The Story Behind D50 After Dark’s Iconic Logo with Jerry Baskett

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In this episode of D50 After Dark, host Mickey Bennett interviews Jerry Baskett, a member of the podcast team since its inception. Jerry serves as the show's graphic designer and production assistant, creating logos, backdrops, and other visual elements. He shares the story behind the podcast's logo, which features night scenes from various locations within District 50, highlighting the district's wide reach. As a production assistant, Jerry helps generate ideas for topics and people to interview and formulates questions to guide the host during the interview process. He has used his keen interest in history to make suggestions on how a historical background could create a setting for the interview of a person from a particular time.
Jerry's passion for history is evident in his personal life as well. He enjoys sharing historical facts and events that occurred on specific dates, believing that understanding the past can help prevent repeating the same mistakes. During Toastmasters meetings, Jerry often incorporates historical themes and relates them to current events. Since joining Toastmasters in 2016, Jerry has achieved Level 2 in Innovative Planning. While he enjoys being a part of
Toastmasters, he prefers working behind the scenes, putting things together and serving as the Toastmaster for meetings. Prior to Toastmasters, Jerry had a 32-year career in the telecommunications industry. He served in the Air Force for six years, stationed in Germany, Korea, and Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C. After his military service, Jerry worked for a satellite company specializing in long-distance telephones before joining Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in northern Virginia. He later moved to Detroit, Michigan, and then to Plano, Texas, spending a total of 26 years at EDS. Throughout his career, Jerry worked in control center operations, monitoring satellite earth stations and overseeing terrestrial-based operations. He also worked on EDS's business television network, involved in both special projects and regular company initiatives, all via satellite. Jerry's interest in graphic design developed after leaving EDS when he went back to school to study video production. The curriculum included learning about graphic design and how to create backdrops and logos for specific scenes. The interview concludes with Jerry sharing a brief
anecdote about meeting Ross Perot, the legendary founder of EDS, while working on Perot's presidential campaign. Mickey thanks Jerry for his contributions to the podcast and his service in the Air Force, and the episode ends with a teaser for the next guest, Helen Williams.