Hometown Stories

This month, Robin Reed will bid WDBJ7 viewers goodnight for the last time.

His retirement caps off a tremendous career spanning more than 40 remarkable years.

We speak often of the impact Robin has had on his community.

In this episode of Hometown Stories, a look at the impact the community had on him.

Renowned TV Chef, scientist and dog-dad Alton Brown, best known for Good Eats and Iron Chef, joins us to talk about his upcoming visit to Roanoke City! In this episode of Hometown Eats, we preview his Live show Beyond the Eats: The Holiday Variant. It's a show that involves cooking, music, comedy game shows and things never before seen by human eyes! We talk about live audiences, laughing brains, rescue dogs and watch collections.

In this episode of Hometown Stories, we take you to the only coffee grinder museum this side of the globe.

This is a story about big dreams, small print and making happier endings wherever you can. Jennifer Williams is on a mission to give away 1 million books. In this episode of Hometown Stories, a look at her yearslong journey to bring books to schools, jails and everywhere in between.

The man leading the Virginia Tech Hokies into battle this season isn't new to the field at all.

Head Coach Brent Pry made his first tour of Lane Stadium back in the 1990s.

Coach has been the boss for almost a year now and we figured it was time to pry back the layers and get to know Coach outside of work. In this episode of Hometown Stories, we chat with Coach Pry about everything from his pizza preferences to his chances at winning Survivor.

Dr. Kenneth Garren, who sometimes goes by Kenny G, is known for his tenure leading educational institutions in southwest and central Virginia.

But Garren also has a military career and a NASA Career under his belt, too.

As NASA works to launch phase 1 of the Artemis mission, Garren recalls his time working on Artemis' twin sister, Apollo.

NASA has sights set on human exploration of Mars. But before they run, they've got to walk and NASA leaders see the Moon as the perfect place for those baby steps. In this episode of Hometown Stories, a member of Artemis' team at Kennedy Space Center details the plan to take us from Apollo to Artemis.

Longtime WDBJ7 Sports Director Travis Wells says farewell to broadcast sports. He is about to embark on a new career with the Virginia Tech Hokie Football team. In this episode of Hometown Stories, we sit down with Wells to reflect on his impressive 27-year career and the exciting adventure that awaits him.

After Roanoke based national bestselling author Beth Macy wrote Dopesick in 2018 - she was convinced she never wanted to write about the opioid crisis again. It was too frustrating, too depressing. But as she traveled the country, she found something that changed her mind: Hope.

Macy is launching her latest book, Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America's Overdose Crisis. She says it takes a look at the unique ways people are working to meet those with substance use disorder where they are and why it's working. In this episode of Hometown Stories, I chat with Macy about Raising Lazarus, the inspiration for its title and the hope she hopes we find in its pages. Our conversation originally appeared on the WDBJ7+ Digital News Desk.