On Assignment w/ CT

The FOX4 Creative Services department ROCKS.  John, Robert, Aaron, Sid, Gary, Sunmi, Linda, Dann are such brilliant, talented, creative people. I know I'm leaving some names out and I'll add them in my next blog. They are the team that produced CT30. I am in awe of their vision, talent, energy and creativity. The 30 minute tribute to my 30 years at KDFWFOX4 moved! It was funny, poignant, overflowing with information. An amazing walk down News Memory Lane for me.

Seeing my former co-anchors was wonderful. The segment with the late Chip Moody was a Joy. Anthony Hopkins saying "well Hello Clarice; what are you doing for dinner." had me Screaming in the newroom!  The shout-outs from "J.R." Larry Hagman; Judge Judy, Tyra Banks & Joshua Allen, Fort Worth's & FOX's So you Think You Can Dance Champion each gave me a Thrill.   

It's all a Beautiful Blur as I Blog. I'm so grateful to Baron James, Richard Ray, Cathy Landin, Mike Doocy, Steve Eagar, Heather Hays, Fil Fleming, Dan Henry for their kind words. They and the rest of the FOX4 News Department are Awesome Individuals. 

3 decades of work flies by.  You do the work day by day and really don't take time to reflect. CT30 has given me the rare ability to just stop and take it all in. A Thousand Thanks to FOX4 for this wonderful, remarkable Special .       

November 13, 1978 is the day I started working in the newsroom at KDFW. I was beyond excited.  Milwaukee is where I started my career as a broadcast Journalist and I was looking forward to the challenges and opportunities in a larger market. Then, we were Channel 4 and a CBS Affiliate.  Now ,we're FOX4 and a FOX O&O.  Then, Dallas/Fort Worth was the nation's 10th television market...now we're #5. So many changes, so much growth during the last 30 years. 

I'm deeply grateful to station management and my colleagues for helping me mark this career milestone with CT30. All this week I'm taking a walk down News Memory Lane... On Assignment:  Berlin when the Wall came down; Saudia Arabia and Kuwait covering Texas troops in Operation Desert Storm; Lake Falcone tracking drug smugglers; Hurricane Alicia; Salute Texas; the Challenger Disaster; The Lost Confederates in Brazil; national political conventions and Presidential Inaugurations; Disaster City in College Station; the Dallas FBI Citizens' Academy; the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia; the weapons training that turns airline pilots into Federal Fight Deck Officers; the training of Bomb Dogs with the TSA's Explosives Detection Canine Teams... just to name a few. Talented and fantastic KDFW photographers have been with me every step of the way as we brought the story home to you.

Happy Highlights?  Covering more than 600 Hometown Heroes across North Texas; covering excellence in the classroom with Class Act which saluted North Texas teachers; covering the Dallas Cowboys in 4 Super Bowls; Christmas in Cowtown; Mayfest, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Komen Race Day. Reporting on my F/A-18 Hornet flight with the Navy's Blue Angels was the thrill of a lifetime.                   

Tragic times include September 11th, the explosions of the Space Shuttles Columbia and Challenger. Reporting on the brave fight and the death of my dear friend, Dr. Suzanne Ahn who died of lung cancer even though she never smoked.  

The last 30 years have truly flown by. Thank you for watching so many, many, many newscasts and stories and assignments. It's been my honor to bring you the news each day at a high level because you deserve nothing less. This is a wonderful, special time for me. I'm overwhelmed.            

Tina Turner was AMAZING Sunday night at the AAC.  Sold-out crowd. The stamina of  this 68-year old Legend is incredible.  She rocked the stage; danced; sang and did it all in 4 inch heels...my kinda woman! Stephen and I saw her farewell tour in Dallas and that was great but what we saw last night...Tina was off the chart!. She had dynamic dancers (she calls them her Flowers) & Tina matched those girls for every step & shimmy  plus she had acrobatic dancers she called The Ninjas &  they were dynamic.   Energy, Excitement, Big Event. She rocked the finale with Nutbush City Limits by strutting along a narrow strip of the stage to the end with a steel bridge...that strip was on hydraulics and it was swung out across & over the audience; at least 30 rows deep. Tina was dancing & singin' & baby it was a Spectacle...Rock On Sista'!         

This is Brandi, one of the thousands of brave breast cancer survivors at the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure. The annual Survivor's March is the Success Story & the reason why Komen works so hard to raise money to find The Cure. 

 Brandi is one of several Reunions I have each year at Komen. During that inspiring day breast cancer survivors will come up...we'll hug & we'll start talkin'. They'll tell me about their life, their family & their breast cancer battle. I always end each conversation by saying..."God bless you & I'm looking forward to seeing you at Komen next year, ok?" I want to see each & every one of their beautiful/handsome faces. This year 2,030 men willbe diagnosed with breast cancer. 12,000 women in Texas will be diagnosed with breast cancer before 2008 comes to an end.  It was bittersweet when one of my Komen Reunion gal pals told me that her breast cancer has come back. Her daughter just turned 2 years old.  We've GOT to find The Cure.   

More than 3-million people go to the State Fair of Texas every year. Perhaps you've seen Rose Landin. Watch Hometown Heroes on 10.13.08 at 5:30pm and 10.14.08 at Noon.  I'll show you how this Native Texan who is 90 years young makes a difference at the Fair.

10 years ago a Dallas woman wanted to give students a way to learn about Leadership. Louise Gartner went to DISD and suggested they implement a program called "Common Cents".  She planted a seed that 10-years later had generated $374,000.00 for North Texas non-profits.  Thank you, Mrs. Gartner!

This year's "Common Cents" fund-raiser started today and runs until December 5th. Students Leaders from at least 45 DISD schools gathered today at Raul Quintanilla, Sr. Middle School for a kick-off pep rally.

I was asked to speak to the students & was Thrilled to do so.  The students are RoundTable members who will lead their schools in creative & fun fund-raising efforts. They'll work to raise pennies, nickles, dimes, quarters and yes even paper currency. Every cent counts!    They also have great communinty and business sponsors.     

After December 5th the RoundTable will evaluate various North Texas non-profits & then the great thing is that the Students Will Decide which non-profits will recieve a portion of the money they all raise this fall.

So many great things come out of "Common Cents". The students learn about Leadership, Teamwork , Philanthrophy & making North Texas a better place to live. This is a whole new generation of Hometowen Heroes & we will all be better for that.

The picture I've posted shows the Principal of Quintanilla...Rodney Cooksy with members of the school's ROTC. I'm holding one of the "Pennies from The Heart" pails that will be filled to the brim with Common Cents!    

Godspeed to the victims of the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. 

God's Grace and Peace to their familes and loved ones.  

Get Ready to lace up your athletic shoes 'cuz the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is Saturday, October 18th at NorthPark Center.  Komen is celebrating it's 25th Anniversary in the fight against breast cancer and the Komen Dallas Affiliate just got a check that tickled them PINK!

Sam's Club gave Susan G. Komen a check  for $75,000.00!  Sam's Club is the 2008 Special Anniversary Sponsor. Sam's Club and the Wal-Mart Foundation are thrilled to make this mega-contribution.    

We were at the Sam's Club on Bucker and 1-30 in Dallas for the check presentation.  Belinda Lawson is the Club Manager.  She and the Associates had the store lookin' festive with pink and white balloons and flowers.  The Associates took it up a notch because the women and men (yay guys..thanks for the support) wore their Susan G. Komen for the Cure t-shirts.  After the check presentation we cut into a Komen cake that was delish.

Please join us on Komen Race Day. YOU will make such a difference in the lives of women and men who are fighting breast cancer.  Go to  www.komen-dallas.org to learn how to register...it's soooo easy and I PROMISE that YOU'LL FEEL GREAT about doing this. 

Our goal this year is 1,000 teams...we need you.  I'm the Honorary Race Chair and I'm grateful to be able to give back. So, register and bring a friend..double or triple your committment by getting friends and family involved.  It's a beautiful thing to see the waves of support on KOMEN RACE DAY for our sisters and brothers in the battle.   

Regardless of whether Barak Obama is your Presidential candidate or not; there's no denying the impact of this day. August 27, 2008. The day an African-American becomes the Demoratic Presidential nominee by rousing acclimation at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. History in the making. It was visibly emotional for the delegates of all colors and backgrounds on the convention floor. America witnessed a ground-breaking campaign season for the Dems with two historic candidates... a black man and a white woman. When Obama accepts his party's nomination Thursday night at Invesco Field the primary campaign process will be complete for that party.

Despite the Rocky Mountain political high the Democrats are on this week; it's far from clear sailing for the Dems. Hillary Clinton's Tuesday night speech was a ringing endorsement of her former rival; unequivoable to its core. She swayed many of her delegates and supporters but not all of them. How much and how effectively will she campaign for Obama this fall? Then, there's the former President. Serious fences need mending between Bill & Barack. How will Clinton respond in his address to the Dems tonight?

Starting Monday the focus shifts to Minneapolis and the Republicans with John McCain, his eagerly awaited nominee and their party's platform. Once the GOP completes it's Minnesota Mission the campaign will shift to over-drive for almost 8 1/2 weeks. Stay Tuned.

I want to give a SHOUT-OUT to all of the CYCLISTS who put it all out there in Wichita Falls. For the 7th year Stephen's ridden THE HUNDRED at Hotter 'N Hell. His time this year was 5:45:32. I'm sooo proud of him because it's a GRUELING race.  12,000 cyclists braved the heat & humidity & while it wasn't 100-degrees it was close enough...97 degreees & it felt like 80% humidity.  I'm his Crew Chief but Stephen does all of the heavy-lifting.  

I took this pic at 6:30 am when i dropped him off at the MPEC Center which is near the starting line of the course. 3800 volunteers work HHH and he says they always do a great job on the course whether it's handing out water, fruit or cheering the cyclists on to victory.  Each year it's a test of will & luck for every cyclist.  Stephen's  had gear malfunctions...busted bike chains &  flat tires. Roving trucks carry gear for quick repairs to get them back on the course. One year he had leg cramps that made him get off of the bike, he recovered, got back on the bike and finished that year.  Thank goodness he's never crashed or been caught in crashes. That's the bane of every cyclist. i'm thankful he's not had road rash, broken bones or worse.  It's a sport he loves and that makes me happy.   As the Texas License plate reads Remember  To "Share The Road" with cyclists.       

WHO-AH!  In July when the Lamar County Red Cross learned that 500 Texas Army National Guard soldiers would be training at Camp Maxey...the citizens of Paris took action.  They have embraced the soldiers and given them an outstanding "home away from home" when they have down-time from training.  The soldiers will head to Iraq soon and they'll take memories of the warm hearts of the people in Paris, Texas with them.  You'll see my Paris, Texas Hometown Heroes on Monday 8.25.08 at 5:30pm and Tuesday 8.26.08 at Noon. BTW, cool and unintended...the red cowboy hat that's above the soldier's head is part of the logo of the city of Paris, Texas. What's obscured is the Eiffel Tower that the red cowboy hat tops!