Letter to the Editor

Former evening news anchor pens farewell letter with gratitude

Friday, November 22, 2024

Colleen Williams

I want to start with an apology. I am so sorry we didn’t get to say goodbye. I want everyone to know how much I have appreciated being part of your lives. It was such an honor to bring you the evening news for all these years.

I arrived in Nebraska in 1997 as a 23-year-old with short blonde hair, excited about her first big anchor job. Thank you for welcoming me into your homes from the very beginning. Not for one moment do I take that for granted.

I consider myself so fortunate to have had a career I thoroughly enjoyed. I was going to say I have no regrets, but I am sad that we didn’t get to say goodbye in the traditional way.

The feedback the news team received was always so positive. When someone would say “You guys are like family” I always thought I feel the same way. You always felt like family to me too. I kept waiting to be told Seth, Kent, Dave and I needed to stop having so much fun on the air. But that never happened. Later the good times on the anchor desk continued with Tim and Darren. It seemed the more fun we had, the more people enjoyed watching. Because of your support and loyal viewership, we all felt completely comfortable with just being ourselves.

I find myself thinking back to all the things we have experienced together over the past 27 years. I was living in New York on September 11th, 2001, and phoned the station to give a live interview after the second tower fell… I had the joy of being pregnant on-air, morning sickness during commercial breaks, donning an Ord football helmet to take cover from a tornado, ice storms, snowed in at the station, the moving of the archway, live at the state fair … this list really could go on and on…

Then there are the changes in technology. I can still remember the technical director writing “W. W. W. dot…” so I could announce a web address correctly. To go live, we needed a satellite truck. Now a cell phone does it all. The switch from analog to digital and now streaming. The idea that my goodbye is reaching you through your hometown paper feels so wonderfully full circle.

The news team had so many good times together. Kent was the biggest practical joker. Dave was the easiest mark, and Seth was always cracking us up. You’ve seen us celebrate marriages, birth of children, changing hair styles (!!), the graying of hair, the now need for readers… I’ve spent nearly half my life here on the on-air and (hopefully) on your television set.

I’m now close to celebrating 25 years of marriage… my oldest son, is a sophomore in college and my youngest, is a freshman in high school.

There’s been difficult times; the passing of Bob Geiger, Kent’s accident and later losing his wife Lori, Seth losing his father, Doyle, I went through several miscarriages, had a scare with breast cancer… all the things life throws your way… and you helped all of us get through it.

In 2021, I had the best time putting together the “Seth Denney Retirement Special.” I was able to spend months finding co-workers, dignitaries Seth interviewed, I even tracked down his track coach from McCook. This special is posted on YouTube if you’d like to take another trip down memory lane.

Had I had my own goodbye special, these are a few of the memories I would have wanted to share.

The Road Less Traveled was such a blessing. The very first town we drew from the bowl was Reamsville, Kansas, population 1! The decision was made to visit on a Sunday for a special potluck celebration at the church. Someone told me the volunteer custodian who only had use of one arm had stayed up most of the night to make sure the sanctuary was camera ready. I can’t even articulate how deeply that moved me.

I made many special friends on the Road Less Traveled. Like Ora Ruettimann, from Hamlet in Hayes County. Population 57. After conducting interviews, Ora invited cameraman Jared Gaedke and me back to her home for tea and cookies. She reminded me so much of my grandma and I loved her right away. She told us we could come back anytime we were in the neighborhood.

Well, little did Ora Ruettimann know we would take her up on the offer. You see, The Road Less Traveled, took us on a lot of roads, through a lot of places and this pregnant reporter soon discovered rest stops were few and far between. So anytime we were even close to Hayes County, we would pop in, usually with no advance notice, and Ora would throw open her door and welcome us in. She’d send us off with a treat and a hug then we’d make a promise to see each other again soon.

Time passed as it tends to do, the Road Less Traveled had reached its end and in 2010 I received an e-mail, which I still have. “Hi Colleen, I know on your ‘Road Less Traveled’ trips to southwest Nebraska you met a wonderful woman by the name of Ora Ruettimann…” The person was writing to tell me Ora had died.

I knew Ora’s daughter Jo worked at the Wauneta Breeze newspaper. I dialed the number right away. I identified myself and said, “Jo! I am so sorry to hear about Ora.” I will never forget Jo’s response. “Oh, Colleen. All I can think is I wish I could call my mom so I could tell her you called. She would be so happy to know you were thinking of her.”

Of all I was able to experience and accomplish, I think it’s the personal connections I’ll hold most dear.

Remember the boy who loved listening to Tim Reith’s voice during the forecast? 4-year-old Isaac is battling a rare disease and his mom put together a weather themed birthday party. Tim decided to surprise Isaac at the gathering, and I went along to document the moment. Later, I sat in my basement and through tears, edited together the story. On my Facebook page the story reached nearly half a million people. One comment said, “What Tim did is what life is all about.”

I LIVED for putting good news out into the world. I later learned when Isaac and his mom went to the doctor, the staff made quite the to-do about the “celebrity” in their midst. Years from now, I imagine I will still delight in the behind-the-scenes part I played in celebrating Tim’s generosity and making that amazing boy and his family feel special.

I’d like to share a time when viewers made a profound impact on my life. Last month, I was going through storage and found a sweater my dad knit by hand dad back in the 1960’s. My dad would have been so amused I was wearing it, and I wished I could tell him. I decided to share the story on my work Facebook page along the reminder to never miss a moment to connect with loved ones.

I thought that would be the end of it. And then, I received the most precious gift. I have tears as I type this. People commented (and I’m assuming they must be knitters themselves) on what a talented person my dad was to have created such a sweater. They commented what a tricky pattern it was, that the colorwork was fabulous and he did a fine job constructing it. Through these comments I was able to learn something about my dad. He was a talented knitter. His hands were skillful. I didn’t know that. It never once had crossed my mind. It was always just ‘the sweater my dad knit.’ Do you know how amazing it is to discover something new about someone who is gone? It’s like a beautiful footnote added to his story, when I thought every page had already been written.

So, when I say that you have meant something to me, even if we haven’t ever met in person, I mean it.

I can remember telling a good friend about a remarkable person I was profiling named Henry Beachell from Grant, NE. She said, “I can’t believe no one has made a movie about him!” and I responded, “it’s because we haven’t written it yet.” So, Heather and I wrote a screenplay about Henry Beachell called THE IMPORTANT MAN. And would you believe it was recognized as one of the top scripts of the year by the Academy Nicholl Fellowship screenwriting competition (same organization that hands out Oscars.) We remain forever hopeful that one day this important Nebraska story will find its way to the big screen.

I have had the extreme blessing of working with so many talented people. I’m so grateful to all the co-workers who made work so enjoyable. You all have a place in my heart.

There are a few others who didn’t get the A-list sendoff as well. First, Dave Griek. Dave was an amazing partner and friend. I enjoyed you and our time together tremendously.

Sara Kirkley, you took such pride in your work and will always be one of the hardest working people I know.

To all the members of the production team who also had their last day on 9-8-2024, Razer, Kendra, Kolton with your stomach of steel, Corey, Joe and Laura, thanks for everything, and I wish I could have given you a ticker-tape farewell.

To all of you who let me come into your homes all these nights over the past 2 decades, it doesn’t have to be goodbye for good. I plan to keep my Facebook Page and YouTube Channel now called “Colleen Williams presents.” Find me there! I just set up a new phone number 402-834-1307 for anyone who wants to leave a voicemail sharing what the news team has meant to you. This is a step I feel I missed for healing and closure.

If you see me out and about, please say Hi. Don’t be alarmed when I act like we are already friends. Because here’s a confession. It’s not an act. We are friends, we just haven’t officially met yet. And you have always, always mattered to me.

With a heart full of gratitude and appreciation, “have a great night!” and I’ll see you soon.