SML Christian Women’s Club

It was my pleasure to be the featured speaker today at the SML Christian Women’s Club luncheon honoring notable women in the community.  Everyone was so kind and attentive.  When I was first invited to speak… I didn’t really know what to say… I haev spoken to many groups in the past but I don’t like to use the same canned speech each time… there are certain examples and stories I usually share but with a fresh tone and some new ones too…

Lunch was great… I enjoyed getting to share my story of eventually ending up in my current role at WSLS and how much I love living so close to my hometown of Blacksburg… then afterward everyone sang Christmas carols… I got to stay for a couple including one of my favorites… Walking in a Winterwonderland…  I have placed a few snippets from the speech below… Thanks for the invitation Pam…

About how I ended up living at Smith Mountain Lake
“A little back story to how we ended up here… my husband and I started dating back in 1999 and being from Blacksburg the only lake I had ever known was Claytor Lake…  if you are familiar with that area you know it is much smaller than Smith Mountain Lake… Matt grew up coming here with his family… water skiing at age 5 and told me all about how great it was… on my first trip to the lake I didn’t get it… yes it is much bigger than most lakes – “500” miles of shoreline to be exact… but after a few visits it began to sink in and I too have grown to love Smith Mountain Lake and its growing community.“

About commuting to Roanoke for work
“When we first moved here many people worried about my commute… my Mom… Matt’s Mom… Matt… but I say it is well worth it.. there are many television markets where you can live 10 miles away and the commute is over an hour in bumper to bumper traffic… here I go over Windy Gap Mountain and as long as you watch out for deer it’s not too bad..“

About my work ethic
“While I wouldn’t trade my job for anything… I truly enjoy it… getting here was a challenge… I grew up in Blacksburg Virginia.. my family is still there and I graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Communication Studies… my parents are divorced and my mom worked really hard to make sure I got an education.. it was me.. my mom and my brother and they both taught me by their actions that if you work hard and treat people right and good things will follow… but you have to persevere…“

About what one potential News Director said to me as I was looking for my first job out of college
“Karen I find when women don’t know what they want to do with their lives they either major education or communication studies and they are usually blonde… you’re blonde right?”  at the time I wasn’t but I remember having to choke back burning tears because it hurt my feelings so bad.. I said thanks for your time and hurried off the phone because I did not want to give him the satisfaction of knowing I was hurt… I promptly called my mom who has always been there for me in any time of need… I explained what happened and in many ways she called it a blessing… she said Karen… better to find out now… would you really want to work for someone who thinks of others in that way?  There was great wisdom in my mom’s words… as I believe the saying “moms know best”  has a lot of credibility.“

About my first job being in Bluefield West Virginia
“Eventually I ended up working an over night shift in Bluefield West Virginia… I was eventually promoted to the morning anchor there and the best part about it was that I was only an hour and 15 minutes from home and my Grandma Davidson (my mom’s mom) lived 5 minutes away… and that is where I was meant to be… for months before as I searched for a job I never realized I would find one so close to home or that I would be so glad to be able to drive home when I needed to or to take my grandma to the bank or the mall because bless her heart she never had a driver’s license… I cherish those times with her as she passed away nearly two years ago from Alzheimer’s disease..  What would she have thought of the mean news director?  She used to say, “Karen, I love all people… I just don’t always like their ways.” 

About the challenges we face
“Seeing my grandmother fade away was one of the hardest times of my life… I couldn’t understand how someone so good would have to suffer for so long… there came a time when I was grateful for any words from her… I tried to learn how to play guitar a couple of years ago… I took it with me to visit my grandma – my aunt and mom cared for her at my aunts house until the very end… anyway – I played silent night on the guitar at the foot of her bed and she seemed to like it… then when I got done my aunt said – do you know anything else… the only other thing I had worked on was Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville… I decided to give it a try as my aunt spooned peaches into my grandmother’s mouth… I had only strummed a couple of chords when my grandma spit out her peaches looked at me and said, “That don’t sound good…”  my aunt my brother and I laughed so hard because it wasn’t what she said but that she for a brief moment knew what was going on around her…

Some of us are facing tough and challenging times right now. But the prayer that speaks most to my heart on a regular basis is this… Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.“