Grow With Us: Meet Roger Follebout
We’re honored to continue TidalHealth’s series, “Grow With Us,” this November with Roger Follebout, Jr., director of Strategic Communications for the health system.
Roger got his start at TidalHealth in 1998 as a specialist with what was then known as the Community Relations department. He was promoted to manager in 2006 and has led Strategic Communications as director since 2009.
While you may not know him personally, he is likely familiar; Roger is the friendly voice that greets you when calling most, if not all, TidalHealth locations.
We caught up with him as he prepares to retire on March 9.
We’re always looking for people to profile. Share your suggestions with us at [email protected].
Here’s Roger’s story:
Roger, tell us a bit about your background — where you grew up, your education and family life, and what you enjoy doing?
I’m not a “from here,” but I’ve become a “stay here” and a true fan of the Delmarva Peninsula and its people. I was born and raised in the state of Michigan (GO BLUE), Bridgeport, Michigan, specifically, where I launched my television career in 1982. I came to Delmarva to anchor the 6 and 11 pm newscasts at WMDT in 1987 and served as its news director from 1990 to 1993.
Following that, I joined the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), where I helped build the telecommunications program, and completed my bachelor of arts, which I started at Eastern Michigan University but put on hold for 16 years while working as a journalist.
I have been married to my wife, Leslie, for 43 years. We have two grown kids and two wonderful grandchildren, Cameron and Daniella. I am addicted to the game of golf and have a foursome of guys who have played together each Sunday for almost 20 years now.
How did your career path lead you to TidalHealth, which was then known as Peninsula Regional Medical Center?
Quite by accident. I was on a federal grant at UMES. When it ran out in 1998, my position was eliminated. I was in the car and on my way to Draper Communications to discuss selling online advertising when then Community Relations Director Donna Richardson called me to discuss the specialist’s position. I had sent Donna a resume years before when I was considering getting out of television and had forgotten about it. She said, “Call them, cancel that appointment, turn the car around and come see me.” I did, and she hired me the same day!
What an interesting journey! Was a career in healthcare ever part of your plan?
I always looked at the hospital as a solid, reliable and trustworthy place to work, but after not hearing from Donna for years, I had given up hope of that happening.
Television was my dream and my passion for a dozen years, but working different hours than my wife and trying to raise two very young kids without each other was just not working. I needed a change and some stability.
I’ve always had a tremendous amount of respect for healthcare workers. My mom was a nurse, a darn good one, who worked her shift the day I was born and delivered me that same night. That’s a tough woman!
Many people still remember you from your time as a local news anchorman early in your career. What was that experience like?
I was 21 when I started, 26 when I came to Salisbury. It comes with the job, but you do lose that anonymity that others have when they go grocery shopping, go out to dinner, etc. The recognition was cool, but you always had to “be on.”
Some of the great perks... I flew with the Blue Angels, interviewed four presidents, got to hang out with musicians like Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS, played a round of golf with Alice Cooper, and even hung backstage with Rick James, which is another story for another day!
Did you learn most of what you know here at TidalHealth while on the job?
A lot of the skill sets (writing, public speaking, managing and reading people, etc.) translate from television to public relations, but I had never worked in this arena. The company gave me ample room to learn the job and grow with and into the job.
I can’t thank former President Peggy Naleppa enough for having the faith in me to elevate me to the director’s position 17 years ago, and Steve Leonard for allowing me to keep it. I’ve worked with some great people, hopefully been a solid and honest servant leader, and defended and promoted TidalHealth as well as anyone.
It didn’t begin smoothly as director. In that first week, our Chief of Pediatrics, Dr. Alvarado, was killed in an automobile accident, and a gentleman, God rest his soul, decided to commit suicide on our Salisbury campus. Baptism by fire, for certain, and plenty of “teachable moments” with Peggy that all made me a much better leader over the years.
Your voice is truly one-of-a-kind. How do you feel about hearing it everywhere?
That also was quite by accident and nothing I asked for. Dr. Naleppa knew of my broadcasting background and “voluntold” me that it was part of the other duties as assigned. I learned that when Peg asked for a favor, you took care of that for her.
For more than a decade and a half, I have been the voice of TidalHealth. My wife still teases me every time she calls anyone in the health system and must “put up with my voice” even when I’m not home. I’ve enjoyed it, but I suspect that once I retire, there will be an AI version of someone doing that job.
With retirement on the horizon, what does the next chapter look like for you?
I am going to retire from this gig and working full-time. I started with a paper route at age 12 back in Michigan, delivering the Bridgeport Future Views on my bike, and I’ve never been without a job since. I turn 65 on March 8 and plan to retire March 9. It’s time.
However, I’m not a sit-on-the-couch kind of guy. Jessica Hales, TidalHealth Foundation president and chief philanthropy officer, has asked me if I would be interested in assisting them for a few hours each week, which I’m looking very forward to doing. That’s a good group and a great arm of our health system
You’ve also posted about what you call your “best summer job ever” on social media. What is that, and what makes it so special?
I still can’t believe they pay me to do this. I usher for the Delmarva Shorebirds each summer and have been since 2017.
I’m really a people person and I love being one of the first contacts that our fans have coming into the ballpark. We set the tone for the night, and the ball players bring it home from there. Plus, I get to watch baseball, live, and just a few feet from the field.
Truth be told, it also pays for my golf trip each year, which is in its 28th year this year. Jimmy Sweet and Chris Bitters, the Shorebirds' leadership, are two of those great people I have the privilege of working for. I hope to do that for a long time.
What will you miss most about your day-to-day work?
It’s really that “day-to-day” contact with our healthcare team and the people in my division. A lot of what I’ll do for the TidalHealth Foundation will be remote. Chris Hall has been a great leader to work with and learn from. He’s built a great team in what’s now known as Integrated Marketing & Communications.
We’re small, but mighty! There’s a ton of talent on this side of the parking lot. I’ve often said that I don’t put hands on patients, but I have the incredible honor of telling the stories of those who do. Everyone working on our team feels the same way.
What are you looking forward to in your semi-retirement years?
Leslie (my wife) and I must get to Columbia, Maryland, much more often than we do now to hang out with the grandkids. They’re 5-years-old and 10 months and just the most incredible thing to ever happen to me (don’t tell my wife or kids).
We’re also great lovers of cruising, but I’m not sure how often that’s going to happen on a fixed income. We’re beach people, too, and own a camper permanently based in a campground just outside Dagsboro, Delaware, only 8 miles from the beach. We’ll spend more weekdays there and load up the automatic feeder to take care of our cats for a few days.
After nearly 30 years, what advice would you give to someone just starting out in this career field?
Early in my television career, I would have told you “jump at every opportunity that comes your way.” That’s great in television, where you are always looking to move up in market size and to bigger and better cities with more opportunities.
What I’ve learned being here is that TidalHealth is really a great place to put down roots and focus on your talents... and I don’t just mean clinicians. I’ve been a few places, seen a few things, worked for a few managers and been blown out of a couple of shops (that goes with the TV business). This is a great company to advance yourself in because they not only believe in you but will support you financially with that education.
Look, we’ve been providing care for nearly 130 years in this town. We’ll be providing care for 130 years, and more, after my days on this earth are over. If you like it here, don’t walk away from a good thing. Learn from everyone you work for and with, be a sponge and take it all in.
Be a great friend, a great leader, a great teammate, take great care of each other and this health system that we “old timers” have worked so hard to make so good.
