Ed Kelly

I have always thought that I was a very lucky and blessed person. I have two sons, ages 32 and 11 (no, that's not a typo) and two beautiful grandchildren, ages 5 and 3. That's the really important stuff.

Along the way, I've been fortunate to have two very rewarding careers, teaching and broadcasting. After 33 years teaching speech and journalism at Parkland College, I'm now semi-retired as Professor Emeritus. So, now I'm teaching half-time. Teaching keeps you young and I think I've learned at least as much from students as I've taught them.

About 43 years ago when I was a graduate student at the U of I (wow, that sure looks long when you see it in print), a local television station needed what's called a booth announcer. That's someone who you hear, but don't see. After that, I did weekend weather (the late Mr. Roberts was a very patient teacher), and if you're old enough, you might remember me as the host of the Dialing for Dollars Early Show, where we gave out some money if you could stand to watch the B movie. A little bit later, I did a News department segment called Action Report, where we investigated local consumer complaints. My last television job was as co-anchor of the 5pm news with Marta Carierra, who you may remember was long-time news anchor Jerry Slabe's wife.

The best part of a career is the people you meet along the way. And, after all those years, here we are again, on South Neil Street, this time at WDWS, working with dedicated professionals Dave Shaul, Carol Vorel, Steve Kelly, Karen York and me. It's a great ride.

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