The way we communicate with our audiences has advanced light years in the last 10 years and continues to accelerate. Everyone's walking around with a little TV in their pocket these days. The opportunities to connect through social media and livestreammg will continue to grow through all devices and platforms. That's good news for broadcasters who are willing to embrace new technology and connect with their communities like never before.

'Wildflower seed in the sand and wind, May the four winds blow you home again."

Matt Zaffino's career in television stems from his love of weather. His love of weather Is rooted in his love for being outdoors and in wilderness. And also, in his high school German class. It's there his teacher drew weather maps on the chalkboard explaining the conditions needed to create a snowstorm and get everyone out of school for a day. He's been making weather maps ever since.

While studying meteorology at the University of Utah. Matt interned and then worked as a weather producer at K1VX in Salt Lake City. In 1984 he moved to Traverse City, Michigan to forecast weather at WGTU, and then to Battle Creek, Mich., where he anchored the morning and evening weathercasts.

He happily returned to the West in 1985 to anchor the weather at KDRV in Medford, Ore. In 1988 he was hired to do weekend weather at KATU in Portland Ore. where some very talented people taught him how to write for and tell stories for television news. He helped launch KATU's morning news and was later promoted to the evening newscasts. In 1996 Matt left KATU to become chief meteorologist at KGW.

The Oregon Associated Press named Matt Best Weathercaster in 1994, 1997, 1998. 1999 and 2002, 2006, 2008. 2009, 2012 and 2015. In 2000 Matt won an Emmy• award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Weathercasting and has been nominated for an award several other times.

Matt is the only person that's ever done a live television broadcast from the top of Mt. Hood. Matt also reported for KGW from the Summer Olympics m Sydney, Australia m 2000 and the Winter Olympics in Utah in 2002 and Vancouver in 2010. In the summer of 2004, Matt traveled to the Greenland Ice Sheet to report on climate change research, doing live radio broadcasts for KINK FM in Portland from the ice.

For several years Matt produced a Northwest Weather Calendar, combining his passion for outdoor photography with Northwest weather and landscapes. Proceeds went to local charities like the Business Education Compact. He has done countless school visits over the years, teaching Portland students about the science and beauty of weather. Matt's community involvement includes work with the Oregon Humane Society, the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, Medical Teams International and The American Cancer Society. Matt also served on the Board of Trustees for the Oregon Chapter of the leukemia-lymphoma Society.