Remembering Doug Garrett

Friends called him the “Mayor of Naples.” WINK News called him family. Doug Garrett is remembered by WINK News as a passionate journalist who cared for the community.

The photojournalist is mourned by his WINK News family and loved ones after he unexpectedly passed away over the weekend. Doug was with WINK News since 2017 after working at several other media outlets in Southwest Florida.

“Every single time I was sent down to do a story, immediately the interviewee would kind of bypass me and go straight up and shake Doug’s hand,” said WINK News Anchor Lindsey Sablan, “He’d often ask a person where they were from, he’d find a Midwest connection, name a sports team, and before you knew it, you hadn’t even started the interview. They’re already looking at Doug and not focused on you.”

Doug was always available with his WINK polo, WINK hat and gear, ready to go. WINK News’ Assignment Editor, Robin Wolf, was the one who would wake Doug up to go to breaking news some mornings.

Robin recalled his dedication and attention to detail. “He would call and he would say, ‘Hey, how’s my shot? How’s everything? How’s it sound?'” she said.

Doug was there when hurricanes Ian and Irma slammed into Southwest Florida. He was there last Friday night, when Dunbar beat Naples on the last play of the game.

Doug loved football, especially college football and his LSU Tigers. No one was surprised when he named his dog Nola.

“There were two times where he made jokes at my expense for being a Florida fan,” said Sports Reporter Zach Oliveri. “He’s like, ‘I included a shot in there that I think you’d like.’ I scroll through it, and it’s a kid with an LSU shirt on. Then there was another time when one of the schools was doing something similar to Florida State’s Tomahawk chop. He made sure to put that in there to kind of rag on me a little bit.”

WINK News Reporter Jolena Esperto remembered how kind and calm Doug was, even when tensions ran high.

“I was cramming to try to get him out in time. He’s like, ‘Don’t worry, it’s OK.’ I’m like, ‘OK, you gathered everything. You can go. I’ll stay here and I’ll finish.’ He’s like, ‘I’d rather wait until you submitted everything and you’re OK. Don’t worry about me.’ And he just waited,” Jolena said. “He packed up all my things in my own bag and put them into my car while I was working, running around like a crazy person typing and submitting. He was just like, ‘Don’t worry, I got time. Don’t worry. It’s OK.'”

Each person who worked with Doug has their Doug story. Every memory made will always be cherished.