Thanks for watching.
Brenda

Have you picked out your funniest pink hat,combed out your pink wig, or bought your new track shoes yet for the "Race for the Cure"?

No? Okay, that's alright, you have time. It's not until Sunday, September 21st.
I just wanted you to start thinking ahead. Mark that day on your calendar.

I always love to see the crazy outfits people wear to celebrate the Portland- Vancouver "Race for the Cure".

I started thinking about the race today, because I emceed a luncheon where "Susan G. Komen For the Cure" recognized organizations that receive funding from Komen and the race to help fight breast cancer in our community.

I thought you'd like to know where some of the money goes that you help raise.

75% of the money raised stays in Oregon and Southwest Washington to fund vital programs and services.

The other 25% is combined with other Komen affiliates nationwide to fuel national research.

Just today, "Komen for the Cure" announced the awarding of 100-million dollars in scientific research grants to help find a cure for breast cancer.

That is the largest amount in Komen's 26 year history... and a 30 percent increase over last year.

Hip Hip Hooray for all of us!

Nearly 48-thousand of us who raced did our part by raising more than two-million dollars.

Here in Portland, we awarded nearly One and a half MILLION dollars to 28 organizations to help in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

Organizations cover the entire state and SW Washington: from Portland and Vancouver to Medford, Burns,Celilo,Salem and Grants Pass.

Komen's goal is to try to reach as many people as possible in the state regardless of race,nationality,sexual orientation or special needs.

Grantees include the African American Health Coalition; the Asian Health and Service Center;The Celilo Cancer Center serving Native Americans; the Russian Oregon Social Services; Providence Medical Center's Vietnamese-American Health Promoter Training Program; and Hacienda CDC, serving Latina women.

Together, we can meet Komen For the Cure's promise of a world without breast cancer.
We are getting closer to that goal everyday.

So, start thinking about warmer weather and summer time, and getting your team together for this year's "Race for the Cure".

Because we are all on the same team. Thank you for racing for the cure.

Laural

This year the Children's Trust Fund of Oregon asked several local "celebrities" to paint a picture for their upcoming event. We were supposed to come up with an interpretation on the theme "Happy, Healthy Families."

Since my artistic abilities peaked at age 5 with some fine finger-painting masterpieces I knew I needed some assistance. So I enlisted the help of my 9-year-old daughter Ali who is fearless and bold with her expressions on canvas. We decided to offer a whimsical nod to our "Good Fortune" at becoming a family. As many of you know we are a Chinese-American family brought together through adoption. We believe a family is defined not by blood but by the heart.
And we believe we are meant to be together. This is why we decided to include our favorite Chinese legend. It says "An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to be together, regardless of time place or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break." So here is our paintings and a couple of the others that will be on display.

This is a neat one by Margie Boule at the Oregonian.

And my personal favorite from Rama the Elephant at the Oregon Zoo!

It's all for a critical cause. The Children's Trust Fund of Oregon was formed in the mid 1980's with a mandate to find ways to prevent child abuse. Over the past 22 years it has distributed over 6.1 million donated dollars to local programs serving Oregon families.

This Blue Ribbon Celebration is set for Thursday, April 24th from 5 p.m.-7:30 p.m. You'll be able to mingle shop and socialize in the Governor Hotel's Grand Ballroom. And of course admire some art that at the very least comes from the heart. You can find out more at
http://www.ctfo.org

Ali and I send ours with prayers for all the children still waiting for their red thread connection.

And as always thanks for watching.

Tracy Barry

How about some photos for the road?

I took the one below to show you what we see from the anchor chair: 3 cameras with teleprompters and tv monitors. When I started at KGW in 1985, people ran the studio cameras. Robots do the job now.

One of my favorite producers, Scott Collins

Director Chris Pausz and I both started working at KGW in 1985. We were children:)

Meteorologist Ron Pedersen, who fills in regularly at KGW, worked with me at a TV station in Bend many years ago. That was my first job in television

with KGW Up-and-Comer Katherine Cook

NOW FOR SOME GOODBYE PARTY SHOTS...

with KGW News Photographer Brian Robertson, the one who suggested I interview the "I like Turtles" boy (Jonathon Ware- a great kid, by the way) Little did we know that random interview would become an internet sensation.

A GOODBYE PARTY WITH THE WEEKEND CREW (We are a fun and subversive group.)

Joe Becker makes the most delicious chili-cheese dip. Seriously!

My dear friend and long-time producer Nancy Vardanega lovingly grills the hot dogs for our weekend potlucks, which we affectionately call "Hot Diggedy Dog Days."

Editor Emily Albrechtsen dug out embarrassing old video clips from the KGW archives and put together a couple of goodbye montages for my last newscasts.

Click here to watch the Goodby Video Montage she edited.

Here my husband and 3 daughters watch one of the pieces Emily produced. They are startled by my startling outfits from eras past. Such as....

What WAS I thinking?

I took this shot to give you a better view of our robotic cameras. On occasion, they will crash into each other. It's hard not to laugh when this happens.

My daughters on the set on my last night at KGW. Sort of a final "take-your-daughter-to-work" day

My friend and now former co-anchor, Amy Troy

Many thanks to all. I will not forget you.

All the Best,
Nancy Francis

First of all, I want to say thanks for all the kind emails and comments over the past couple of weeks.

Secondly, as promised..my mullet photo. In my defense, I pose this question: Is there anyone 40 or older who did NOT have a mullet at some point? Look... even Jane Pauley had a mullet variation! And how do you like our shoulder pads?

This was taken on the set of "The Today Show" at NBC in New York. That's Bryant Gumbel on the right. We were shooting a promo for "News 8 at Sunrise," my first newscast at KGW. It aired at 6:30 am, followed by "The Today Show" at 7. Easy money, when you consider that "Newschannel 8 at Sunrise" currently starts at 4:30 am!

Now for some more odds and ends from the scrapbook:

With legendary KGW meteorologist Jack Capell. I was visiting the station while on maternity leave with my youngest daughter, Colette.

Joe Becker has worked at KGW longer than anyone else on-the-air right now, including me. This summer, he marks 24 years.

This photo with Tom Browkaw was taken in the KGW newsroom in the late '80s. I had been at my computer typing when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. Imagine my surprise to see it was Tom Brokaw... who wanted to ask me a question about our computer program. He was in town to anchor NBC Nightly News from the top of the US Bank Tower.

Cover of The Oregonian's "TV Click" with my then-coanchor Russ Lewis in 1999.

FROM "BENJI THE HUNTED"

On the set with Benji in Cascade Locks. The photo below shows Benji in his (actually HER) golf cart. In the kennel below is the stunt dog, Barney. (I am not making this up!)

My scene was shot at the Coast Guard station in Newport on a clear, warm summer night. It was supposed to take place in a fierce rainstorm, which was made possible by several fire hoses that pummeled us on cue. It took about twelve hours to shoot a scene that lasts about two minutes.

New York

With my oldest daughter, Allison (now in college) serving at the annual dinner the Trailblazers host for the homeless. What I remember most about that day was that Rasheed Wallace (who dished out food with us) was kind to Allison.

Newspaper clipping showing me with my daughter, Anna at the Grand Floral Parade

And finally, for those too young to know: That rectangular object in the upper left is called a typewriter. I thought it was cool because it was electric!

My last day at KGW is April 6th.

Some people are astounded when they hear I've been at KGW for 22-plus years. Candidly, the fact is I would not have lasted that long if KGW had not allowed me to work a part time schedule for much of that time.

I have three daughters. After my first daughter was born, I returned to work full time: anchoring weekends (a night schedule) and reporting (a daytime schedule) three days a week. After several exhausting months, it became clear to me I wasn't doing anything particularly well; I wasn't performing to my satisfaction as a journalist or a mother.

I did not want to quit my job. But I knew that, realistically, it would eventually come to that unless there was some kind of compromise. Something had to give.

I don't believe there is a universal formula for a work/family balance. I would never dare to presume to know what other parents should do to achieve the right balance. Furthermore, many parents simply cannot afford to cut back on work, much as they might want to do that. Every situation is different; not everyone has the same options.

All I knew was what seemed best for my child and family in the context of the demanding profession of television news and the particular schedule I had.

My proposal to my then-boss: Reduce my hours, my pay, and my benefits.

I thought it was a win-win, but the news director at that time (1989) was resistant to the idea. After considerable back-and-forth, he agreed and KGW allowed me that privilege for many years, even though it wasn't necessarily always convenient for the news operation. I would like to thank KGW for that.

I hope that sharing my story publicly might encourage other companies to keep an open mind when it comes to compromising with their employees during various phases of their careers and family life. More often than not, in my opinion, it makes good business sense.

Back to the photo album
THEN......

with Allison (now 19)

with Anna (now 14)

with Colette (now 11)

NOW...

Michael told me he's humbled and honored to be recognized but around here we've always recognized his hard work and talent. He's been getting folks where they're going for 15 years in Portland-- the last four here at NewsChannel 8!

One thing you may NOT know about Michael is that he gets cold feet--- not about being on
TV.. I mean.. he gets COLD FEET in our heavily air conditioned HD studio.
This morning I noticed thick, white socks peeking out from his suit slacks and he 'fessed up
to the reason behind this "fashion statement." : )
Dave Salesky couldn't resist snapping a picture

Congrats again, Michael, on the best TV traffic reporter award. Well deserved!
You can catch his traffic reports Monday through Friday on Newschannel 8 at Sunrise from
5 to 7am. He's also watching the roads during the Today Show. Catch his updates at 7:27am, 7:57am and 8:27am.

Brenda Braxton

What's really neat is that word of the bears plight is spreading through knitting groups throughout the country I also heard from a viewer who doesn't knit but has figured out how to make them out of fleece because she can sew.

If you didn't get a chance to see the story when we aired it you can still watch it now. I just checked and it is still on our website. Just go back to the home page, click on news, then special reports and you'll see it there.

I'm going to check with the zoo to see how many are coming in and maybe we can do a little follow up story. I'll let you all know.

Thank you so much for caring about this... and as always thank you for watching.

Tracy Barry

"What a wonderful career I had. I only wish I could remember more of it."
-Me

* * * * * * * * * * * *
Probably the biggest regret of my career is that I did not keep a journal or at least a list of all the stories I covered. That would make it a lot easier to answer all the recent questions about what were my favorite or most memorable stories.

The pace of a television reporter's day is usually so dizzying that once it begins, the previous day's story is like a vapor. I'm sure I've covered a lot of stories that would be considered extraordinarily memorable... if my memory didn't fail me.

I do remember my first live shot in Portland was the grand opening of Pioneer Courthouse Square. I also remember when the first MAX train officially pulled into downtown for its first morning commute, Teresa Richardson and I were broadcasting "News 8 at Sunrise" live from the Square.

I remember exciting election nights, the exuberance at the winners' parties and the awkward quiet at the losers' gatherings...and then the fun esprit de corps in the newsroom later as all the reporters returned from their assignments with election night gossip.

I remember so many gracious and kind people who talked to me even though they didn't have to.

REPORTING FROM THE OREGON STATE PENITENTIARY

I remember so many tragic and/or perverse stories I'd just as soon forget, frankly.

I remember crime victims inspiring for their capacity to forgive.

I remember receiving a phone call from a woman I'd interviewed about 15 years earlier. She'd been part of a story I did about women on welfare trying to improve their lives and become more independent. She was calling to tell me she was getting her PhD!

More recently, I remember marvelling at a march and vigil in NE Portland in honor of Portland Police Officer Mark Zylawy, killed in a crash on I-5. I'd never seen anything like that outpouring of support. The people paying tribute to him were not the types you'd expect would march in the icy rain to honor an officer. One mournful young man politely turned down my request for an interview; he told me there were warrants out for his arrest, so he did not want to be on TV. Yet there he was, mourning the loss of an officer so beloved by that neighborhood.

I remember savoring the beauty of our region: the healing landscape at Mt. St Helens, the majesty of Multnomah Falls seen above from Sky 8, snowflakes big as butterflies on Mount Hood.

Speaking of Mount Hood, I remember hands so cold they hurt.

I remember the best news photgraphers in the Northwest.

UNFORTUNATELY, NOT ALL OF OUR WONDERFUL PHOTOGRAPHERS WERE AROUND FOR THIS PHOTO. NO DOUBT THE ABSENT ONES WERE OUT SHOOTING MORE AWARD-WINNING STORIES.

I remember the day some pranksters "kidnapped" an owl from the zoo. It was found that night, safely perched on the toilet seat in a restroom of an AM/PM market in NE Portland. That's what you call good video!

I remember a campaigning George H.W. Bush (the elder) behind the wheel of a big rig for a photo op at Jubitz Truck Stop.

I remember President Clinton coming to town for the Timber Summit.

I remember interviewing a woman who claimed to be psychic and hoping she could not read my mind because, as she spoke to me, I was thinking she was crazy!

I remember standing outside Julianne Phillips' parents' house in Lake Oswego with a throng of reporters. We were waiting for her fiance, Bruce Springsteen, to drive up for their imminent wedding. We got so excited when a limo rounded the corner, but were disappointed it was full of some high school kids on their way to a prom. A pizza delivery guy later brought pizza to all of us. We learned "the Boss" was inside the house the whole time and he was the one who ordered the pizza for us.

I remember interviewing Oprah Winfrey (twice! I'm lucky.) and falling under her spell. Oprah IS impressive!

Oh yes, and this...

For the record: KGW Videojournalist Brian Robertson should get credit for noticing "Turtle Boy" Jonathon Ware and suggesting that I interview him. I only wish Jonathon made some college money from his YouTube fame.

I guess I remember more than I thought.

Now some ancient photos...
These are from an old article in a now-defunct weekly paper in Bend. I was fresh out of college and working my first TV job.

Yes, that is a MANUAL typewriter in the photo above.

Barely out of college and interviewing Senator Mark Hatfield. Look at the camera!
* * * * * * *
FAST FORWARD TO YESTERDAY...my last day reporting "in the field"
I was fortunate to work with the legendary multi-award- winning photojournalist, Kurt Austin.



GETTING READY FOR OUR NOON LIVE SHOT


KURT WITH SATELLITE TRUCK WIZARD DAN DUGAN

WHAT THE REPORTER SEES DURING A LIVE SHOT.
(What a reporter MAY be thinking during a live shot: "Why am I standing in the cold pouring rain talking about something that happened INSIDE while Matt Zaffino is in the dry warm studio talking about the pouring rain? :=)

HURRAY! OUR DAY IS DONE.

More later, including..."Anchor Hair:Variations on a Mullet"
STAY TUNED.

Iran and Iraq were at war (with each other). A crimson-clad guru was holding court in Central Oregon. And an up-and-coming singer named Madonna was (not) "Like a Virgin."

There was no such thing as blogging.

MY KGW ID CARD, ISSUED MY FIRST DAY

Almost 23 years later, I am getting ready to sign off for the last time. It's time for something new. I've just been accepted into graduate school at Lewis & Clark, where I plan to get a Masters in Education. Ultimately, my plan is to be certified to teach language arts at the high school level.

It's more than a little daunting, changing course at this stage. I have so much to learn, so much to re-learn. Let's just say I haven't written a thesis paper in....uhmmm...about a quarter century.
I'm sure it will be humbling to face a class for the first time.

But I am excited. I feel fortunate to have had all the opportunities KGW has given me. I also feel lucky to have this new one.

My last day reporting "in the field" will be this Friday, March 7th. After that, I will continue my regular weekend anchor duties until Sunday April 6th. That will be my final broadcast.

In the meantime, I'll be going through some old mementos. I'm going to try to make time to share some of them on this blog.

Amy and I had fun with the one below. My first co-anchor at KGW was Teresa Richardson. The ad below appeared in TV Guide in 1985. When I saw it, I was struck by how much Amy resembles Teresa. It's as though I've done a 360! So after the 5pm news tonight, Amy and I struck a pose and enlisted Joe Becker to take a reenactment photo:

Pretty amazing, huh! More later.

I loved this blog, it really made me smile!
I have 12 & 14 year old boys, I don't think the eye roll is as common with boys as it is girls, but I still do get it occasionally.
But let me tell ya, I enjoy each and everyone of them. The boys and I had a difficult 2007 as I left a bad marriage (their step dad) and then was diagnosed with breast cancer. Enjoy every little moment with your kids…
Oh and go for the belly piercing, I did it two years ago and I love it!

Thank you,
Kathy
****
So, what do you think, should I take the piercing plunge?

Laural

Here's my original blog
"When Your Teen's eyes Roll"

My daughter's eyes rolled so far back in her head and her eyes
fluttered for so long that I thought maybe she was having a seizure.

But, when she finally opened her eyes and looked at me, I realized
she had just done an especially long teenage eye roll.

It was a reaction to a question my husband asked about her school day during dinner one night.

I really can't remember what he asked, but I'll never forget the eye roll.

My other kids, also teenagers, and I laughed. She made her point.
End of discussion on that topic.

This happened on the same day I read an article about teen brains and moodiness.
It has something to do with an area of the brain called the armygdala, which is involved with fear and emotions.

Apparently, it's still maturing in teens, and may explain why teens talk back to their parents,and maybe why they roll their eyes.

I wondered if I had the eye roll mastered when I was a teen. I have to remember to ask my Mom, though, I am sure I couldn't have done it as well as my daughter did.

I have loved raising teenagers. I have three teenage daughters and a 13 year old son.

We have fascinating dinner conversations and they try to keep me just a little bit hip.

The same daughter who rolled her eyes convinced me to let her get the upper cartilage on her ear pierced for her 16th birthday.

I had let my oldest daughter do it a few years ago, so I could hardly say no.

I remember former KGW Newschannel 8 staffer, Colin Cowherd, gave me one piece of advice that stuck with me.

"Piercing her upper ear, hec' that's better than a lot of other things.
She'll just rebel if you don't give in on the little stuff."

So, Colin is the reason all three of my daughters have extra assorted piercings.

I took them to a local place with a scary name, but it was sanitary and the people were nice and professional.

While we were there, I joked that I had thought about getting my belly button pierced.

My daughters said, "That is disgusting, Mom!"

( I knew they meant disgusting on me, not the piercing itself.)

I think that's when I did my own eye roll!

I'd love to hear your stories about raising teens.

Laural

But, when she finally opened her eyes and looked at me, I realized
she had just done an especially long teenage eye roll.

It was a reaction to a question my husband asked about her school day during dinner one night.

I really can't remember what he asked, but I'll never forget the eye roll.

My other kids, also teenagers, and I laughed. She made her point.
End of discussion on that topic.

This happened on the same day I read an article about teen brains and moodiness.
It has something to do with an area of the brain called the armygdala, which is involved with fear and emotions.

Apparently, it's still maturing in teens, and may explain why teens talk back to their parents,and maybe why they roll their eyes.

I wondered if I had the eye roll mastered when I was a teen. I have to remember to ask my Mom, though, I am sure I couldn't have done it as well as my daughter did.

I have loved raising teenagers. I have three teenage daughters and a 13 year old son.

We have fascinating dinner conversations and they try to keep me just a little bit hip.

The same daughter who rolled her eyes convinced me to let her get the upper cartilage on her ear pierced for her 16th birthday.

I had let my oldest daughter do it a few years ago, so I could hardly say no.

I remember former KGW Newschannel 8 staffer, Colin Cowherd, gave me one piece of advice that stuck with me.

"Piercing her upper ear, hec' that's better than a lot of other things.
She'll just rebel if you don't give in on the little stuff."

So, Colin is the reason all three of my daughters have extra assorted piercings.

I took them to a local place with a scary name, but it was sanitary and the people were nice and professional.

While we were there, I joked that I had thought about getting my belly button pierced.

My daughters said, "That is disgusting, Mom!"

( I knew they meant disgusting on me, not the piercing itself.)

I think that's when I did my own eye roll!

I'd love to hear your stories about raising teens.

Laural

If you missed the story you can watch it on the web under special reports right here at kgw.com.

Hi Tracy,

Thank you for drawing attention to the plight of moon bears in China. I am from Portland and am in Beijing through the summer Olympics. Animals Asia Foundation is doing great work. Another sad issue is the condition of the animals in the zoos over here. If zoos can be considered prisons then the animals in the Beijing zoo all live on death row. I wonder if this is something that the Oregon Zoo might be able to help with in some way as well? Again, thank you for your attention to the moon bear issue.
Sharon

And as always, thank you for watching and in this case knitting!

Tracy Barry

Honestly, until recently I knew nothing about these bear farms so I'm guessing that many of you don't either. A few weeks ago I finished reading a novel by Lisa See called Flower Net that deals with the bear farms. Since it was a novel I couldn't help but wonder if the bear farm descriptions were real. I'm sad to say they are.

You can imagine my surprise when that same week I got an email from the Oregon Zoo asking me if I wanted to do a story on some volunteers trying to help a group that rescues the bears. Clearly it was meant to be. The volunteers are knitting mittens to keep the bears warm when they are operated on at the rescue center. You have to see how big these mittens are!

This is a tough subject. The bears are "milked" for their bile which is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. I want you to know the shocking truth about what's going on, but I don't want to be so graphic that you can't stand to watch the story. I hope I've hit a balance. One thing I don't get into is that studies have shown repeatedly that the bear bile is an effective treatment for many medical issues. Since it's been used for 3-thousand years getting people to accept the just as effective synthetic replacements is very difficult.

I want to offer a couple of links so you can learn much more if you are so inclined.

You can read about the organization trying to end bear farming at
http://www.animalsasia.org

The yarn shop that is helping zoo volunteers make mittens for the rescued bears is
http://www.twistedpdx.com

The yarn shop Twisted is really cool by the way. One of the owners Emily Kizer came up with the pattern for the bear mittens. Emily did admit when the call first came in from the zoo she thought it might be a prank! But it checked out. The zoo sent her over a picture of what the bear paw looked like and some dimensions and she went to work.

Check it out and as always thanks for watching.

Tracy Barry

I was delighted to find inside a nice note from a woman I had just interviewed and
a pretty pink necklace her sister had made.
The necklace is called a "Love for Lisa" pendant, made by Krissy for her sister, Lisa Carmody of Tigard.

The necklace is inspired by the pink ribbon symbol of breast cancer awareness,but it has
its own unique interpretation with silver leaves and pink flower petals to signify life, with the petals forming hearts representing love.

It's a perfect symbol for a courageous woman, wife and mother, who is facing breast cancer with more strength and grace than I could ever imagine having myself.

41 year old Lisa Carmody learned she had breast cancer at Thanksgiving time.
She had her first chemotherapy treatment on December 6th.
That coincidentally is my birthday.
When I heard this, I thought while I was worrying about turning another year older, Lisa was dealing with losing her hair and how to tell her three precious daughters, that their Mommy has breast cancer.

Lisa got some help in this difficult situation from her oncologist, well-known breast cancer surgeon, Dr. Nathalie Johnson.
Dr. Johnson is the Medical Director for the Legacy Cancer Program, and somehow found the time to write a book, "Mommy Found A Lump".
It's designed to help young moms diagnosed with breast cancer explain what is happening to their Mom and their family.

I spent an afternoon with Lisa as she read "Mommy Found A Lump" to her daughters, Nicole, age 7;Kayla, age 5; and Christine age 3.
The story is told through the eyes of 7 year old Julianna, and helped Lisa's girls ask their Mom
questions.

"Mommy how long will you be in the hospital?"
"Is that where you get your medicine, Mommy?"

Lisa and her husband,Pat, inspired me with their courage and optimism in the face of what could be a family crisis.
Through their love, their family's support, and their doctor's skills and compassion; the Carmody family is turning the experience into one that is making their family even stronger.

Please join me for a Newschannel 8 special report, "Cancer Comes Home" at 5pm on Tuesday,February 5th, and meet the Carmody family.

I think the two minutes you spend watching their story will leave you uplifted.
It certainly affected me in a profound way and I will proudly wear my
"Love for Lisa" pendant.

Somehow it seems by showing our support for Lisa, she is giving us strength.

Laural