About six years ago, my previous employer, a television station in Oregon, asked me to help host the local segments of the MDA telethon. I didn’t know anything about the MDA and I was a little uncomfortable asking viewers for money, but I reluctantly said yes. It was an experience that changed my life. I got to hang out with the most interesting and inspirational people I’ve ever met, tell their stories and then be a part of making their lives better. A few years later, I was thrilled to get a job at 3TV, which also partners with the MDA. This upcoming Labor Day telethon will be my sixth….and I can’t wait!
In Oregon, I was sent to the MDA’s summer camp each year for a day. As a reporter, I tried in one afternoon to capture the experience these kids were having, and bring back video to share during the telethon. In Arizona, I decided to step back from the reporter role, and head to camp as a counselor. I was pretty nervous about spending an entire week with a child in a wheelchair. I don’t have kids and don’t know much about taking care of a child, much less a child with leg braces, a back brace and a wheelchair. But my nervousness was quickly replaced by laughter when I met Sierra.
It only took once for me to put her leg braces on backwards, and she was making fun of me to our whole cabin. Talk about entertainment….this little girl had me laughing non-stop. She was the fiestiest little thing I’d ever seen when it came to wheelchair soccer. She hammed it up at the talent show and boogied the night away with me at the dance.
I returned to be Sierra’s counselor again this year. Again, we both had an unforgettable, fun time. Each and every one of the campers say it is the best week of their lives, and when camp is over, they immediately start looking forward to next year.
I’d encourage anyone to consider being a counselor. Almost all of the counselors I’ve met at MDA camp have been going for years. It seems they all get just as much out of the experience as the kids!
I’ll be sharing more of my camp experiences during the upcoming telethon. I’m sure Sierra will be there as well, making fun of my lack of maternal instinct. I hope everyone will be able to see what this camp means to kids with muscular dystrophy. Thank you to everyone who’s ever donated to the MDA to make that experience possible!
3TV Anchors & Reporters
I’ve never thought of myself as creative. I don’t draw that well. The only thing I’ve ever painted were the walls of my living room. But I’ve just come to realize that I am creative. Everyone is in their own way. The stay-at-home-mom who makes baby clothes is creative. The mail carrier who writes writes in his journal on his lunch break is creative. This revelation came about when I was discussing a possible story idea with the publishers of a new local magazine called “Provoke.” It’s a refreshing new mag that you can pick up free at local restaurants and coffee houses in Phoenix and Scottsdale. Matt Fischer and Mike Alonzo, founders and publishers of the magazine, are following their dream of developing a publication about art and the people who create it. They feel the valley has an abundance of creative energy swirling around and not enough outlets to display and celebrate the diverse art that can be found right here in our own backyard. In my conversations with Matt and Mike, we explored the philosophy of people who have a passion for something that drives them to create and be innovative. I’m not just talking about people who sculpt or paint. I’m talking about people like valley resident Bill Slease, an engineer, featured in the premiere edition of “Provoke.” Bill blew out his cushy day job to follow his dream, his passion: To create video games. That was ten years ago. Bill is now the lead programmer at Cyan, a very successful game development company.
Creativeness can also take the form of entrepeneurship. As illustrated in the magazine as well. Kimber Lanning is a good example. The 39-year old owns Stinkweeds Records in Phoenix. She opened the store 20 years ago with no experience and no money. But she had a passion for music and art and a vision. Today she is a cultural icon in town and has since opened Modified Arts, an arts collective in downtown Phoenix.
So don’t be afraid to chase a dream, create someting, innovate, follow through on an idea. Whether you knit beautiful blankets or write poetry. You are an artist.
If you would like to pick up a copy of “Provoke” magazine, go to www.provokemag.com for a list of places wou’ll find it.
3TV Anchors & Reporters, Beverly Kidd
As we get older and busier with life, it seems to get harder to keep in touch with friends. At least that’s been the case for me and three of my great friends and former roommates from college.
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3TV Anchors & Reporters, Tess Rafols
William F. Stone was a crusty and colorful old man who liked to salt his conversations with curse words and to keep his hard earned cash close to his chest.
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Mike Watkiss
We’re having pretty typical weather for late June: hot and dry. And on a few of those days, we’re seeing a few isolated thunderstorms in the mountains of eastern Arizona. To date, we haven’t seen any real strong signals that our summer thunderstorm season, at least in the Valley, is anywhere close to starting.
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3TV Anchors & Reporters, Royal Norman
Occasionally in this job you get to help those who really need it. Recently, I got to do just that. For the past year and a half, Phoenix city councilmember Peggy Bilstein has been trying to pass a law that would make it easier to prosecute pimps who prey on girls. But she wasn’t having much luck, we’ll get into the reasons a little later. The current law allows anyone who profits from underage prostitutes aged 16 or 17 to plead ignorance to their age (those 15 and younger are already covered under the current law), therefore shielding pimps from prosecution under the crimes against children act. After learning of this I got in contact with two members of the Phoenix police department’s vice squad, Lt. Bill Schemers and Sgt. Clay Sutherlin. It was with their help that I got a real behind-the-scenes look at what’s really happening on the streets of Phoenix. And I got to see firsthand just how difficult their job is.
My first interview was with a 15 year old girl who had just been arrested for prostitution. What’s more, she’d been on the street for two years. It was a pimp who “turned her out” in just a day, raping her, assaulting her and then taking every penny she earned. She’d run away from state care after being removed from her home. She told me she made $2700 in one day once. It’s the part of Phoenix you won’t see on a postcard, but it’s a problem that is certainly not unique to Phoenix.
Perhaps… because it is not something to be proud of, there had been reluctance in the state legislature to pass HB 2342, the child prostitution bill. It closes the loophole that allows pimps to use underage girls with little fear of prosecution. With the invaluable help of the Phoenix police department I was able to do numerous stories on the problem of child prostitution. Then for some reason HB 2342, which had died in committee numerous times was reborn and recently it passed in the house 49-0 and was signed into law on June 13 by Governor Napolitano.
There is still much to be done, currently, the only option for police who catch child prostitutes is juvenile detention. Many of them are considered “throwaway kids”, kids that ran away from home and are never reported missing. Police need a better option than that, and they need stricter laws when it comes to dealing with “johns” who prey on kids, but HB 2342 is a start, and I am proud that in a small way I was able to help. I want to thank Lt. Schemers and Sgt. Sutherlin for their help. And I encourage all 3tv viewers to contact their local representatives and lobby them to push for tougher laws regarding child prostitution.
Arizona
Saturday night at the races was a real kick because I raced the Checker Auto/Discount Tire 360 Sprint Car on the half mile track at Manzanita Speedway.
It’s been over 2 years since I last raced on the larger of the two tracks at Manzy. It’s very fast and takes a lot of nerve to throw her sideways in the corner doing over 100mph. I ended up racing to 13th and definitely need more “nerve” to get into the top ten.
My next race will be Tuesday night July 3rd at Manzanita. There will be fireworks and it should be a lot of fun. In addition, you get to see some of the best Sprint Car drivers in the country including Jeremy Sherman who seems to be almost unbeatable.
35th Ave. & Broadway for the best show on dirt. Hope you see you there.
3TV Anchors & Reporters, Arizona, Scott Pasmore
So the first thing I heard when I got to the station during the wee hours this morning was a voice mail. The voice was that of a pleasant grandmother type. She even started off sweet when she said “Kim you’re so cute!” And I’m thinking that’s nice to hear this early! Then came the “BUT..” She continued with “Will you please CURL your hair? It’s really stringy sometimes and I just think if you’d curl it, you’d be even cuter!”
My initial thought was, is that my mom? Then I remembered no, my mom hates my makeup (she doesn’t think I wear enough lipstick) and this one skirt (says the slit is too high) but generally doesn’t have a beef with my hair. Hmm must be a legitimate and random voicemail from a viewer. Then I just kind of smiled to myself picturing this sweet elderly woman taking the time to look up the number to the station in the phonebook, call the receptionist, get patched through to my voicemail and leave me that message.
It’s hard to be offended at something like that because she had the best intentions. I think we do many mean things to each other everyday, granted unintentional, from cutting each other off in traffic to cursing out the person who accidentally cut us off in traffic. So this actually made me kind of happy. She put that much effort into trying to help out another person to make them the best they can be.
Funny thing about it all, Oprah started her show today talking about the emails and letters complaining of her “flat” hair lately. I thought wow, it’s pretty hard to pick apart oprah who’s always striving to be the best she can be but her hair has looked a little funny lately. So just like my sweet viewer who made the effort to call me, Oprah’s viewers just want to help her out. I say tell us what works and what doesn’t because sometimes a girl needs a better critic than her mom:)
Arizona
Raced the 360 Sprint Car in Tucson for the first time last Saturday night. Boy, was it a tough run. I was new to the track and it turned into a very dry, ice slick like surface and quite frankly, I just didn’t know how to drive on that surface. I knew there would be lots of crashes which there were and I played it safe and didn’t risk wrecking the car. As a result, I finished 11th which was my best sprint car finish.
Saturday, June 16th we’re back at Manzanita Speedway at 35th ave. & Broadway to run in the Hank Arnold Memorial. Arnold was a popular driver who was killed in a sprint car accident 4 years ago. It should be a great night as the Sprint Cars are on the larger, faster 1/2 mile track with the Midgets on the smaller track. I haven’t raced on the half mile for a couple of years, so I’m a bit nervous already.
Thanks again to my great sponsors who make it possible for me to race, Checker Auto Parts, Discount Tires, Burns Pest Elimination, Parker Stores, Desert Valley Auto Parts, Arizona color.com, Unique Heavy Towing, Oakley, Acme Powerwash.com and Arizona Race Mart.
3TV Anchors & Reporters, Arizona, Scott Pasmore
The image of a trout on a ten-speed come to mind as I embark on my first blogging adventure. I ‘ve got to confess I am one of those old-schoolers who has always believed that the best writing is done on a soggy cocktail napkin. This whole computer thing is sort of a stretch for me.
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Mike Watkiss
I passed the 30 year mark on television this week, all in Arizona beginning in Flagstaff.
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Arizona
Summer’s here and the time is right, for vacations, long weekends and day trips to our incredible National Forests. And as usual, our time in the forest again goes hand in hand with the driest conditions of the year. That means fire restrictions.
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3TV Anchors & Reporters, Steve Bodinet
It’s time to re-define the Arizona monsoon, our summer thunderstorm season. It’s time to set specific dates, on the calendar, which indicates the monsoon “season” has arrived and ended. It’s time to forget about dew points and the endless debate over whether a storm “is or isn’t” part of the monsoon. It’s time for the definition to apply to the entire state. It’s time to simplify.
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3TV Anchors & Reporters, Royal Norman
The Indy Tribute Race at Manzanita Speedway was a tough one for me, but then again, aren’t they all?
I was hit on the left front side in TWO races and both times bent some bars essential to steering. As a result, I didn’t make the 50 lap Main race.
So it’s back to the track this coming weekend June 9th in Tucson. It’s a really nice facility and should be a fun race. It will be my first time running on that track. If you’re down South and looking for some incredibly fun and exciting racing on dirt, check it out.
A big thanks again to all my sponsors who make it possible to get on the track every Saturday night.
Checker Auto, Discount Tire, Parker Store, Burns Pest Elimination, Canyon Home Builders, Desert Valley Auto Parts, Unique Heavy Towing, Arizona Color.com, Acme Powerwash.com and Oakley.
3TV Anchors & Reporters, Arizona, Scott Pasmore
About nine years ago, my life took an amazing turn for the better. I started exercising daily, spending more time cuddling and waking up every morning with a smile on my face. All because I started waking up next to a cuddly, smiling best friend. It began after a trip to the Pima County Animal Shelter.
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3TV Anchors & Reporters
