To my WSLS 10 family,
Over the past nine years, I have had the privilege to tell your stories.
You’ve opened your hearts and homes to me and entrusted me to lift your voices and share the news most important to you every day.
Working as a local journalist is truly one of my greatest honors because our community isn’t just the place I work, it’s where I grew up. It’s where my family lives. It’s the place I call home.
That is what inspires me every day to wake up, work hard, report accurately and give the news. Because the news that matters to you - matters to me too.
When I was a little girl growing up in Giles County, I remember watching WSLS 10 with my family. I loved watching the news. I loved seeing places I recognized and people I knew here in our community on TV. It mattered.
I remember one time my dad pointed at one of the anchors and said to me, “That’s going to be you one day.” Little did I know then, he was right.
When I began my career, I knew I wanted to come home to the Roanoke market. Coming home was the only place to be.
I was so excited when I got the job here in 2013 as a multimedia journalist, reporting as a one-man band, shooting and editing my own video and jumping at every news tip that came my way. I knew then I wanted to work my way up.
It was my dream to anchor the evening news. I didn’t know if I would get there, but growing up in Southwest Virginia taught me to work hard. So, that’s what I did. And it paid off.
It is my absolute joy to share with you, that I will be your new evening news anchor.
To this day, I don’t know if my dad’s prediction was merely encouragement to his ambitious young daughter or true foresight. Regardless, that story means a lot to me because it sums up how I feel about my job. Local journalism and storytelling is important.
[See more photos from Rachel’s time at WSLS 10]
Every day I am blessed to get to tell stories about the community and people I love.
I want you to know that I’m so proud to be a product of Southwest Virginia, representing you on the evening news every night. I’m so excited to begin the next chapter of our journey together here at WSLS 10.
Sincerely,
Rachel Lucas