On the morning of November 12, it becomes quiet in the normally noisy newsrooms of RTV Drenthe and RTV Noord. Reporter Jeroen Willems died after an illness in his hometown of Groningen, aged 44. Jeroen grew up in Assen and entered the RTV Drenthe building as an intern in 2006. He quickly becomes a much-loved colleague, serious when necessary, but certainly a joke when possible.
Jeroen is developing at a high pace and immediately joins RTV Drenthe after his internship. Our colleague is sporty, journalistic, social and a real homebody. He marries and has a son and a daughter. A full agenda, but there is also plenty of room for culture. The Take Root Festival, first in Assen, later in Groningen, the blues festival in Grolloo, Jeroen is a regular guest.
In 2020 we will say goodbye to Jeroen for the first time at RTV Drenthe. He then leaves for colleagues at RTV Noord. A few years later he falls ill. We take note of it with great sadness, but are full of hope, because miracles sometimes occur. But no, it shouldn’t be like that. Jeroen dies at far too young an age.
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