Sharing News

       Honored several times for her work, Babs won an Emmy for news feature, "Cool Teens" in 1990, and two additional Emmy nominations for news series, "Where Heroes Are Made" in 1991 and "Our Great Lake: It's Not Eerie Anymore" in 1990. In addition, Babs won a Press Club award for Excellence in Journalism for a news series, "No Vacancy: The Overcrowding of Our Prisons and Jails" in 1990.

       Babs says the best part of her job is meeting everyday people doing extraordinary things. She believes that her ability to relate to people has helped her in her job. She aims at always treating people with decency and respect.

       Bab's first priority is her family. She is raising two sons, Jonathan and Harry, with her husband, John.

       She believes that being there for her children is important. It has been a struggle for her, juggling her life at home and her work. News Channel Five has been helpful and understanding of her situation. They have been willing to accommodate her needs as a mother. She is currently able to spend more time at home with her children.

       Being a mother has added depth of emotions and a deeper understanding of how events impact the people in the community. She believes it has added to the intensity and humanitarian approach she takes in presenting a story. "As much as I fight the part of the job where you have to do the bad stories with the good. I wonder if God chose me and others as messengers because of the way we approach the people or get the story out in a compassionate way", she said. Telling the story from the point of view of the people involved is important to her.

       Babs also places a high priority on her faith. As the music begins for the noon newscast, she seeks wisdom and guidance from her divine source of strength, Jesus Christ. She grew up knowing God and the comfort of his presence in her life. However, during her high school and college years she was not as focused on her faith. It wasn't until she began her career that she returned her focus on her faith and God. Theological discussions with co-workers challenged her to re-evaluate her faith. These debates lead her to seek a stronger relationship with God. A previous co-worker, Sally Bernier, gave Babs her first Bible.

       Bab's co-anchor, Danita Harris, who is also a Christian, has provided her with spiritual strength. "I think being paired up with her on the noon news was no accident. I think it is a blessing. It seems whenever I'm having a little bit of a stressed out day or I'm not putting things in perspective, she is always there to temper me and she always has some words of wisdom or a scripture verse from the Bible to strengthen me"

       Babs has discovered God's hand directing her life with the meeting of her husband. "I think God tried so many times to throw us together. We have documented times, where we hadn't met each other yet but we were at the same place several times over a number of years. My mother actually took a picture of me and he was in the background of this photo. I didn't actually met him until three years later."

       Bab's deeper relationship with God has changed her view of the world. Being a mother she feels as if she is experiencing life all over again through her children's eyes. "I see life so differently. Sitting in the grass or rolling down a hill with my kids. Seeing sand for the first time, or a blade of grass, or a bug. Seeing life through my baby's eyes."

       Babs believes being a mother has helped her to be a better child of God. She now feels a closeness with God. "I go to Him more and share the little things with Him instead of just the big stuff." She believes that God, like any parent, wants us to come to him when we have a problem or share a joy. Her relationship with God has become playful. "I joke with him all the time." She believes her relationship has evolved from a lifestyle of obedience, memorization and accepting because she didn't know anything different, into a deeper understanding and living out what the Bible teaches. She believes like any father, God wants to hear from us.