By Bob Stolz

There was a big announcement regarding the local television scene this week. To say that is an understatement. It’s more like a monumental announcement.

WHIO-TV Anchor Cheryl McHenry told viewers on February 20th that she will retire after almost 44 years at the station. She joined the staff in August 1981 as a reporter and eventually joined Jim Baldridge at the anchor desk ten years later. (Baldridge retired in 2009.)

McHenry will remain on air for a short time longer, saying she will conclude her work in late May. Before her time in Dayton, she reported for Cincinnati’s WCKY-AM, then a full-service radio station with a substantial news department.

I can add a personal view to this story. I had the good fortune to work with Cheryl McHenry in the late 1990s when I worked at Channel 7 as a newscast producer. I worked with many good anchors, but producing for Cheryl and Jim was a career highlight for me. She is a class act with high professional standards. When things went wrong, as they often do in television news, she always had helpful thoughts and encouragement and was never demeaning. What you see is what you get; no false airs. And she has a great sense of humor. (Lest I leave him out, I had a very similar experience working with Jim Baldridge. He, too, is a top-notch journalist and a friendly and patient fellow who taught us a lot about what makes for excellent broadcast news.)

It’s a sight to behold and one we will see less of as time goes on. Television and radio have changed for many reasons, and it’s doubtful we will witness many others like Cheryl McHenry, whose careers span five decades at a single station. She has witnessed and shared an impactful array of events during the arc of her career.

McHenry says she is looking forward to more time with her family and friends, as well as more time for reading and other activities. Time moves on for all of us, and we can’t blame her for that.

As always with events like these, I want to remember: It’s never goodbye. It’s “we’ll see you later.”

You can read WHIO’s full story here.