After 26 years at Atlanta’s Fox 5 WAGA-TV, Amanda Davis has officially retired from the station Thursday.
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Her eight-minute broadcast began with footage of her broadcasts and interviews from her time at the station. Standing radiantly before studio cameras in an elegant red dress, Davis delivered the following message:
Atlanta has been home for me for 30 years. A couple while I was in college and 28 on television news. I’ve been fortunate to have worked at two of the best stations in town, including 26 years right here with you on Fox 5 Atlanta. I’ve seen, heard and reported on stories from Bankhead to Buckhead to the White House. I’ve played and cried with little boys and girls in their journey to find parents to call their own through “Wednesday’s Child.
There have been awards, honors and accolades. There have also been challenges, disappointments and stumbles.” “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.
So with much love and appreciation, I say thank you for your support. To my immediate family, mom, Laura. My fabulous TV family right here at Fox 5, both behind the scenes and on-air. Russ, Cookie, Kaira, you’re the best. And to all my great friends, you, the Atlanta community that welcomed me into your homes day after day, night after night for nearly thirty years, I’ll still be in town. Say, “hi.” And know that, yes, I am that news lady from Fox 5. Amanda Davis.
Love you!
The video tribute included words 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. Her interview with President Barack Obama and footage from her work with Wednesday’s Child, a group that helps plan foster children in permanent homes, were also included.
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Some of the awards Davis has won over her career include “multiple Emmys from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, including Best Newscast honors for anchoring FOX 5 News in 1999 and 2000. She has also received numerous awards from the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists, including Best Anchor in 2000. In 1998, Amanda was the recipient of the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for her continuous live broadcasting during the abortion clinic bombing in Atlanta. Her on-air work during that tense time was also honored with a Gabby Award by the Georgia Association of Broadcasters,” according to her bio at Fox 5.
She is a graduate of Clark College in Atlanta.
Watch Davis’ goodbye video below:
