Born in Portland Ore. on Feb. 10 1957 Eric Fulton Say began his career in radio in Oregon moving to Los Angeles to work for impresario Norman Lear scriptwriting such TV programs as "Mary Hartman Mary Hartman."
Joining the U.S. Navy in October 1981 he reached the rank of Petty Officer where he was a communications specialist and journalist.
After leaving the Navy Say arrived on Guam in June 1992 from the Philippines and worked with government agencies that included the Guam Power Authority the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Commerce and held a variety of positions in the private sector.
However it is probably for his career in media and his time at the Guam Shipyard that he will be most remembered.
Say worked for Pacific Telestation Inc. Sorensen Pacific Broadcasting the Marianas Variety News & Views and Guam Business. He was staff reporter for the Marianas Business Journal from the paper’s launch in May 2003 until February 2005. Say was the U.S. Small Business Administration 2004 Journalist of the Year served as an officer of the Guam America Lions Club of Guam and as board member of the Micronesian Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Maureen N. Maratita publisher of Glimpses Publications; said "Eric was responsible for some of our most intricate stories. I believe journalism brought him personal satisfaction. In May 2004 Eric went to Los Angeles for surgery at the Good Samaritan Hospital. I was surprised to get a phone call from him. Flat on his back Eric was still reporting in on a story he had discovered.
"In recovery on a smoke break across from the hospital Eric bumped into Nicholas Cage a meeting that I am sure was responsible for Cage later visiting Guam. Eric had a wealth of great stories. Meeting with Nicholas Cage and sitting in the actor’s Ferrari was just one we enjoyed hearing.
"Eric always referred to people he knew as his friends; he was interested in their lives as well as their businesses and people responded to that quality."
Say joined the Guam Shipyard from February 2005 until the time of his death where he contributed much to the apprenticeship program which he was instrumental in launching.
Matthews Pothen president of the Guam Shipyard; said "Eric assumed the position of administrative manager taking on an array of responsibilities. Eric was an articulate and well-expressed writer; he was an instrumental key in organizing developmental plans and procedures set forth by other shipyard managers and staff.
"The apprenticeship program is a fundamental source for the continued success of the shipyard as it will provide the shipyard with younger trade-skilled workers. Eric’s involvement in the implementation of the apprenticeship program at the shipyard was important. Eric took on a wide range of responsibilities in regards to the apprenticeship program from keeping the lines of communication open between the Guam Department of Labor/Agency for Human Resource Development developing departmental plans and even spending one-on-one time with the young apprentices themselves."
Eric Fulton Say who died of heart failure on March 6 is survived by his wife Amor step-son Christian J. Urquico daughter Valerie and family in Oregon. MBJ
