Legendary local news anchor Jim Gardner is calling it a career at the end of 2022.

He’s been with Action News since 1977 and is stepping down from the 11 p.m. newscast, but will continue anchoring the 6 p.m. for the remainder of the year. Rick Williams, another WPVI O.G., will step in to do the 11 p.m.

Gardner signed off for the final time from that broadcast on Tuesday night, and delivered a message that Nick chopped up in three parts here:

Now that’s a classy sign off. Jim Gardner talking about the importance of trust when it comes to building a long-standing relationship with viewers. That’s why Action News has had so much success over the years, because the people running the place really had their priorities straight. Gardner credits people behind the scenes and names colleagues like Dann Cuellar, Gary Papa, and Dave Roberts. That’s how you can tell Jim is a real one. He’s like the guy who gets up there after winning a Grammy and then proceeds to pull out a piece of paper to make sure he doesn’t forget anybody when doing his shout outs.

Thankfully we get one more year of Jim doing the 6 p.m., then it’s the end of an era.