Staff photo by Fritz Busch KARE 11 sports reporter Eric Perkins, second from right, talks to Ted and Jodi Marti at left. At right is New Ulm Mayor Bob Beussman. Perkins posted on Twitter and Facebook. Most of his program aired on the 10 p.m. news Monday.

NEW ULM — KARE 11 Sports Director and anchor Eric Perkins toured New Ulm, showing a large amount of energy, pizzazz and charisma Monday afternoon.

The tour ended at August Schell Brewing Co., where he was to broadcast his 6 p.m. sportscast live. More of his story that included stops at Hermann Heights, baseball and softball parks plus the New Ulm Civic Center appeared at the 10 p.m. newscast.

Perkins interviewed New Ulm Mayor Bob Beussman plus Ted and Jodi Marti in front of a gathering of people who had a beverage and munched on offerings from Lola’s-An American Bistro’s food truck in the picnic area near the brewery garden.

Perkins interviewed and talked to just about everybody he could, including youngsters, posting video and photos on Twitter and Facebook.

Perhaps the story of Perkins himself and his father is the most incredible.

The son of American reporter, commentator, war correspondent, and NBC anchorman Jack Perkins, Eric Perkins grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from Pepperdine University, majoring in broadcasting.

“I couldn’t find a job (on the West Coast) so I got in my car and drove to Atlanta and got a job at CNN,” Perkins said. “From there, I got a sports job at an NBC station in Tupelo, Mississippi (Elvis Presley’s hometown). It was awesome. I worked as a one-man band, so to speak, learning to do everything.”

Perkins said he later worked for a NBC TV station in Memphis before coming to KARE 11 in November 1996 as a sports reporter. Perkins was named weekend sports anchor and sports director in 2012.

Perkins got lots of attention right away at KARE. His “Perk at Play” hands-on segment included ski-jumping, bullfighting, driving a car at the Redwood County Fair demolition derby and playing baseball for the St. Paul Saints minor league team. The series won several awards, including an Emmy.

“You have to have a semblance of talent and then get to know the right people,” Perkins said. “I moved up the ladder by doing that, sometimes knowing the friend of a friend.”

Perkins said he feels fortunate to be in the Twin Cities now.

“It’s unbelievable. It’s is one of the few metro areas with every professional sports team. Plus we’ve got a new stadium that will bring the Super Bowl and NCAA Final Four,” Perkins said.

A distance runner on the cross country and track teams at William Howard Taft Charter High School in Los Angeles, Perkins said he’s making a running comeback, racing in 5k and 10k road races.

“I love the opportunity to entertain and inform. I love meeting new people constantly, getting myself into a mess of video and then trying to piece it all together like a puzzle,” Perkins said in his KARE bio. “I love the rush of deadlines, being a goof and getting paid for it. I love getting away from the computer and into the mix. It’s the only way to fuel my massive ego.”

Jack Perkins’ 2013 book, “Finding Moosewood, Finding God” is about his life from 1984 and 1999 when he and his wife Mary Jo lived on Bar Island, off Acadia National Park in Maine. In search of a simpler life, they found God.

Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.