Articles Friday 09th of May 2008 
Quincy, IL
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WGEM TV :: Quincy, IL
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 Picture Of The Week
Maybe the smallest mushroom ever? Found at Siloam Springs State Park by Misty Steinkamp Send Photos to pictures@wgem.com
Les Sachs
Anchor/Senior Editor

Les Sachs was born in Warrenton, Missouri, and is a native of Wentzville, where he graduated from Wentzville High School. He is an alumnus of the University of Missouri at Columbia.

Les started with WGEM in 1973, and became News Director in 1983.

From 1989-1990, he was News Director of WHOI-TV in Peoria, Illinois, and from 1990 -1993, he was News Director of KGAN-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

He rejoined WGEM-TV in 1993 as News Director, and is now Senior Editor and Director of Public Affairs.
Shan Whiston
Anchor

Shan Whiston is a veteran and award-winning reporter at WGEM. She currently co-anchors WGEM News at 6.

Whiston was an integral part of the Flood of '93 news reporting, as well as the award-winning coverage of President Clinton's visit to Quincy in 2000. The Missouri Associated Press recognized Whiston with a first-place award for the half-hour documentary "A Bridge to the Future", the story of the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge.

In June of 2003, the Illinois Broadcasters Association honored Whiston with a Silverdome Award for "Best TV Anchorperson". Whiston has also been honored with the Women of Achievement Communications Award by the Quincy YWCA, and was named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International. As president of the Quincy Rotary East Club, Whiston started an annual basketball tournament that continues today, and has raised thousands of dollars in scholarship money for area students.

Whiston was also privileged to carry the Olympic torch for WGEM during the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay. She's co-hosted the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor Day Telethon for more than a decade, and has also served on the board of directors for many community agencies.

Away from work, she has taught media law classes at Quincy University, and enjoys spending time with her husband and two children. Whiston is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
Jake Miller
Anchor/Reporter

Jake joined the WGEM news team in November of 2005, and hit the ground running from day one.

Jake has covered news in seven states and has reported thousands of stories to tens of thousands of people. The Timothy McVeigh execution, the September 11th attacks and the South Pekin tornado of 2003 are some of the events that deeply affected Jake as a journalist.

Jake is an Indianapolis native and comes to the Tri-States from Fort Wayne, Indiana where he was a primary anchor, executive producer and reporter for the NBC affiliate. Jake has also worked in Peoria, Illinois and Terre Haute, Indiana.

"Reporting the news that matters to you and your family is not only my job, it's an honor," says Miller.

In June of 2007, Jake was honored with two first place awards and a second place award by the Missouri Broadcasters Association.

In his spare time, you can find Jake riding his Harley, playing golf, or cheering on the Indiana Hoosiers or Saint Louis Cardinals. Jake also plays guitar and enjoys watching movies.

Jake is a cohost of the Arthritis Foundation Telethon, is a supporter of the United Way of Adams County and volunteers annually for the Salvation Army.

Jake attended Indiana University and earned a B.A. in telecommunications and archaeology.

jamiller@wgem.com
Ben Marth
Sports Director

Originally from St. Louis, Ben has been with WGEM since 2002. He is the Sports Director for WGEM, and anchors the 6pm and 10pm Emmy winning weekday newscasts.

He is also the radio voice of Quincy University, and hosts two locally produced sports shows "Hawk Talk" and "The Sports Writers Show."

He anchored weekend sports at WGEM from May 2003 - April 2004 prior to his promotion to Sports Director in May 2004.

Before coming to WGEM, Ben was Sports Director for two radio stations in North Central Iowa and prior to that, he served as Associate Producer of the St. Louis Rams Radio Network during the Rams Super Bowl championship season in 1999.

He graduated from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana in 1999 with a Bachelor's degree in Communications.

Ben and his wife Kristy have been married for five years, and are the proud parents of a son, Jack and a daughter, Lilly.

During his free time Ben enjoys everything sports including football, baseball, basketball, golf, and hockey but most importantly spending time with his wife and kids.

Feel free to contact Ben Marth with any questions concerning the topic of sports at bmarth@wgem.com.
Tyler Tomlinson
Sports Anchor

Tyler Tomlinson was born and raised in Quincy, IL. He attended Quincy Senior High School and graduated in 1999.

Tyler went on to attend Culver-Stockton College in Canton, MO, where he received his degree in Journalism. He also played soccer all four years at CSC.

After graduating from Culver, Tyler then pursued his Master's degree from Central Missouri State University. While at CMSU, Tyler taught Public Speaking and Intro to Golf.

He also worked for KSIS Radio in Sedalia, MO, as the Assistant News Director and sports commentator.

He received his Master of Arts in Mass Communication in May, and began work at WGEM in September of 2005.
Rich Cain
Chief Meteorologist

Rich Cain is an Ohio native, but grew up in New York City, Aspen, New Jersey, & St. Louis.

His broadcast career began in 1985 at KRES/KWIX radio in Moberly, Missouri - the first broadcast facility in the country to have a Collins/Kavouras Doppler Radar.

In 1987, Rich moved to Quincy, and furthered his career at WQCY/WTAD as Operations Manager, engineer & DJ. Rich received an award for Excellence in Engineering for Studio design in 1988 from BME magazine, an international publication.

Then, in May of 1989, Rich joined WGEM. He has voiced a number of award-winning productions for WGEM. His voice is also heard in all other QNI broadcast markets around the country. Rich was awarded Best Weathercast in 2004 by his peers from the Missouri Broadcaster's Association, and in 2005, was awarded "Best Weathercast" by the Illinois Broadcaster's Association.

Rich is a graduate of Mississippi State University/School of Geosciences, where he earned his certificate in Broadcast Meteorology.

Rich spends much of his free time cooking and entertaining friends with his wife Nikki, and daughters Lauren and Audra. In addition to his many hobbies, Rich digitally restores & preserves old audio recordings to CD.
Brian Inman
Meteorologist

Brian Inman, a Quincy native, has been with WGEM since 2001, but has been in the weather business since 1989. He earned his forecaster certification from the Department of Defense.

While in the Air Force, he was recognized for his proficiency in radar interpretation, which led to his appointment as the Doppler radar coordinator for California. He was in charge of installating new Doppler weather radar sites, and training of Air Force and National Weather Service employees.

Brian also worked with the United Nations in Seoul at South Korea's version of Global Weather Central, in charge of creating forecast discussions and issuing weather warnings and typhoon advisories for the Korean peninsula.

After returning to Quincy, he was employed by Midwest Weather, providing weather reports for Quincy Municipal Airport. When he's not working, he enjoys spending time with his family.
Beau Hicks
StormTrak Weather

Beau Hicks is the weekend weatherman for WGEM News at 10. Beau can also be heard periodically during the week on the radio on WGEM NewsTalk Live.

During the week, Beau is the executive director of the Hannibal Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Katey Walls
WGEM News Today Anchor/Reporter

Katey Walls joined the WGEM News Team in June
2006. She became co-anchor of WGEM News Today in March 2007.

Katey is originally from Defiance, Missouri where her parents and younger brother still live.

Katey graduated with honors from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree of journalism in broadcast news and a minor in political science.

While at Mizzou, Katey reported for the NBC affiliate in Columbia and anchored the World News on their Today program.

Katey interned at CNBC Europe in London in 2005. There she assisted in writing, producing, and editing their early morning newscasts, all while meeting CEO’s and leaders from all over the world.

Katey loves writing and telling the stories of the people of the tri-states she’s met…and you are always welcome to email her!

When she isn’t busy at work, Katey likes to read, travel, watch news, try to cook and be artistic, spend time with family and friends back in St. Louis, cheer on the Cards (win or lose), play with her dog Brody (who happens to be one of the cutest in town), and do what she does best...shop.
Natalie Will
Anchor/Producer

Anyone who knows Natalie Will knows she's absolutely, positively not a morning person.

It actually takes three alarms to get her up and moving. One so she can hit snooze, another so she can at least crack her eyelids, then the third to scare her out of bed!

So it seems ironic that she's now part of the WGEM Today crew.

A native of the Tri-States, Natalie graduated from Payson Seymour High School in 1999.
From there she decided to chase a journalism degree at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Natalie started reporting at KOMU-TV and KBIA radio in Columbia, Missouri while in college.

She first worked at WGEM-TV as an reporter intern during the summer of 2003. It was in July of 2004 that she officially returned home to the Tri-States and WGEM-TV as a reporter.

Since then, Natalie says she has been blessed to report in front of her hometown crowd.

Natalie began anchoring WGEM News Weekend Edition in September 2005 and moved to WGEM News Today in May of 2006 and also anchors WGEM News at Noon.

When not busy at work she loves to spend time with her family and friends. She also enjoys a good book and hitting the stores to find that perfect bargain. From time to time Natalie also likes dabbling both in the kitchen and the garden...although she admits neither is a strong point.

Natalie says she is truly excited to set those alarm clocks to wake up with you on WGEM News Today.

Please feel free to email me Natalie at nwill@wgem.com with any suggestions, story ideas, or just to say hello.
Lesley Swick
Anchor/Reporter

Lesley Swick anchors WGEM News Weekend Edition.

Lesley grew up in Hancock County.

Lesley then went on to pursue a mass communications degree at Illinois State University. While at ISU, Lesley worked at the campus television station where she anchored, reported, and produced for a live daily newscast.

Lesley spent a summer as an intern with WGEM. After graduating ISU with honors, she returned to Quincy to start her journalism career.
Laura Johnson
Southeast Iowa Reporter

Laura graduated from Beardstown High School in 1999.

She then attended Western Illinois University, where she graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcasting.

During her senior year at WIU, Laura interned at WGEM News. Shortly after graduation, Laura was hired as producer of WGEM's Live at Five, and also worked as a part-time reporter.

In December of 2005, Laura, her husband John, and their dog Leia moved to Hamilton, Illinois. They have since adopted a second dog, Dax.

Laura now works as WGEM's Southeast Iowa bureau reporter, covering the Lee County area. She also fills in as an anchor.
Araceli Pedroza
Reporter

Araceli Pedroza joined the WGEM News team in October of 2006.

Originally from Chicago, Araceli attended the University of Illinois where she received a degree in broadcast journalism.

While earning her degree she worked as an intern editing and writing news stories with WICD in Champaign, IL and ABC 7 in Chicago.

In her spare time she enjoys to shop, cook and visit family and friends in Chicago.

Feel free to email Araceli at apedroza@wgem.com.
Andrew Hansen
Macomb Bureau Reporter

Andrew was hired in August of 2007 as a News Reporter and fill-in Sports Anchor after interning for the station that summer.

Hailing from Joliet, Illinois, Andrew graduated from Valparaiso University with a Major in Television/Radio and minor in Business.

At college, he broadcast Valpo athletics and newscasts for the college radio station, WVUR. He received "The Best Newscast" Award from the Indiana Association of Student Broadcasters and "Best Sportscaster" from his station.

He also worked for 720 WGN AM Chicago in the summer of 2006. There, he wrote sports updates and produced highlights for the Chicago Cubs Radio Network.

In his spare time, Andrew loves to travel, play lots of golf and head to Chicago.

He loves the fact that he gets to meet people everyday and report stories that have an impact on Tri-State area residents.

Feel free to email Andrew with any story ideas or events at ahansen@wgem.com. He would love to cover your stories.
Matt Schmidt
Executive Producer

Matt Schmidt was born and raised in Adams County.
He graduated from Camp Point Central High School and attended Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, graduating cum laude with a bachelor of arts in Radio-Television broadcasting.

Matt worked at WSIL-TV from 1994 to 1996, and at KHQA-TV for 11 years. Matt and his wife Carrie have three-year-old twins, Carter and McKenzie, and a new son, Mason.

Matt is a member of the Knights of Columbus, a certified car seat technician with Safe Kids Adams County, and member of Panther Pride Foundation for Central Schools.
Nora Baldner
Assignment Editor

Nora Baldner earned a BA in Political Science at UCDavis, and a MA in Journalism from Mizzou.

She's worked as a legislative assistant in Washington, D.C., interned at KCRA-TV in Sacramento, and covered the 1988 Republican National Convention in New Orleans.

Nora worked the weekend shift at WGEM from 1989-1991, then started getting up early for the morning show at WICS in Springfield, IL, from 1991-1992.

She spends a lot of time volunteering for community organizations, and serves on the boards of The Salvation Army and The Quincy Service League.

She also has two women's golf tournaments in her name (one in Quincy and one in Macomb), to benefit The Arthritis Foundation.

Nora is the Assigment Editor for WGEM News.
 
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