Two of my coworkers ran marathons this morning.

I’m going to give you a minute to let that sink in…

TWO OF MY COWORKERS RAN MARATHONS THIS MORNING.  Yea, as I was prying my booty off the floor to get a second cup of half coffee/half Coffeemate, Alex Hoffman and Amanda Crawford were RUNNING MARATHONS. 26.2 miles.

Beauties, I bow down to you!! AMAZING!!!

These women are just magnificent.  As athletes, as journalists, as PEOPLE.

Alex is our fantastic First News anchor with John Oakey, and if you haven’t checked them out, IT’S AN ABSOLUTE MUST.  DVR them if you’re not up that early.  Their energy is contagious–they deliver the days news with a smile and positive attitude, despite getting up around 2am (or earlier!) to get to work on time for that early morning shift.  Check out Alex’s Facebook page; you can truly see how much they enjoy their jobs and working together.

Everything I just said about Alex… DITTO FOR MISS AMANDA!  Amanda is our First News Weekend Anchor with David Earl, and she ALSO is articulate, stunning, and energetic despite pulling into the Newsplex before some of us even go to bed for the night.  Amanda always has a way of making ME smile at home; no easy task before coffee on an early weekend morning 🙂

Both of these young women can also DELIVER when it comes to serious news.  When the International Nutrition building exploded and collapses, Alex anchored our continuous coverage while Amanda reported from the field.  They were incredible.  Folks, it is no easy task to just talk.. for hours.. not knowing what will happen next.  They presented the story without any added drama or superlatives, so important as journalists on such a tragic day.  They were articulate and informative, trustworthy and empathetic.  They made me very proud to be part of the same team.

Outside the Newsplex, I just love these ladies.  Alex and I play softball together (and FYI.. just 36 hours before she ran this half-marathon, SHE SMACKED A DOUBLE past the outfielders heads Friday night..), and have a love/obsession with Miss America.  Amanda and I had bond over country music and gymnastics.  We love them.. maybe a little too much 🙂

These women are just incredible.  They run MARATHONS for crying out loud (Amanda reported every few miles during hers!! How is that possible?!?!?)

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Now, I’d like to introduce you to two other incredible women you may not know.  The ‘cheerleaders’ if you will, here at KETV.

Producers Kelly Shoff and Renee Ludvik

These women ‘make the magic happen’ so to speak.  All day they are busy gathering information, making phone calls, and writing the newscasts we present to you at night.  When something bad happens behind the scenes, it’s their job to rearrange all the pieces so you at home never know.  9 times out of 10, you don’t; they’re that good.

Perfect example: Thursday afternoon, something within our system crashed and we lost all of our commercials.  Technology isn’t perfect–it happens.  Did you have any idea??  PROBABLY NOT, because Renee rearranged her newscast, kept Melissa and Adrian in the loop through their earpieces as to what was going on, while Kelly managed a team to quickly find other stories from our sister stations around the country to fill the time void.  It was truly incredible to see these ladies in action.  SEAMLESS.

Renee started out just like me here at KETV–an intern who worked her tail off and earned a full-time job.  She’s worked literally every shift we have here at KETV and has become an incredible producer.  When breaking news happens, Renee is A SEA OF CALM, confident, she gets it DONE.  And when someone calls in sick or takes vacation, Renee is often the one who steps up to the plate to fill in someone else’s shift.

When that horrible day at Von Maur happened in December 2007, Kelly stepped into the producer’s box.  I don’t have any idea how many hours she was up there, with no break, producing our coverage on air.  She handled phone interviews, live reporters, video, new information… EVERYTHING.

But there’s more to Kelly and Renee then their loyalty and incredible work ethic here at KETV.  Look at their smiles in those photos–their INNER beauty just shining through.  These women are ALWAYS the first to tell coworkers that they look nice.  That they enjoyed their story the night before.  They take the time, even when they are crazy-busy, to watch video of your kids doing something cute.  They LISTEN.  These are the people who make a day worthwhile, the cheerleaders who make you take a breath and say ‘it’s going to be a good day.’

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I am in AWE of the amazing accomplishments I see in my coworkers everyday here at KETV.  But I am equally blown away by, and am SO grateful for, positive energy and just plain KINDNESS.  As great as it is to feel a sense of accomplishment, it is WONDERFUL to get a compliment on that, whatever it might be.

SO THANK YOU Alex, Amanda, Kelly and Renee.  For inspiring me to run a little further (or at all!) and to go the extra mile to try to make a difference in someone’s day.

#TeamKETV