Kathi Goertzen
Kathi Goertzen | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 30, 1958 |
| Occupation | Co-anchor for KOMO-TV |
Kathi Goertzen (b. 1958-) is a longtime co-anchor of KOMO-TV along with Dan Lewis (the 6PM edition) and also the 5PM edition with Eric Johnson. She joined KOMO in June 1980, after the eruption of Mount St. Helens and since has done many newscasts including the fall of the Berlin Wall (She was the first local American TV news reporter to do so).
Before KOMO
Kathi Goertzen was born in Seattle on April 30, 1958. She graduated from Queen Anne High School, and had initially set out to be a veterinarian. However, having been witness to a dog autopsy changed her career goals, and she then set out to be a journalist, enrolling at Washington State University. Kathi Gortzen graduated in 1980 from Washington State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications. She is a member of the Omega Chapter of Alpha Chi Omega sorority. She had served as the anchor of the WSU's newscast and interned as a beat reporter at KREM 2 in Spokane. During this time, she reported about the eruption of Mount St. Helens and also graduated from the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication at Washington State University.
Career with KOMO
After joining KOMO-TV in 1980, she became a regular reporter. After one year, in 1981, she became a general assignment reporter, then in 1982, she took weekend news anchoring duties from anchor Kerry Brock. In 1984, she became co-anchor for the weeknight editions of KOMO 4 News with Jim Harriott. When the Berlin Wall fell, Goertzen was the first local American news reporter to report live from the scene at Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin.
Absences from KOMO
In 1990, she took a three-month maternity leave upon the birth of her first daughter, Alexa, and another maternity leave again in 1995 after her second daughter, Andrea, was born.
On December 1, 1998, it was announced that Goertzen had been suffering from a type of meningioma, a noncancerous tumor that grows on the brain stem that affects speech and the ability to swallow. The announcement led to tons of longtime KOMO viewers pouring support for Kathi, wishing for a speedy recovery.[1] Treatment went quick for the first occurrence, and she returned to KOMO News on January 3, 1999. [2] When she returned to the program, her co-anchor, Dan Lewis, said (in tears), "Kathi, don't ever leave me like that again."
The tumor recurred in 2005, resulting in Goertzen announcing a leave of absence on September 16. Because the tumor is located near nerves that are vital to speech, it could not be removed completely, it had regrown to where Goertzen announced on April 2, 2008 that she would be undergoing a third surgery to remove the tumor. The surgery "went better than expected" [1]on April 3, and after spending several months on an experimental chemotherapy drug used to fight kidney cancer (with high levels of success), it was announced on August 14 that Goertzen would resume anchor duties alongside Dan Lewis on September 2, 2008.[2]
A little more than two weeks following her return on KOMO 4 News, on September 18, Kathi Goertzen announced that the tumor had grown back yet again, and that she would undergo her fourth operation to have the tumor removed. Her announcement topped all the evening newscasts, with longtime news anchor Dan Lewis leading the 11PM newscast in tears. [3]
After a number of surgeries to remove the tumor, and five months off television, Goertzen returned to KOMO-TV on Monday, February 16, 2009.[4][5] The surgeries have partially paralyzed the right side of her face, resulting in difficulty blinking her right eye [6]. As a result of her surgeries, she's forced to wear glasses (in her 29-year history with KOMO-TV she's never worn them on-air). Her return to broadcasting the evening news was met with scores of "Welcome back, Kathi!" remarks by fellow KOMO colleagues and KOMO viewers.
Community Involvement
Kathi Goertzen served on the WSU Foundation Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2000. She is also a Board Member of the YWCA of Seattle-King County.
Personal life
Goertzen married Rick Jewett, a KOMO-TV account executive (formerly a sales executive, and previously a KOMO photographer), in 1993. Goertzen is a mother to two daughters. Alexa (age 18; from a previous marriage[7]) and Andrea (age 13).
References
- ^ KOMO's Goertzen cuts back anchor duties Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 29, 2003. Retrieved on March 31, 2008.
- ^ Kathi Goertzen goes back to late nights on KOMO/4 Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 9, 2006. Retrieved on March 31, 2008.