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The Celtic Fest Best: The winning contestant does a jig.

My job at Fox Chicago includes far more than anchoring and reporting.  I emcee or participate in charitable events and dinners all year long – at least 4 or 5 a month.  Today, I joined other broadcasters in judging the “Men in Kilts” contest at Celtic Fest Chicago.

The Emcees: John Michael Dias and Timmy Quinlan from the Chicago production of "Jersey Boys"

Perhaps I felt a special link to this event because my husband is part Scottish.  He’s also Irish and German, with a family tree that even includes Abraham Lincoln!

When I mentioned my weekend plans earlier this week to cameraman Sean Gibbons, he said “You better bring two pairs of sunglasses, you’ll be looking at a lot of white legs!”

There’s a crowd of thousands and they were making a lot of noise.  But that made the judging a little easier.  Almost everyone agreed to disqualify one contestant because he was wearing a plaid blanket, not a kilt.

Sister Bernie keeps everyone in line.

Sister Bernie was on hand to make sure the contestants behaved – especially the guy with the “Commando” shirt. He was countered by a cute little boy in a “Got Kilt?” shirt.  The two guys who looked most authentic were the clear crowd favorites.  The guy who won did the best jig.  It was all in good fun, of course, with just about everyone laughing throughout.  At least, no one split their pants.

The Judges: Me, Lee Ann Trotter of NBC5 & Stacey Baca of ABC7. (Not pictured: Mary Frances Bragiel of WBBM Radio)

I’m on the South Side of Chicago attending a BBQ celebration for a former Fox Chicago co-worker and his new wife.  There’s a non-stop buffet of potato salad, jerk chicken, rib tips and peach cobbler.  Ah, great food and great friends – one of life’s best combinations. Production Assistant Mya Seals tells me not to bother blogging today. “Even the Lord rested on Sunday. Just one sentence. That’s all you need.” Oops, I wrote more than one.

Our 2008 campaign brought in $1.6 million worth of donations!

Truth be told, there’s often grumbling and grousing in the newsroom over sponsored segments or special partnerships. It’s quite the contrary with a major campaign Fox Chicago is set to launch soon for Hunger Action Month.  We are teaming up with supermarket chain Jewel-Osco and a number of local food banks to help raise funds and reel in donations.

This is our second year working with the folks at Jewel and I can honestly say it’s one of the most rewarding assignments of the year.  My co-anchor Patrick Elwood and I will soon host live segments during “Good Day Chicago” to highlight the “Give a Little, Feed a Lot” campaign.  As you might guess, our economy and the dismal job situation has the current level of demand for help far outweighing the supply.

Jewel-Osco donates over 7 million lbs. of food throughout the year.

Throughout September, Jewel-Osco will be collecting cash and food donations at all of its 183 Chicago area stores.  Or come out and donate during one of our live segments.  The donations will benefit the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Northern Illinois Food Bank, Food Bank of Northwest Indiana, Midwest Food Bank and River Bend Food Bank.

I will never forget meeting a tearful woman in suburban Westmont last year. She had a small bag of items she could barely afford.  But she wanted to donate because she was so grateful to her local pantry. It takes so little to make a difference.  Please help us to help others.

Join in the drive LIVE!  ”Good Day Chicago” 6-10am on:

9/3 2340 N. Ashland, Chicago;  9/10 2164 Bloomingdale Road, Glendale Heights;   9/17 805 Joliet Road, Dyer, IN;  9/24 9350 W. 159th, Orland Park

My Makeup Drawer: The "Scene"

Once again, all the extra makeup sponges are missing from my drawer at Fox Chicago.   It’s been months since weekend anchor Byron Harlan admitted to pilfering sponges.  He messaged me through the newsroom computer system with a confession that began, “Please forgive me.”    Never mind that you can buy a lot of makeup sponges for just a few bucks at the drug store less than a block from our studio!

All kinds of things go missing all the time.  Is it as common in other workplaces?  This is why our main makeup room is usually locked.  Valuable, studio-quality items often “walk” away.  After I lamented over makeup sponges today, meteorologist Mark Strehl told me he’s missing an entire suit!

Makeup Sponges: A Hot Commodity

Things are not safe in the break room refrigerator either.  Even items clearly marked with your name may not be there when you return.  More than once, food items stored for on-air segments have disappeared, forcing guests and producers to scramble for replacement items or alternatives.

It’s my own fault, I suppose.  We have lockers but I don’t keep it locked – afraid that’ll slow me down under deadline.  So now I’m hoarding and hiding makeup sponges.   Not in the fridge – someone might eat them.

Look, we’re not the same person! NBC5′s Nesita Kwan, CLTV’s Judy Wang, Me, ABC7′s Linda Yu & Joanie Lum, formerly of CBS2

I once told Connie Chung I could probably retire if I had a dollar for every time someone called me, “Connie”.  For a while, I gave up on correcting people.  I mean, what a compliment — she’s a TV news legend!  Connie laughed when I told her that whenever people said “Hi, Connie!”, I would just smile and reply “Maury says hello!”

But c’mon, everyone deserves a closer look and to be known as individuals.  You’d think single-syllable Chinese surnames would be easy to keep straight.  Why do so many people have trouble telling those of us on television newscasts apart?   After 8 years working in Chicago, it doesn’t happen as often.  But once in awhile, I’m called “Linda” or “Joanie” or some mangled version of our first and last names.

Earlier this week while covering a story in suburban Chicago, a man asked, “What are you? Are you Chinese?”  When I answered yes, he asked, “I have a friend in Taiwan. Maybe you know her?”  Are you kidding?!?!  And then he was compelled to tell me, “My son lives north of Seoul.” Uh, that’s in another country and I’m not Korean.  But I do appreciate that he was trying to connect with me and my heritage.

Perhaps this is all pretty trivial given our hectic times and the perilous state of television news. So please keep watching Fox Chicago and all other news sources. Appreciate the messenger. You know, ol’ what’s-her-name!

As if my family and Anchor/Reporter job at Fox Chicago didn’t keep me busy enough, here I am spending my day off blogging!  Well, I just can’t help myself after meeting and getting to know many of the women pictured above.  They are moms, entrepreneurs and businesswomen – part of a far more influential tech community in Chicago than you may think.  For me, they’ve been pure inspiration and, perhaps, the sisters I never had.

My tech mentors have taught me to use social media far more effectively.  I now approach my news assignments differently and I’ve surprised myself with my ability to multi-task while reporting from the field and anchoring in the studio.

There are others on the internet who’ve guided and encouraged me but here’s to some of the amazing women who’ve pushed me to make this blog a reality and to grow in new ways.   Get to know them, too.  Who knows what they may inspire you to do!

(In no particular order)

Beth Rosen, Sarah Evans, Liz Strauss, MJ Tam, Barbara Rozgonyi, Hope Bertram, Wendy Piersall, Jackie Cuyvers, Carrie Kirby, Duong Sheahan, Kim Moldofsky, Amy Ravit Korin, Lisa Martin, Allison Worthington.

All suited up and ready to fly!

When I was invited to skydive with the U.S. Army Golden Knight parachute team, I didn’t hesitate to say “Yes!”.  Like so many people, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do so why not learn from the world’s best?   My day began at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Ill.   Team leader Mike Elliot showed us the equipment and told us what to expect up in the sky. He’ll be handling my tandem jump. What an honor – he also handled the skydive for former President George H.W. Bush.

After suiting up and strapping on all the tandem gear, the Golden Knights Fokker plane takes us to an altitude of 13,500 feet. Yikes, that’s about 2.5 miles! I think my heart actually skipped a beat when they rolled up the door and I could see directly down to the ground. Within seconds, Mike has me at the edge of the plane as I think to myself, “Holy #%*@, we’re about to fall out of an airplane!” But he is strapped to my backside and I know I am in perhaps THE most capable hands in the military. Read the rest of this entry →