ORLANDO, Fla. — Channel 9 anchor Vanessa Echols will retire Friday after 30 years at Channel 9 and 40 years in broadcast journalism.

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Echols and Greg Warmoth are the longest-running anchor team in Orlando television history.

Read: ‘She’s a survivor’: Vanessa Echols beat breast cancer & helped others do so, too

Watch them anchor together one last time now on Channel 9 Eyewitness News by clicking here. And read Warmoth’s heartfelt farewell letter to Echols below:

Read: ‘We’ve set a standard’: Vanessa Echols calls on the next generation to ‘rise to the occasion’

Dear Vanessa,

This letter, like the entire news of your retirement, is the definition of surreal.

I guess I was naïve thinking this day wouldn’t come, where we said good bye.

In my entire life, on-camera and off-, I can count on one hand, the people I’ve shared this amount of time with.

But unlike most, we sat inches and yes, sometimes six feet apart.

I told you about my family, my fears, my hopes and my dreams. You always listened. That’s the key word, you listened.

There is little doubt that you have earned a special place in Heaven for your patience and guidance with me.

TV viewers watch us (at least hopefully), but I was the one watching. I watched as you courageously battled and beat cancer.

I watched in awe as you came to work each day, even while sick, and never complained even once.

I watched as you lived a life of faith, never wavering from your belief and leading by example.

Those around you, who you knew and those you never met, could feel something special about you. And in turn, you made them feel something special about themselves.

Thank you doesn’t seem like enough. But thank you for your friendship.

Putting up with me should earn you sainthood! I will miss you so much.

I love you and the years we spent together will be cherished forever.

Greg

‘She’s a survivor’: Vanessa Echols beat breast cancer & helped others do so, too Eighteen years have passed since Channel 9 anchor Vanessa Echols received news that would change her life -- she was diagnosed with breast cancer. (WFTV)

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