Dec 2023. Blues Vol 39 No. 12

Our Staff
Founder & Publisher: Sgt. Michael Barron, RET
“When I started The
County Blues in 1984, I had
no idea how to publish or
edit a newspaper. Hell I
couldn’t even type”
When I started The County Blues in 1984, I had no idea
how to publish or edit a newspaper. I didn’t have a degree in
journalism, and I couldn’t even type. But I did have some experience
running a business. In 1982, John King and I opened
one of the first Video Rental Stores in Houston called “National
Video.” Two years later, I bought a vacant Fox Photo
booth in Humble and opened the first drive-up video store in
North America called “That’s Video.”
When I joined the Harris County SO in 1978, I quickly realized
that being a cop wasn’t the most lucrative job on the
planet. And while I wasn’t opposed to working extra jobs
and did my share of working bank security, my real passion
was being an entrepreneur. So, when the opportunity presented
itself to become a newspaper publisher, I jumped at
the chance. Not that I had any damn idea what I was doing.
In 1989, I left Harris County to accept a position with the
Galveston County Sheriff’s Office. Moving to Galveston was
the best move of my life at the time as it led to next BIG thing
in my life. Well three things. Marriage, having my first child,
and getting my pilot’s license. Taking my first ride with John
King in an HPD helicopter in the early 80’s sealed the deal
for me. I wanted to be a pilot and a police pilot was even
better. Not only did I have a chance to fly for Galveston, but I
also “flew” into a Flight School and Aviation business purely
by accident. It was that move that prompted me to sell The
BLUES Police Newspaper to Buddy Williams.
Over the next few years, I had the opportunity to log a ton
of hours flying for a variety of companies, as well as the
government. Thanks to Lt. King and HPD Helicopters, I learned
to fly a helicopter and become an Observer, or a Tactical
Flight Officer as they are called today. In 2003, I decided to
retire from law enforcement and went to work for Shell Aviation
as a pilot and marketing rep. I crisscrossed the US every
month, logging even more hours. The pace was hectic, but
the pay was awesome.
Ten years later, I left the Aviation Business to develop electric
indoor go kart tracks. Another business I knew nothing
about and learned it was not as glamorous as I thought. In
2019, I made the decision it was time for something new. I
was still flying and assigned to a Task Force in Texas that
flew experts to disaster scenes. One evening, I had the
chance to stop by and visit my old friend Rex Evans at his
extra job in Porter Texas. Our reminiscing always led back to
the good ole days of the BLUES. Ironically a local TV station
had called me the week before asking what ever happened
to the newspaper. To tell the truth, I had no idea. So, the next
week I did some research and low and behold I found the last
issue had been published in May of 2018.
I called Rex the next day and after some brainstorming, we
decided it was time to start an all-new BLUES as an on-line
digital magazine. And as they say, the rest is history.
While I’m proud of what the magazine has accomplished,
I’m equally proud of my two sons, daughter and two grandchildren,
Olivia and Layne. They are my everything.
MICHAEL BARRON
108 The Blues 40th Anniversary Issue