Adele Arakawa
2013
SILVER CIRCLE INDUCTEE
Adele jumped into broadcasting at age 16 as a radio disc jockey and anchor in Tennessee, her home state. She was the first female DJ in Knoxville, working a Top 40 format for 5 years. She made the transition to television news in 1981, first in Knoxville, then in Raleigh, and then in Chicago at WBBM. In 1993, Adele came to Denver and KUSA, where she’s anchored the weekday evening newscast for nearly 18 years, working with co-anchors Ed Sardella, Jim Benneman, Bob Kendrick, and now Mark Koebrich. A recipient of 7 regional Emmy awards®, Adele sets the standard in the newsroom for pure ethics, strong writing, and great storytelling. She is known for fairness, for getting the whole story, and for her relentless and thorough fact-checking. She has made it her business, both on-camera and off, to give a voice to those who find themselves with just cause but no hero.
Over the years, Adele has made it a priority to serve meals to the homeless through the Denver Rescue Mission’s Great Thanksgiving and Christmas Banquets. For 18 years, Adele has volunteered her time with the Capuchin Franciscans, who value her professionalism and her humanity working with the friars and their ministries. For over a decade, she has worked with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation and with the Morgan Adams Foundation, which funds research into the causes and treatment of pediatric cancer. She’s been known to bring her family along for a long day in the cold, unloading truck beds for the 9Cares-Colorado Shares food, clothing, and toy drive. Adele is a member of the Japanese American Citizens League and the Japanese American Service Committee, and is a past-president of the Asian American Journalists Association.
Adele and her husband, Barry, have been married for 35 years. They have two grown children. Adele and her husband are avid golfers, and the entire family enjoys racing cars. In fact, Adele holds a Club Racing license with PCA and is a certified instructor for the Rocky Mountain Region Porsche Club and the Colorado Exoticar Association. She has raced in venues from the Daytona International Speedway to the Pikes Peak International Raceway to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Cynthia Hessin
2013
SILVER CIRCLE INDUCTEE
A love of words and language has defined Cynthia since grade school, where writing became her passion. With a degree in journalism, she got her foot in the door as a receptionist at KBOL radio and was asked to 'try' reading copy. From there, she moved to KHOW radio in Denver, handling drive-time newscasts for two years. When KOA-TV asked her to do on-camera cut-ins for The Today Show, a television career was born. Cynthia joined KCNC in 1979 as a reporter, fill-in anchor, and host before moving to KMGH in 1984. For 11 years, she worked as a reporter, anchor, and producer, excelling in covering stories involving politics, government, and public policy. A profound shift in her career came in 1995 with a move to Rocky Mountain PBS, where she became the station's sole executive producer responsible for creating original programming for a statewide network. She currently holds the position of Executive Producer, Public Affairs, and hosts the weekly series Colorado State of Mind.
Cynthia is the recipient of 5 regional Emmy awards®, ranging from News reporting to Narration to Documentary, which is a testament to her versatility. She has served on the Heartland Chapter Board of Governors as 1st VP and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Denver Press Club, including past president (the first female!). She also serves on the regional board of the Society of Professional Journalists. Cynthia generously volunteers her time to community and industry events and is a regular member of the Press Club's annual Gridiron Show.
While her list of awards and accolades is long, Cynthia's peers and coworkers commend her team spirit and can-do attitude. No matter how the industry changes, she is always willing to learn something new. Whether she's producing a special about women's issues, water rights, immigrants, or local philanthropists, everyone knows that Cynthia will put her energy and heart into every project. Cynthia considers it a privilege and a huge responsibility to pass along information, and she's known for going to great lengths to get it right. In fact, three Governors of the state of Colorado enthusiastically attest to her fair and balanced work, her understanding of critical issues and their impact on people in the state, and her integrity as a journalist. She is an outstanding example of what journalism should be.
Ken Siemek
2013
SILVER CIRCLE INDUCTEE
Nebraska is a state whose residents depend on the weather for their livelihood, and Ken is the guy who has been there for them at all hours of the day and night for over 30 years. He's the guy who never tires of shaking hands with countless viewers and perfect strangers, who mentors the new kids in the newsroom, and who can talk about meteorology to a class of elementary school children. Ken can't get out in the community without being mobbed, yet he uses his celebrity status on behalf of charitable events and causes to the extent that legends grow up around him. Stories circulate about how they had to conclude a holiday coat drive a week early because they'd already doubled the goal, how Ken grabbed the mic at a charity auction to make it their most successful in over 100 years, and how he started a tradition with an ad-libbed Husker poem full of funny and cheesy one-liners. His blend of humility, friendliness, wit, and hard work has earned a level of trust most can only imagine. From the Governor's office to the most remote town in the state, Nebraskans describe Ken: He's one of us!
Ken Siemek began his illustrious career as a college intern at KOLN/KGIN in Lincoln, known as 10/11, back in 1980. He describes his duties then as taking out the trash and sweeping the studio after the 10 PM newscast. A year later, he was hired as a videographer and jack-of-all-trades, eventually moving into the weekend weather announcer position. Although his hopes of becoming a Sports Guy were dashed, Ken had found his calling. In 1986, he was named Chief Meteorologist and has since earned his seal from the American Meteorological Society. What may be most remarkable about his career is that he has never gone looking for greener pastures. Instead, he has dedicated himself to making his station, his community, and his state better places to work and live. During a surprise 30th anniversary newscast, Ken had this to say, "A day never goes by that I don't think about how lucky I am to be able to do what I've done for 30 years. It has been an honor, a pleasure, and a privilege."
In addition to his work as a meteorologist, Ken is a member of the Lancaster County Emergency Planning Commission and has served on numerous community-based boards. He has volunteered at Nebraska schools as an athletics coach, and has dedicated countless hours to charity events and fundraisers, including People's City Mission, Can-Care-a-Van, Regional Food Banks, Salvation Army, Nebraska Sports Council, Juvenile Diabetes Association, Goodwill, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Lincoln Children's Zoo, Lincoln Children's Museum, and many more. In 1992, Ken married Deb Collins, the station's first female evening news anchor, and they have a son named Parker.