SHIRLEY WASHINGTON (June 1980)

Shirley attended Louverture Elementary School (now a middle school). The family moved from the neighborhood and she then attended Sherman Elementary School in the Shaw neighborhood. While at Roosevelt her favorite teachers were Ms. Washington (no relation), Miss Ganey and Mr. Kaey, all teachers who took a special interest in their students and their development. She was on the Roughettes squad, dancing pompom-cheer group and was president of the student council (in earlier years referred to as the Mayor). After graduating from RHS she attended Jackson State in Mississippi and then to SIU in Carbondale where she obtained a degree in broadcast Journalism.

Shirley has worked for WAGA-TV in Atlanta, Georgia, and KDFQ-TV in Nashville, Tennessee. In Decatur she was known as the “one-man band”. This is where the reporter goes out on the story, does the photography, gets the story, returns to the station, writes it, edits it, and the presents it on the TV camera. Shirley remembers this as being very demanding, but also excellent training. Before joining KTVI in St. Louis, she was the manager of the public relations department of Lambert International Airport.

Throughout her career, Shirley has covered Presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama. In addition to being an Emmy Award winning broadcast journalist, she is also a published author. She wrote “The Motherhood Club: Help, Hope and Inspiration from New Mothers for New Mothers” and “Women in Business”. She has also written her first novel, “The Diary”.