Brenda Blackmon: My9 WWOR-TV's Anchorwoman, Mom With a Mission
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At home: Divorced; daughter Kelly, 25.
Q. What was Kelly's favorite activity while she was growing up?
BB: Dance classes, ballet - since she was old enough to tiptoe. From age 2, she always went to The Academy in Nashville, where she loved to dress in frilly costumes and do recitals.
Q. What was the most important lesson you tried to impart to her?
BB: Pray every day. The power that prayer has on problems big and small. It's a lesson she learned, and we often talk about its impact on her life, still.
Q. Besides you, who had the greatest influence on Kelly while she was growing up?
BB: Grandma was the biggest influence - both grandmas. Kelly had separate names for them and they passed their experiences on to her. Their love was given freely and unconditionally. And oh, how they spoiled her! They both stressed the importance of education and giving back when you have been given so much, and Kelly embraced that and made them both proud.
Q. Looking back, what was the most memorable family outing you shared?
BB: Traveling abroad to Euro Disney. I surprised her and her cousins at the end of the school year when she was 9. We stayed in an apartment, we learned to ride the subway, we saw the Mona Lisa and the great sites of Paris together. She finally understood what all those French lessons were about! And she discovered that people are nice everywhere when you try and speak the language.