology. He was always the first to volunteer to cover a major story or to hop in the helicopter and shoot aerials. In his spare time, he took up a hobby-the stedicam. The stedicam ultimately became the center piece of his free lance business.

While on our many road trips together, Mark spoke often of his beloved high school team, Oak Ridge, and his upbringing in Tennessee. He would even try to find the Oak Ridge games on the radio! There are few in television with the passion of Mark Copeland. It's still hard to believe he's gone.