The new year marks a major milestone for us all. In 2013, we're celebrating 30 years of "Straight from the Heart", that's 30 years of finding the right words to describe what life is like here at home. You've show us that includes standing strong for those who need it, being thankful for the good times and keeping faith during heartbreak.
These life events are the "Straight from the Heart" moments that define us all, and to honor them, we're kicking off a year-long celebration featuring your greatest "Straight from the Heart" moments. This page explains how you can suggest your own moment and vote on your favorite. Through-out the year, this page will also include those moments along with original WBIR archive video from that period in our lives.
On behalf of everyone here at Channel 10, past, present and future, we extend our sincerest gratitude for the honor you've given us: the privilege of sharing your stories.
"I'm just excited to see my Pops. It's been six months. He and I are pretty much best friends."
"It looks like Mother Nature took a broom and just swept it away - houses, vehicles, farms, barns - everything that could be. Just swept away."
"I've dreamed for many years of getting to come back [home] and bringing something back so you folks would know that I'm as proud of you as you've always been of me.
"I've made-up my mind and I don't expect to ever look back. I'm going to stay at the University of Tennessee." Back in March 1997, those words from Peyton Manning created a wave of cheers across Rocky Top.
"I didn't think it would really hit. In East Tennessee, we just don't get this kind of weather." Many long-time locals echoed that thought back in mid-March 1993.
No matter how much people talked about his achievements, then Karns Middle School student Kris Phillips continued to credit his success to living life to the fullest. "Keep on going," he said. "If there's ever bad, remember there's also going to be good."
"We were thinking we might receive one call -- if we were lucky," explained DCS employee Sharon Smallwood. "But we couldn't believe [what happened] after the 'Monday's Child' story aired."
"We have not lost her. She has merely traveled ahead of us and will greet us when we get to that eternal home."
From the Blizzard of '93 to heart-breaking tributes to fallen soldiers - even stunning surprises like Peyton Manning's 1997 decision to stay at UT; these are all "Straight from the Heart" moments.
Forget "near" freezing temperatures! Do you remember the day our area hit -24 degrees? The history made in January 1985 is one of your "Straight from the Heart Moments."
"I'm sorry we were a little late in getting here. But you know how it is on this campus - Even I couldn't find a parking spot," joked the President as greeted a full-capacity crowd at the UT campus.
"We started thinking...let's just put us in black suits and sunglasses and be the 'Bowl Brothers'. That's how it started," explained former WBIR Sports Director Bob Kesling.
"What I would like to be most remembered for is that in my writings, in my efforts as much as I could. I tried to find the good and praise it."
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