Friday, January 21, 2011

Goodbye Kaitlyn Ross

Today will always be remembered by the Capital Region, and not because some Bears fan named Barry visited, but because it is the final day of work for Capital Tonight reporter Kaitlyn Ross.
The self-described "Gentle Giant," gained fame during the past election season with her prolific texting under the handle kaitlynross1 and through a cellphone video she captured of Carl Paladino and Fred Dicker.
Ross stood out from her peers because she wore her emotions on her sleeve, like on Primary Night in 2010 when she got swept away in Paladino pandemonium. "It's important to have a personality," said Ross, in an interview during the fall. "It's important to pepper yourself in with your stories."
This strategy worked for Ross, who had an infectious smile and charmed viewers and interviewees alike.
On one such occasion, she recounted how Jimmy McMillan ended up offering to let her tickle his toes, after he had previously promised to perform verbal jujitsu on her.
I personally was awestruck by how nice she was to me, even though I should have been treated like an annoying fan, who didn't know how to mind my place. (The last time I saw her she greeted me with a hug.)
This was echoed by Liz Benjamin, who said, "Kaitlyn is our ambassador. She's possibly the nicest person in our [work] pod."
Ross was also well liked by her colleagues in the capitol, as evident by this recent tweet from TU reporter Jimmy Vielkind: "@kaitlynross1 I'm really going to miss you, Kait. On behalf of all of us at @TUCapCon, God speed and be in touch." In fact, since it was made public (on my twitter feed) that Ross was leaving for Florida, her account has received numerous signs of support and well wishes.

She previously commented on the close bond she and her colleagues share, which stemmed all the time they spend together. After a hectic day in the capitol, Ross said the inevitable question would be, "Where are we going?"
Unfortunately the answer is now Florida, but Ross is going by herself. She will be missed.

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