Hometown girl a star

Hanover’s Sutton
anchors the news in Nashville, Tenn.

Southwestern High alumna
has made it big in broadcasting

By Amy Casebier
Contributing Writer

Kelly Sutton’s family keeps asking her when she will get a normal job.
“They’re used to the craziness,” she said. “Crazy has become the norm. You don’t do 9 to 5. That doesn’t happen.”

Photo provided Kelly Sutton began her rise to TV news stardom by participating in beauty pageants in Indiana and Ohio.

Kelly hosts the show, “Tennessee Mornings,” on FOX-17 in Nashville, Tenn., and said that she knows her family is happy for her despite.
“I think she’s done remarkably well, I really do,” said Gene, her father.
Although Kelly is making it in the big time of television programming, she was raised in Hanover, Ind.
“One of the coolest things growing up in towns like Madison and Hanover is I have a strong sense of community,” said Kelly, 33. “Even though you take it for granted, when you come back, it’s awesome. That will always be my home.”
She first became interested in broadcast journalism when she went on a field trip to the WAVE-3 and WLKY-32 news stations in Louisville with her class at Southwestern High School.
“I loved it,” she said. “It was the first time I’d been in a newsroom setting. I was immediately drawn to it. I thought that’s what I wanted to do.” Kelly was 16 at the time. “She was very outgoing as a young person,” Gene said. “She’s never met a stranger.”
Kelly participated in cheerleading throughout high school and college. She traveled with the International Cheerleading Association, headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., teaching routines to cheerleading squads across the country. “Doing the things she’s done has helped propel her career,” Gene said.
Kelly also used to participate in beauty pageants in Indiana and Ohio, her father added. This part of her life followed her to Nashville. Nashville Lifestyle magazine named her one of the 25 Most Beautiful People in 2003 and 2007.
Kelly graduated from Southwestern in 1993 and studied at Franklin College. She earned a double major in broadcast journalism and political science.
Upon graduating from Franklin in 1997, WTHR, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis, hired her. As a student, Kelly had interned at the news station. “I did everything behind the scenes,” she said.
She left to work at the CBS affiliate in Evansville, Ind., after a year in Indianapolis. In Evansville, Kelly worked first as a reporter and then stepped up as the morning anchor when the previous anchor quit suddenly.
Kelly had spent two years as the morning anchor and 2 1/2 years in the nightly news when the owners of the station abruptly decided to close the station, firing everyone.
“The local people decided not to do news any more,” Kelly said. “They fired 40 people in one day.”
She heard through a friend that the FOX affiliate in Nashville was hiring, so she sent in her resume and was soon hired.“Everything happens for a reason,” she said.
Her favorite part of the job includes everything entertainment related, she said. Kelly had the recent opportunity to be on the red carpet for the Country Music Television Awards to interview country music stars.
She also enjoys “experiencing things I’ve never done before,” she said, which includes flying in jets with the Blue Angels and driving in an Indy car.
“You never know what to expect,” she said.
Kelly also interviewed actor Jim Caviezel before the premiere of the movie “Madison.” “He was impressed that I knew the story,” Kelly said. “Are you kidding? I lived that story.”
However, one of the toughest parts of the job is the 3 a.m. wake up to go into work. “It’s pretty heinous,” Kelly said.
In her free time outside of the newsroom, Kelly plays golf, runs and naps. She reports for the Gospel Music Channel in addition to her job at FOX and also devotes her time to several charities, such as the Monroe Harding Children’s Home, the Special Olympics, the Alzheimer’s Association and Team in Training.

• For more information about Kelly Sutton and her career, visit her blog at http://kellysutton.net. Her TV station’s website is www.Fox17.com.