by KAREN LAGRANGE COX
Probably best known for his twenty years as one of KATC TV’s meteorologists from the mid-1970s to mid-1990s, Ed Roy of Lafayette, Louisiana, has had many other roles before, during, and after his days on television. His roles include meteorologist, investigator, and teacher.
After completing college, Roy wanted to be in the intelligence world. He worked and lived in Belize in Central America for a year after college, working in the intelligence field. While there, he traveled around the Caribbean in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala. He left Central America when people from the intelligence community left Vietnam and went to Central America.
During Roy’s tenure at KATC, he worked for sixteen years in the criminal intelligence section of the Lafayette Sheriff’s Office under Sheriff Don Breaux.
After leaving KATC, Roy started his commercial weather service business, Ed Roy Limited, to provide specific area forecasts for the oil field and people working in the Gulf of Mexico. He sold this business to Universal Weather and Aviation in 2001 and provided them with his assistance for a two-year transition period.
Roy said he did try retirement but couldn’t sit idle and do nothing. He graded himself with an F on retirement and returned to work.
In 2006 he started Global Data Fusion (GDF) which he still has today. To establish GDF as an investigative agency, Roy went to Baton Rouge and got a private investigator license. At the beginning of GDF as an investigation agency, the company primarily did traditional investigations such as insurance claims, cheating spouses, etc.
Around 2007/2008, GDF transitioned into doing background and pre-employment background investigations. At the time, Roy enlisted the assistance of Betty Roy in doing background investigations for GDF. The company has eighteen employees nationwide and does background screening and drug testing.
In Louisiana, employment in the medical field requires a background investigation from the Louisiana State Police (LSP). These investigations for medical employment proved to be time-consuming for LSP, so authorized agents were set up to do these investigations for LSP. There are fifteen to twenty authorized agents in Louisiana, with GDf being one of the authorized agents.
GDF does drug testing and a new form of investigation through the EyeDetect, a lie detector test using the eyes. GDF is partnered with Converus, the developer of the eye detector.
Public Service
Roy was an English teacher and head of the English Department at Opelousas High School during the early-to-mid 1970s.
For four years, Roy served on the Lafayette Parish Council. One of those years was being the President of the Council.
Education
Roy attended the Academy of Immaculate Conception (AIC) high school, now known as Opelousas Catholic, in Opelousas. During those years, he took flying lessons and became a flight instructor at the Opelousas Airport, now named Ahart Field after Steve Ahart. Roy still flies today.
While in high school and college, Roy did broadcasting at the KSLO radio station in Opelousas from 1964-68 and radio stations KVOL for one year and KPEL for four years. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Speech, English, and Earth Science at the University of South Louisiana (USL), now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL).
About Roy
When asked what he enjoyed most in his work ventures, Roy said his work with GDF has been rewarding, with his weatherman days at KATC coming in second.
Roy was also asked what he thinks of new technology; he is amazed at the progress of technology while finding it scary regarding the potential of artificial intelligence (AI).
Roy is working on writing his autobiography, which will include his early life growing up in Grand Coteau.
Roy said he has two curses; however, they are both strong points for him as well; 1) he is a veteran entrepreneur, and 2) when he does something, he does it at two-hundred percent.
Author’s note: I remember Ed Roy best as my sophomore English teacher at Opelousas High School. I can still envision him diagraming sentences on the chalkboard in the classroom. He also brought our class on a field trip to the Opelousas Airport.
