Good Luck Helen!

Hi, it's Sheila.

The thing I hate most about my job is saying good-bye to special co-workers who become my friends. Today, we are saying good-bye to one of our producers, Helen Barnes. Helen has worked at Fox 19 for 14 years. That kind of longevity is pretty unusual in the TV news business, and Helen is a wonderfully unusual person.

Helen started here as an editor, and a few years ago became the real backbone of the Fox 19 Morning News as our show booker. She's been responsible for getting us great guests, many of whom you don't see on any other Cincinnati TV station. About a year and a half ago, Helen took on the added responsibility of producing our 8 to 9 a.m. hour. She did it with a positive attitude, and she quickly became a top notch producer who works countless hours without a complaint. I guess that's why our company's station in Charlotte, WBTV wanted to hire her.

Helen and I have a lot in common. We both spent a lot of years in West Virginia, and during one of those February snowstorms recently, we spent an evening at the Hyatt downtown swapping stories about our time there and the interesting people we met in the Mountain State. Helen is also a mom, a really great mom. From time to time, I've asked her for advice on raising a teenager, because Helen is a single mother who brought up a really nice young woman, her daughter Elise.

A couple of years back, Helen met Jack. He lives in North Carolina, and over a long distance, they've built a relationship. They're making plans for the rest of their life together, and that'll be a lot more fruitful, now that Helen's becoming a resident of the Tar Heel state. All of us here at Fox 19 are thrilled for her good fortune, both personal and professional. She deserves the very best.

So I say a public thank you to Helen for her friendship, her guidance on TV and in life, but I don't say good-bye. I say be well, Godspeed, and I end with the words of singer Paulina Rubio: "Don't say goodbye. The circle of the moon, the rising of the sun, we'll be together soon, our story's just begun."