Alma Carroll Class of 1991 Class of ‘91: Rob Roth, Jack LaLanne, Alma Carroll, Silver Circle Profile Fred Zehnder, Marty Pasetta, Dick West, Al Kasch, By: Kevin Scott Wing Elaine LaLanne. Not pictured: Tony Tiano, Dick Cable. These days, Alma Carroll prides herself on rituals in the pouring rain in Haiti, and was run out of “refining the aristocratic art of doing as little as the country in Peru, barely escaping with my life.” possible” in her quasi-retirement. Throughout her career, Carroll has been involved San Francisco resident Carroll was inducted into with numerous professional organizations, including the chapter’s Silver Circle of NATAS in 1991. These Northern California Press Women, of which she days she tends more to her business properties in served twice as its president in the late 1970s and Hawaii. In fact, she recently returned from the the San Francisco Press Club of which she was islands after a three-month business sojourn there. elected first woman president. Not a bad place to be in business. Over the years, she has received numerous The San Francisco Bay Area isn’t a bad place to honors for excellence in journalism and speech be involved in the business of local television either. writing, and the accolades keep pouring in. In Some will say that Carroll is a true pioneer of the August, Carroll will travel to Chicago to receive a nation’s sixth largest television market as well as Milestone Award from the National Federation of this chapter. Press Women. Recently, she represented the NATAS Her broadcasting career began as an assistant San Francisco/Northern California Chapter on San to the program director at KTVU when it was lo- Francisco’s Ballot Simplification Committee. cated in a warehouse along Jack London Square. Carroll, who was once recognized by the Califor- She was directly involved in putting the station on nia Legislature for her work in northern California the air. television, remains active in numerous business clubs Following her tenure at KTVU, she became an and civic organizations, including the National Fed- announcer and engineer at KAFE Radio. She re- eration of Press Women, Broadcast Legends, the mained at KAFE, until it was purchased by KABL San Francisco Museum and Historical Society and Radio. the Women’s National Book Association. Carroll is perhaps best known for her work at KQED-TV, where she was the station’s publicity (Kevin Scott Wing pens director and a staff writer for many years. Silver Circle and Gold Circle Her career took her to southern California for a profiles each month for “Off time where she worked as a production assistant for Camera.” The two-time Quinn Martin Productions, a production company Emmy® Award-winning Bay known for creating numerous, successful crime Area television journalist is dramas for television, including The Streets of San a freelance news writer at Francisco, Barnaby Jones, Cannon and The Fugitive. NBC Bay Area/KNTV in San A prolific writer, Carroll has been involved in Jose and a freelance field almost every aspect of television, from her work in producer for ABC News. E- Bay Area television to writing a screenplay. Her mail him at writing has also appeared in the San Francisco [email protected].) Chronicle, Miami Herald, Reader’s Digest, San Fran- cisco Symphony Magazine and numerous other publications. At the Chronicle, she was a special Follow us on assignment feature writer. She was also a stringer for Broadcast Magazine and the National Enquirer, plus an editor of Focus Magazine and NATAS’ Off Camera. “As a freelancer, I have written and done almost EmmySF everything,” Carroll says. “I once spent three hours interviewing (actor) Stacy Keach in his dressing or on the Web: www.emmysf.tv room in Coral Gables, Florida. I’ve witnessed Satanic Off Camera, July 2010, page 8.