Lifelong Friend Huston Singletary
I grew up with "original" Mark Copeland and met him when we moved to Oak Ridge, TN when I was in 8th grade. He lived three houses away. We also became best friends at that time. Mark was my first friend in that new town and we all, including my parents and family stayed in touch to this day. He decided what he wanted to do for a living well before graduating high school. Television photography was his true calling.
Mark was the warmest and most intuitive person I ever knew. He loved his cars, always had something funny to say and was super close to his roots both at home where he grew up and with his friends and colleagues. He really loved life and all that came at him. Always up for the challenge. All his colleagues can tell you that he really was one of the best at his craft.
I for one can be assured that Mark died doing what he loved most.
Camera in tow and flying high.
I'll miss you Mark. MCO! |
Former Colleague Jeff Greene
(Currently Director of Marketing/Communications Coastal Federal Credit Union)
I started working as a photojournalist in Raleigh in 1988 for one of WRAL’s competing stations. I ran into Mark Copeland on countless news assignments over the course of my nine-year, two station jaunt here.
Trust me when I say that Mark was an intensely fair competitor who stayed amazingly focuses on his work. Yet, to the surprise of no one, Mark was the first to walk up to me to introduce himself and welcome me to the market. I watched him do the same thing for nearly everyone who entered the market.
Despite his enormous professional accomplishments, nothing about Mark ever changed!
Indeed, Mark had an amazing spiritual connection with his camera. Perhaps that would explain that unlike the vast majority of adults, Mark’s love for his work grew stronger every day.
Now that Mark has passed, it’s my hope that his family, good friends, colleagues and competitors will forever cherish their memories of Mark the way I ALWAYS will. |
Former WRAL Colleague Ted Hand
(currently Chief Engineer at WSOC-TV/DT in Charlotte)
I worked at WRAL from 1993-1999 and worked with Mark on many special events. I can still remember the cold, pre-sunrise setups for the Christmas parade. Mark was always willing to help and would love to show his "steadycam" unit to anybody who wanted to see it. I can't believe he is gone but he left us doing what loved to do.... |
Former WRAL Reporter Nina Szlosberg
Mark came to WRAL just before I left but, as he did with everyone, he made such a huge impression on me in the short time we worked together there. Eager and energetic - he went after every story with zeal. After Mark left WRAL to start his own business, we worked together on a number of projects...
including shooting a re-enactment of the Civil War surrender at Bennetts Place in Durham for an HD documentary about the American Tobacco complex.
I worked with Mark most recently in Chicago - just a few weeks ago. We got stuck in the airport coming home and had a lot of time to talk. He said that as much as he loved Raleigh - his heart was still in Tennessee and he hoped that he would get to move back there sometime soon . He told me that he had just been on a wonderful cruise with his parents and was planning to do more of that in the future. He talked about loving his time on the lake, jet skiing - and we talked about all of the great places he had gotten to visit during his time at WRAL - including India while covering the funeral of Mother Theresa.
While we are all sad - I think we can find some comfort in the fact that Mark lived a full and interesting life and his last moments here on earth were spent doing what he loved most. He made contributions to the world through the lens of his camera and we are all better off having known him.
My heart goes out to his family. We will miss him. |
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