ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings proclaimed May 24 Vanessa Echols Day in the county.
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Demings presented the proclamation to Echols during the Board of County Commissioners meeting Tuesday morning.
Echols will retire Friday after 30 years at WFTV Channel 9 and 40 years in the broadcast journalism industry.
Do you know what today is? Yes, it's Tuesday. Yes, it's May 24th. But it's also Vanessa Echols Day in Orange County. ...
Posted by Vanessa Echols, WFTV on Tuesday, May 24, 2022
“During the three decades or so that Vanessa has been in the community, she has really been part of this community,” Demings said during the presentation.
Read: ‘We’ve set a standard’: Vanessa Echols calls on the next generation to ‘rise to the occasion’
Echols delivered remarks upon receiving the proclamation.
“I’ve always believed that when you are a journalist and when you move to a town, you don’t just cover the news, you become a part of the community,” she said. “And that’s what I have tried to do for the past 30 years. And so I think this proclamation just lets me know that you think that I tried to do a good job at that.”
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Demings’ wife, U.S. Rep. Val Demings, also offered Echols congratulations on her retirement.
“Some people -- they can work on a job for a long time and leave and not even know what they’ve done,” she said. “But you have truly made a difference, and you have so much to be proud of.”
Last week, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer visited the WFTV Channel 9 set to proclaim May 27 Vanessa Echols Day in the city of Orlando.
Thank you, @VEcholsWFTV for keeping #CentralFlorida residents informed for the past three decades during your time at @WFTV. As you prepare for your final newscast, we are reminded of your dedication and countless philanthropic activities that positively impacted our community. pic.twitter.com/FHNbcwcuUK
— Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings (@OCFLMayor) May 24, 2022
“I can’t think of this news community without you,” he said.
Click here to congratulate Echols on her retirement.
Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
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