Following a forty-year career in television reporting, he was named the chief operating officer (CEO) of PBS North Carolina.
Crabtree has won 16 Emmy awards, is a recipient of the North Carolina Order of the Long Leaf Pine, and is a member of the NC Media & Journalism Hall of Fame.
In April 2022, Crabtree was named as interim Chief Executive Officer of PBS North Carolina.
[11] Crabtree was also inducted into the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by governor Roy Cooper on May 25th, 2022, the same day of his retirement from WRAL.
[14] Crabtree was permanently suspended from ministry by the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina after allegations of improper conduct were made against him in October 2018.
[4] Crabtree made a personal statement explaining his removal from ministry, stating that he had engaged in a consensual relationship with a woman that violated church protocol.