access atlanta

As an ATLIEN this is a sad day in news.

Local news anchor Amanda Davis has announced her retirement from FOX 5 after 26 years of dedicated service to the news station.

Access Atlanta reports that long-time broadcast anchor Amanda Davis announced her retirement from WAGA-TV after more than 26 years at the station.

She did so in a message aired on the Fox 5 at 10 p.m. newscast.

“There have been awards, honors and accolades. There have also been challenges, disappointments and stumbles,” Davis told the audience at 10:14 p.m. Then paraphrasing Psalm 23:4, she said, “Yea, though I have walked through the valley, with God’s help, I made it through. And that’s what I want you to know. I am blessed. So it’s with a heavy heart that I announce now that I am officially retiring from Fox 5 as I look ahead to a new chapter in my life.”

Davis was arrested by Atlanta police Nov. 11 after she crashed her car going northbound in a southbound lane on Piedmont Ave. off 14th Street in Midtown, hitting and injuring another driver. She was charged with reckless driving, failure to maintain lane and DUI.

She was taken off the air and has been awaiting trial at Fulton County state court.

Davis, who has not submitted to any interviews since the arrest, did not mention the DUI case on air.

Co-anchor Russ Spencer (“My TV husband,” she said.) and meteorologist Ken Cook (she called “Cookie”), both long-time Fox 5 veterans as well, came up to her and  offered their own accolades.

“We want to thank you for what you meant to us,” Spencer said. “We hope you know how much we love and appreciate you.”

They aired tributes from retired Channel 2 Action News anchor Monica Pearson, former Atlanta mayor and U.N. ambassador Andy Young and V-103 morning host Ryan Cameron. This was followed by a highlight reel of her time on the station her coverage of Coretta Scott King’s funeral, an interview with Pres. Barack Obama and her work with Wednesday’s Child, a weekly Fox 5 feature that helped place foster children into adopted homes.

“Wednesday’s Child became a labor of love for me,” she said. “I really felt like we as a station made a difference and it afforded me the opportunity to really connect with some young people and make their lives better.”

Amanda Davis will be missed. Let’s pray that things work out for Amanda.

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Story via: Access Atlanta