On Wednesday, November 4, 2009, hundreds of local business people and community leaders gathered at the Adam’s Mark for the 20th Annual Athena Award Luncheon hosted by the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and co-sponsored by WIVB-TV. I was pleased to emcee this community event for the seventh consecutive year. The Athena honors women who excel in their professions and who provide significant help to other women along the way.

For this special 20th anniversary luncheon, the keynote speaker was the woman who founded Athena International as a non-profit organization. Martha Mayhood Mertz told the crowd that she started Athena to advance the status of women in business because she had often been told that women could not be considered as leaders in the business world. She discussed the need to change our thinking about what business leaders look like in our community – the need to change our picture of the ‘face’ of leadership.

Martha Mayhood Mertz, founder of Athena International, and Sharon Lochocki, 2009 Athena Award Recipient

The face of leadership in Buffalo now looks like Sharon Lochocki, Senior Vice President and District Leader, Business Banking, KeyBank N.A. Sharon was named as Buffalo Niagara’s 2009 Athena Award recipient at the dramatic conclusion of the luncheon. In her thoughtful and gracious acceptance speech, Sharon urged the crowd to extend a hand to girls and women who may need help opening doors in the working world.

The event featured something new this year – the first ever Young Professional Award. This honor goes to an emerging local leader, a young woman who is early in her career and demonstrates excellence, creativity and initiative. Amy Martoche, a partner at the Connors & Vilardo law firm, made a point of thanking those who have provided mentorship and support in her development as an attorney and community volunteer.

Amy Martoche, the first Athena Young Professional Award Recipient

The Athena luncheon this year benefits the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge. The rambling Summer Street home provides free lodging for those who have come to Buffalo seeking treatment for cancer.

WIVB-TV has taken an active role in community events for decades and the season of fall seems to be a particularly active time for local charities and non-profit organizations to raise money and present awards. I have been privileged to have a role in many of these events on behalf of the station. I try to take pictures when I can to help document and remember these community events.

Harvest Festival

Unfortunately, I forgot to pull out my camera during the 9th Annual Harvest Festival on October 2, 2009, at the Statler Towers, co-sponsored by WIVB-TV. It was a huge crowd – 720 guests – that turned out for the gourmet meal and wine-tasting. The successful benefit raised an impressive $285,000 to benefit the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care.

M.S. Dinner of Champions

The Dinner of Champions to benefit the Upstate Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is always a highlight for me. This year the 30th Annual DOC brought hundreds of supporters to the Hyatt Regency on October 13, 2009. I believe I have emceed this event for close to 25 years and I have learned how many, many people we have in this area who are living with Multiple Sclerosis. They need and appreciate the services of the M.S. Society.

Lee Evans of the Buffalo Bills and his wife, Miranda, attended the Dinner of Champions to help promote the Team Up 4 MS campaign. Funds support research and patient programs of the M.S. Society.

Use this link to pledge a donation for every touchdown or sack the Bills score this season.

Roswell Park Alliance All Star Night

For nineteen years, the Roswell Park Alliance has presented a gala fundraiser to benefit Buffalo’s Roswell Park Cancer Institute. WIVB-TV has been a partner through the years as this event has evolved into what is now All Star Night, a white-tie benefit set on the stage of Shea’s Performing Arts Center. Each year, Roswell honors a faculty member, a volunteer, and a courageous cancer survivor. On October 24, 2009, those honorees were cancer prevention researcher Dr. James Marshall, inspirational 80 year old volunteer William McLaughlin, and NFL Hall of Famer and prostate cancer survivor Michael Haynes.

NFL Hall of Fame member, Mike Haynes, the 2009 Gilda Radner Courage Award Honoree

Dr. Donald L. Trump, President and CEO of Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Jacquie Walker was emcee for All Star Night.

Mary Pinto and Barb Heller were co-chairs of All Star Night. Suzy Sears was chair.

Amherst Chamber of Commerce

The Amherst Chamber of Commerce changed its Business of the Year dinner a bit this year. On October 26, 2009, at the Buffalo Niagara Marriott, the Chamber honored the University at Buffalo as its business of the year and presented eight Alpha Awards to businesses and individuals with specific ties to UB. It demonstrates how far and deep UB’s roots stretch in Western New York. It’s not only a major employer, but it serves as a catalyst for creating numerous other companies and jobs in this area.

UB President John Simpson accepting the Amherst Chamber Business of the Year Award from David Rutecki of M&T Bank.

I interviewed Dr. Robert Smolinski and Dr. Claudia Fosket as they accepted the UB Believers Award.

The newsroom is rarely busier than on election night. News 4 Buffalo draws station employees from other shifts and other departments to join us nightside as we collect vote totals, interpret the results, and present them on News 4, CW23, and WIVB.com. The preparation actually takes weeks – researching the ballot, collecting the names and positions of candidates, loading computer data, drawing up a newsroom game plan, testing remote locations, and making contact with those who will be key players on election night. When the polls close at 9 p.m., it’s like turning on a fire hose! Information comes pouring into the newsroom and it’s a race to get it all on the web, on the air, out to our teams in the field, and into all the right hands. You can see why we need so many ‘hands on deck’ to help wrestle with one or two hours of ‘breaking news’ on election night.

Computers in the newsroom are key sources of information on election night. Much of the data is coming from the Board of Elections website.

Producer Vic Baker and News Director Joe Schlaerth have decades of experience covering local elections.

Newsroom Operations Manager Nancy Sanders and Nightside Assignment Editor Martha Meegan oversee coordination of our news teams in the field.

Director Tony Battilana, Engineer John Fellinger, Technician Dave Brown, and Technical Director Mickey Clemons handle the extraordinary volume of graphics and remote video feeds on election night.

News Four Political Analyst Joe Crangle and Ken Kruly, former Erie County Budget Director, examine vote totals.

A small army of volunteers gathers vote totals from the phone bank in News Four’s Election Center. This is information Political Analyst Joe Crangle uses when deciding whether to “call” a race.

During the Ten O’clock News on CW23, Political Analyst Joe Crangle shares his insight on the election. News 4 Videographer Craig Cornwell captures the action.

On Wednesday, September 30, our assistant News Director Pamm Lent told me she wanted me to do several live reports for News Four at Five in front of our Channel 4 studios on busy Elmwood Avenue. She had asked State Police Captain Michael Nigrelli to stand outside the station with me and try to spot drivers talking or texting on their cell phones. I admit, I was a little skeptical. I thought we would be lucky if he spotted one or two. But, Pamm was confident. She has had numerous encounters with distracted drivers as she enters or exits the station parking lot, and she believed it would be a fruitful demonstration.

I have to hand it to her. Within seconds of setting up, Captain Nigrelli began pointing out drivers breezing by talking on their phones. Within half an hour, he had counted more than thirty distracted drivers and, just as we were about to wrap up, we both watched a young female driver pass us as she texted with both hands. As he pointed out while all this was happening, he’s a big guy standing near the street in full police uniform!

It was an eye-opener for us and, I hope, for our viewers to see just how many people are sharing the roads with us…and not giving the roads their full attention. While there is a law against using a hand-held phone behind the wheel, there is currently no federal or state ban against texting. As Captain Nigrelli points out, when a state texting ban takes effect next month it does not allow police to pull over drivers for the sole reason of texting, it would only be treated as a secondary offense.

People often ask where we get ideas for stories that we cover on News Four. Very often, those ideas come right from our own experiences – or, in this case, from Pamm’s!

Assistant News Director Pamm Lent and Photographer Shane Phillips were spotting distracted drivers during our live reports on Elmwood Avenue.

New York State Police Captain Michael Nigrelli pointed out that he's a big guy wearing his full police uniform and yet, dozens of drivers were sailing by us talking on their cell phones!

The Western New York chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society can call Friday, September 25, 2009, a banner day.  A record crowd of more than 2500 turned out in Delaware Park to walk, talk, and party at the chapter’s most successful fundraiser of the year.  Channel 4 has been a proud sponsor of this colorful event since the very first Light the Night Walk eleven years ago.  I was there that first night with a few hundred people and it is so gratifying to see how it has grown dramatically since then as a family-friendly community party that embraces all who fight cancer and commemorates the lives of those who did not survive.  When the evening drew to a close, co-chairs Paul and Karen Nanula announced that Light the Night 2009 raised more than $330,000 for research into blood-related cancers and aid to local patients.  But, Paul urged everyone to stay tuned for a higher total because donations are still coming in.  That lit up the night for everyone!

Before the sun set, you could see the size of the huge crowd ready to Light the Night! Participants carry red lighted balloons, cancer survivors carry white balloons, those who have lost loved ones carry gold balloons in their memory.

I was pleased to return as emcee and honorary chair of the 11th annual Light the Night Walk.

The walk proceeds at a brisk pace around Ring Road in Delaware Park.

Many families form teams in memory of loved ones lost to cancer. Team Ron’s Kids walked in memory of Ron McNally of Buffalo.

It takes a lot of volunteers to support an event like this. Volunteer Nathan Thomas was handing out cheese sticks to the walkers.

These enthusiastic volunteers were passing out apples along Ring Road.

Volunteers kept the grills hot and the hot dogs grilling!

Leukemia survivor Liz Harrer of Lockport told the crowd about the support she has received from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

I interviewed Dan Bermingham of East Aurora for News 4 at 11 and the Ten O’clock News on CW23. His 6 year old daughter, Julia, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in May, 2007.

Co-chairs Paul and Karen Nanula of Wilson Farms helped lead Light the Night to its most successful year ever.

It was a proud night for members of the News Four family on September 22nd, 2009, when Marie Rice was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame.  Marie left the newsroom (she doesn’t like the word retired!) five years ago and returned to her native Ohio, after twenty-seven years as a highly respected reporter here at News Four.  She will always be remembered for her long-term, in-depth coverage of the turmoil and tragedy of the Love Canal environmental disaster. And, those of us who call her a colleague and a friend will always remember her for her good, good heart.  Congratulations, Marie!

Marie Rice spoke of her journalism career spanning more than three decades during her induction into the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Rich Newberg, who is also member of the Broadcasters Hall of Fame, inducted Marie with prepared comments and a video presentation of her career highlights.

Marie Rice enters the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame with fellow 2009 inductees Fred Klestine, Pat Feldballe, Randy Michaels, and Don Polec.

Marie’s identical twin sister, Joan, opted for print journalism while Marie chose broadcast journalism.

Congratulations to Marie Rice, a reporter’s reporter and Hall of Fame journalist.

Megan McNally, winner of the AAUW Jacquie Walker Scholarship

When the Buffalo Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) did me the great honor of naming a $5,000 scholarship after me, I asked if the requirements for winning this scholarship might be based not just on academic achievement, but also on community service.  I wanted the recipient to be someone who has already made service to others an integral part of her life.

The winner, named during an awards dinner on Monday night, exceeds all my expectations.

Megan McNally, of Williamsville, is an outstanding student in her senior year as an Environmental Policy major at BarnardCollege. The College’s highly selective Centennial Scholars Program provides funding for an independent study project.  Megan used $3500 of her funding to purchase a foreclosed house on Eaton Street in Buffalo.  She has opened the doors of this house to the neighborhood for free weekly seminars on home improvement projects.  Along with her neighbors, Megan has been learning how to install glass block windows, erect fencing, paint, sand floors, fix leaky pipes, and much more.  It’s her way of improving an economically depressed area of Buffalo and empowering city residents, one project at a time.

Megan will continue to use the house as a learning lab to support her senior thesis on retrofitting older homes with green technology. She sees her future connected to preserving and protecting the environment and, perhaps, in the field of recycled building products.

Members of the American Association of University Women work hard through their annual Used Book Sale to raise the money for Megan’s scholarship and several other scholarships and educational programs for local girls and women. They can be proud of the support they are extending to this impressive young woman with such a promising future. Good luck, Megan!

My workplace is just like yours in this respect: some days are just more interesting than others.  Yesterday was one of those days.

It was very exciting to have Mylous Hairston working in the newsroom for the first time since he suffered a heart attack in late June. His first report was a wrap-up of his symptoms, treatment, recovery and rehab. I believe his openness about what happened to him can be helpful – even lifesaving – to others.

Michele McClintick generated hugs and lots of smiles in the newsroom with the announcement that her beautiful daughter, Cate, is expecting a sibling to arrive near March 23, 2010. We couldn’t be happier for Michele and her husband, Brendan.

Our News Director Joe Schlaerth snapped a photo of the area’s newest Bills fans just in time for Monday Night Football. Joe and his wife, Vicki, are the proud parents of these bright-eyed twins who, thankfully, slept through the end of the game.

It didn’t make news but it sure turned heads when Lisa Flynn showed us the unusual array of tape she was sporting on both arms. Turns out Lisa is allergic to something that is irritating her eyes and her doctor is trying to get to the bottom of it.

On Wednesday, I met two of the people to keep in mind when you join us for the Light The Night Walk on September 25th in Delaware Park to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. They came to the Channel 4 production studio to record a public service announcement about the Walk.

Jacquie with Julia Bermingham and Liz Harrer

Julia Bermingham

Julia Bermingham turns six next week and just got an early birthday present by completing her chemotherapy treatments.  The blue-eyed beauty was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in May, 2007, but was able to enter kindergarten and now looks forward to her first-grade classes.  Dan and Kristin Bermingham of East Aurora, who also have a four year old daughter, Kaitlin, say they have been guided with compassion through their ordeal by representatives of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  They are grateful for the support.

Liz Harrer of Lockport, a mother of four, is also grateful for all the support she has received from the Society since being diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia in 1997.  She’s so grateful that over the past decade she has become one of the Society’s most active volunteers. She calls the staff ‘amazing’ and says she doesn’t know what she would do without them.

Liz Harrer of Lockport - Jacquie - Julia, Kristin, Dan and Kaitlin Bermingham of East Aurora

You’ll be hearing more about Light The Night as our PSA begins airing here on Channel 4.  Now you know about two people you can keep in your heart as you join us in Delaware Park on September 25th.  Who will you be walking for?

Light The Night - September 25 at Delaware Park

A black-tie event Friday night, July 24th at Sean Patrick’s Banquet Center in Getzville celebrated the life of Jacquie Hirsch. The organizers selected the Tinker-Ball theme because Jacquie loved the Disney character Tinker Bell and believed in the day that Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia would be cured.  A.L.L. claimed Jacquie’s life. She was just 23, a bright, caring teacher, when she died in September, 2008.

Through their grief, her family and friends have worked hard to establish the Jacquie Hirsch for A.L.L. Foundation dedicated to raising awareness, providing support to patients, and funding research that will lead to a cure.  The Tinker-Ball was one of several fundraisers the Foundation has already sponsored – raising more than $200,000 in Jacquie’s name so far.

Expect to hear more from the Foundation and its good work in the community.  Jacquie Hirsch was a remarkable young woman who has left a legacy that is inspiring many in Western New York to believe in her dream of a cure for A.L.L.

The Inaugural Tinker-Ball was a black-tie dinner dance at Sean Patrick’s Banquet Center in Getzville.

Among the 200 guests, many had a personal connection to Jacquie and her family.

Jacquie’s father, Torey Hirsch, spoke lovingly of his daughter and her grace in facing her disease and treatment.

I was truly honored to introduce Dr. Norma Nowak from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Jim Burton, on the left in this photo, had a large role in organizing the program.

This is one of several checks that Jacquie's family plans to present to Roswell Park researchers, Dr. Eunice Wang and Dr. Norma Nowak. Jacquie's parents Sharon and Torey are on the left. Her brother, T.J., is at right.

News Four's Lisa Flynn and I participated in the program, as did former boxer Joe Mesi. Joe donated boxing items and hosted the live auction.

The Tinker Bell theme was displayed whimsically throughout the Banquet Center.