ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 After nearly a decade of helping Central Florida drivers navigate the morning commute \u2014 and building a following that extended far beyond traffic maps \u2014 \u201cTrooper Steve\u201d is leaving News 6.<\/p>\n
Steve, who became a familiar face to WKMG-TV viewers after first arriving in 2017, said he never expected the job to last nearly as long as it did.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd here we are almost a decade later. Heck, I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d last two years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
From trooper to TV<\/p>\n
\u201cI was the spokesperson for the Highway Patrol. I had already branded myself as Trooper Steve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Then, as Central Florida prepared for Hurricane Irma in 2017, News 6 approached him.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026suddenly we\u2019re getting hit by a hurricane\u2026 In 2017, and they\u2019re like, \u2018Hey, do you want to come work with us?\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Steve said his first response was no, citing his belief in maintaining a separation between government work and broadcast journalism.<\/p>\n
But he said the station\u2019s vision went beyond reading traffic speeds.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just, \u2018You\u2019re a traffic anchor.\u2019 It\u2019s like, \u2018No, you actually can look at a crash and tell us how it\u2019s happening,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He agreed to join, he said, with one condition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018Look, I\u2019ll come over, but you\u2019re going to call me a traffic safety expert\u2026 Let\u2019s brand this thing,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cWe have the opportunity to do two different things, bring some real traffic education, and humanize law enforcement a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
An unscripted style that connected<\/p>\n
Steve said he worried about his candid, sometimes sarcastic approach might eventually get him \u201ccanceled.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I could be so unscripted and a little not controlled that I thought at some point I\u2019m going to say something that\u2026 makes someone feel called out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Instead, he said the opposite happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that I would get up on camera and call someone a clown\u2026 All of a sudden the emails would blow up. But, \u2018Thank you. That\u2019s what we want to say,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Steve said part of the connection was that he didn\u2019t try to deliver traffic like a traditional anchor. He said he talked like the community he grew up in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI live in this community. I was raised in this community. I\u2019m part of part of the crew,\u201d he said. \u201cSo why not talk like everybody else? Because I don\u2019t know how to talk any other way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the Honk\u201d \u2014 and making traffic interactive<\/p>\n
One of his most popular recurring bits, \u201cWhat the Honk,\u201d started after viewers began sending him videos and pictures of bad driving.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are sending me videos, sending me pictures\u2026 and I was like, \u2018Wait, I talk smack anyway,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Steve said the segment was designed to make viewers part of the show \u2014 while still keeping the focus on safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy bosses at the time said you can talk as much smack as you want, but provide the educational side of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Moments that mattered: honoring service and showing up in the community<\/p>\n
While traffic was the daily job, Steve said some of his most meaningful moments at News 6 were about service \u2014 and helping viewers understand what they were seeing.<\/p>\n
He pointed to his work covering law enforcement funerals.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to explain to the viewer what they\u2019re seeing, why we\u2019re covering it\u2026 that was\u2026 pretty amazing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also described the impact of traveling with veterans on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re talking World War Two veterans, Vietnam veterans\u2026 go see all these monuments that some of these men and women never have been able to see. But yet they fought in the wars,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Steve said one of the most powerful moments came at the end of the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing back to the Sanford airport\u2026 there\u2019s hundreds of people waiting to welcome them back,\u201d he said. \u201cOur Vietnam vets weren\u2019t welcomed home properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said hearing words like \u201cthank you\u201d and \u201cwelcome home\u201d offered something many veterans never received.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor them, hearing a thank you or welcome home\u2026 was almost like finishing their story a little bit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also described his role as a visible presence at community events.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a News 6 traffic guy, being almost an ambassador\u2026 represent News 6, shake hands with people in the community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Among his favorites: Fourth of July events and the annual lighting of the Christmas tree.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been able to do that nine times now. And it\u2019s going to be difficult not to not to do that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would not be where I\u2019m at if it wasn\u2019t for them\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve said the audience \u2014 what he affectionately calls his \u201cTrooper Steve Army\u201d \u2014 helped shape his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would not have been able to get where we\u2019re at without what\u2019s outside of our building,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He credited viewers for checking in when he was off the air and for connecting with him through social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I\u2019m gone for two days, they notice\u2026 and my inbox blows up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That connection, he said, carried him through difficult times, including a cancer diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring that time, everyone was in my inbox. \u2018Steve\u2026 how are you doing?\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As he prepares to leave the broadcast side, Steve said his gratitude to viewers remains central.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would not be where I\u2019m at if it wasn\u2019t for them. Hands down,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can say thank you a million times, but when I say it like I mean it, you got me.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next: City of Apopka<\/p>\n
Steve said his next chapter will keep him in public service \u2014 as the director of public information for the City of Apopka.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I am now the director of public information for the City of Apopka,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In the new role, he said he plans to emphasize transparency and proactive communication.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe in proactive\u2026 communication, transparent, whether you like it or not. I at least want to give you the information,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Steve also said he wants to elevate local storytelling \u2014 including small business partnerships and city employees whose work often goes unseen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it would be cool to tell their story,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A career built on empathy and safety<\/p>\n
Asked what he\u2019s taking with him from News 6, Steve pointed to empathy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe number one thing I learned from day one to now\u2026 is empathy,\u201d he said. \u201cNot everyone thinks like what you think. Not everyone lives how you live. Not everybody has the same values.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he said the daily mission never changed: help people get home safely.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I can go out every day and one person\u2026 hears what I said and they share it\u2026 I think somewhere down the road where we\u2019re saving someone\u2019s life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Steve final day on air is July 31. <\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 After nearly a decade of helping Central Florida drivers navigate the morning commute \u2014 and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":356332,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[10514,28,1335,139,141,140,729,2799],"class_list":["post-356331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-apopka","tag-florida","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-traffic","tag-trooper-steve"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/356332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}