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Shelley Osterloh's Neighborhood
Shelley Osterloh Salt TV Correspondent Shelley Osterloh has been a fixture in Salt Lake media for many years as an Anchor/Reporter at KSL 5 Television, the NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City, Utah, 1977-2007.
Shelley is currently working as a Freelance Producer for NBC News, the TODAY Show, The Children’s Miracle Network, White Rabbit Productions, TV Guide Network, the Discovery Channel and others. At the Vancouver Olympic Games she was the lead reporter and did live interviews with Long Track Speedskaters for the Olympic News Channel, the world wide broadcast feed service. She also does public relations, media training and acting.
Shelley started her career as a student intern at KSL and was recruited to the news assignment desk. Within a year, she was promoted to reporter and over the years has regularly anchored weekends, noon and morning newscasts. Her special assignments at KSL have included live reports from the Pentagon, and White House, Pearl Harbor and Olympic coverage of every Olympic competition from Lillehammer in 1994 to Torino in 2006. She’s contributed or produced a number of documentaries on Olympic athletes, children and violence, social changes in Russia and China, and issues affecting families.
Shelley has also hosted audience talk shows such as ‘Utah This Morning,’ ‘Focus,’ and ‘TalkAbout.’ Her work on ‘Focus’ was recognized by The National Broadcasters Association as the best community affairs programs in the country. Shelley has also been honored with a national award from the American Women in Radio and Television for programs on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and "Super Mom" Stress. She also been recognized by Utah's Governor for media contribution to women's issues; by the Alliance for the Mentally Ill for increasing the understanding of mental illness; and by the Utah Girl Scout Council as a role model for girls. Additionally, she has received numerous awards from the Utah Broadcasters Association.
Shelley is married to Richard Young who owns a custom bronze statue and portrait company. They love the outdoors and enjoy time at their mountain cabin and in Utah’s lakes and back country.
Blog
June 3, 2011 11:27 am
Amanda was sitting up in bed staring at a small computer and listening to a woman's scratchy voice coming across Skype. She barely noticed me, a stranger, walking into her room with the nurse. This was school time and she listened to her far away teacher intently and asked a question.
She seemed large for an 11 year old and her face was round. I guessed the multitude of medications she takes made her cheeks round and swollen but her eyes were bright and attentive. It wasn't until I got on the other side of her bed that I noticed the right side of her head was shaved and zig zag incision was fresh, but healing.
Amanda’s mother was smiling and friendly. Maybe having a film crew in Amanda's room helped break up the long hours of waiting and worry. Somehow she was dealing with the overwhelming possibility that her sweet little girl had a cancerous brain tumor that may take her life.
We returned an hour later, after on-line school had ended, to see two nurses busily taping up posters of sunny Hawaiian beaches and a hula dancer. A pile of colorful fabric flowers were heaped on the bed in front of her where the computer had been. I watched Amanda's face light up as her best friend/ favorite nurse, Tracy Tidwell, stepped in the room and gave her warm hug. They joked and Amanda giggled while she placed a purple lei around the neck of the nurse and they asked each other who would be the first to do the Hula when the party started in a hour. Why the Hawaiian party on the oncology floor? Although her wish had been granted, Amanda was too ill to take her dream trip to Hawaii so the staff created Hawaii for her.
While they still have hope, I suspect both Amanda and her mother know there is a chance she may not recover. So every day counts. This day was a special day, filled with ordinary normal things: school work, dressing up, silly jokes, a party and laughter. When you have so little precious time who wants to waste it on pity and fear?
I know I will not see Amanda again but I carry her smile and her laughter home with me. It reminds me to find joy and appreciation in the simple every day things that surround me. Cancer has made Amanda wiser and older than kids her age. She has learned an important life lesson that many will never know --- that each day truly is a gift.
There are many children like Amanda in Children’s Hospitals. Thankfully there are also many special caregivers whose love, commitment and expertise treat more than just medical problems. Children’s Hospitals deserve our respect and appreciation – and yes, our financial support as well.
The Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals ® raises money for the unique programs and services that save kids lives. Unfortunately no amount of money could save Amanda’s life but Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals helped to make each day of her precious life, better. In Amanda’s memory, and for all the kids who fight for life, I will be making a donation during the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Telethon. I hope you will too.
Note: As a freelance producer, I have the privilege to occasionally work for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and help in the production of some of the inspiring stories for the National Telethon. That’s how I came to meet Amanda and be touched by her spirit and courage. Its also how I met every kid's best friend, Tracy Tidwell, RN, MSN, APN, Director, Pediatric Brain Tumor Program at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis.
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April 28, 2011 3:25 pm
The man who made the “miracle on the mat “ may try for another miracle! Two time Olympian Rulon Gardner says he is considering returning to Wrestling! After quitting the reality TV show The Biggest Loser, Gardner says he is feeling like his old self again… in shape and maybe even ready to wrestle.
Gardner owns a gym in Logan, Utah but still somehow managed to let his weight blossom up to 474 pounds before becoming a contestant on the NBC show. After losing nearly 200 pounds, he seemed poised to win the quarter million dollar grand prize but instead made the surprise announcement that he was ready to go home for personal reasons.
Now he writes on his website:
“Participating on ‘The Biggest Loser’ was a fantastic experience. I went on the show to get my life and my health back and I have accomplished that goal. I want to thank the trainers and all those connected with the show who helped me in that endeavor. Once I reached my goal and started feeling like my old self, I felt compelled to return home and support my wife, Kamie, in the ongoing management of our personal and professional affairs. The real prize for me in participating on the show was regaining my life back and thanks to the show I have accomplished that. Another exciting outcome is that I am strongly considering a return to competitive wrestling.”
A return to competitive wrestling? He was recently working out with coaches at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado and USA Wrestling has never had a bigger star athlete. He’s a hard man to keep down. The 39 year old powerhouse has survived some near death experiences. He was impaled by an arrow as a kid. He was lost over night on a wintery Wyoming mountain in sub degree temperatures and lost a toe to frostbite. He survived a plane crash into Lake Powell and a motorcycle accident.
And we can’t forget his remarkable, come- from- nowhere win against the unbeaten wrestling icon Russian Alexander Karelin at the Sydney Games in 2000 which won him a gold medal. It was such an unlikely win they called it the "Miracle on the Mat."
While another Olympic medal is hard to imagine, one thing I know for sure -- and competitors on The Biggest Loser know --- Rulon Gardner is his own man, following his path, and yes… creating his own challenges and goals along the way. Never count him out.
Maybe another "miracle on the mat" isn’t so farfetched after all.
April 27, 2011 12:43 pm
Say it isn’t so! Just as he seemed poised to win it all, Olympic Gold medalist Rulon Gardner quit The Biggest Loser, and became the first contestant to do so. He said it was for personal reasons.
What? I am sure it has got to be incredibly difficult to leave your life behind for months but there has got to be more to the story!
The Biggest Loser segment started with Logan, Utah resident Rulon Gardner about to win his boyhood dream of seeing his own face on the Wheaties box. Could the big prize be far behind? We saw some of that Olympic determination and sheer strength as he pulled a car across the finish line in the challenge event. But he didn’t win it. In a photo finish he barely lost to Tara – a woman the producers brought back for the challenge from season 7.
Granted, we only see what producers want us to see but something did seem to be troubling Rulon.
Then in a surprise twist --- Rulon announced he was leaving the show. “This is my last time on the scales,” he said. “At this time, I’m asking to leave The Biggest Loser for personal reasons. That’s it.”
And later he added, "Tonight it became clear I needed to go home for personal reasons. There are things that need to be addressed in my life back home. I feel like my personal goals have been reached here and it's my time to go home. I got my health, fitness and life back, and that's the real reason I came to The Biggest Loser."
I was disappointed. And I puzzled over what those personal reasons might be. Was it a family issue? Was it entirely his decision to leave? I’d like take it all at face value. He’s learned what he needed, accomplished what he came to do and is ready to leave reality TV for the real world. But where is that indomitable competitive force that I saw in Sydney Australia and again in Athens? He is a man who has overcome so many serious challenges in life it seems out of character to just walk away.
Could it be his competitive focus has just changed direction and he is headed back to competitive wrestling? A story by USA Wrestling says Rulon was training last week at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado. It quotes Gardner as saying “My competitive fire is back. There are different directions I would like to go with it. I am contemplating competing again. I’m back training." He has lost 173 pounds and is about 35 pounds over his 2004 Olympic weight of 264.
Whatever the reason for leaving the show I am glad that people got to know this gentle giant of a man and to hear some of the words of encouragement and determination that propelled him to become an elite athlete… words we can all use to keep us going each day. Every episode he shared inspirational messages such as putting mistakes behind you, focusing on your goal, giving it your all and finding balance in life.
Rulon told Cara one of the trainers, that being on the show is not just about losing weight, it’s about finding one’s own path, and he himself is very close to finding his. He said he was ready to go home and begin the next phase of his life.
And even though he will not be The Biggest Loser, here’s hoping he wins at life or whatever the next challenge is... and that we are there to see it. The Biggest Loser won’t be as interesting without him.
April 7, 2011 8:24 pm
I love watching Rulon Gardner on the Biggest Loser! As an Olympic reporter I have followed (and reported on) his career since before he won the gold medal in 2000. He’s always been the underdog with the heart of a champion. A regular guy faced with unbelievable challenges who somehow with hard work, determination and brains manages to survive… and sometimes win it all.
I met him when he won his spot on the 2000 US Olympic team. We got great shots of him working the family farm. I remember him grinning in the Star Valley Wyoming grocery store as he held a box of Wheaties and imagined what it would be like to be the champion on the box. I am sure this star athlete never imagined himself at 474 pounds. Back then, nobody but Rulon believed he had a chance at winning a gold medal --- especially against the unbeaten Russian Alexander Karelin. Even then I was struck by his farm boy determination and commitment to be the best. Seeing him win his gold medal in Sydney is one of the highlights of my Olympic reporting career. The following day during a morning live shot on KSL TV News the muscular man lifted me over his head…. proving he was indeed the strongest man alive.
Like most people he’s made some mistakes and has some bad luck but I have always admired his perseverance. Like in 2002 when he got lost and stranded alone on a snowmobile trip in sub degree temperatures. The unforgiving Wyoming winter almost took his life — instead he lost a toe to frostbite.
It only added another challenge when Rulon decided he wanted to make the 2004 US Olympic team and defend his gold medal. (Toes and good balance are important in wrestling) He won a bronze medal and in a touching goodbye tribute to his sport… he literally left his shoes on the mat.
In 2007, Gardner and two other men survived a plane crash into Lake Powell, swam more than an hour in cold water to make it to shore and spent the night without shelter before being rescued.
I have always tried to figure out what makes an Olympic champion. What skills and mind set do these remarkable elite athletes have that you and I can use to deal with our daily challenges, disappointments and mistakes?
Rulon may have continued to eat like a full time athlete, but didn’t work out like one. We all struggle to find the balance in life. He reminds us that even though you occasionally make mistakes and bad choices, you still have to believe that you can do better and do it. He reminds us that we are all capable of tackling whatever it is that is holding us back. And we do it one small step at time.
I don’t care that Rulon snacked on chips when he shouldn’t have. We all have setbacks. It’s all about getting up the next day and doing better than the day before.
Rulon Gardner continues to be an inspiration to those who fight to overcome problems, find balance, health and a better life. And for all that… he will always be a winner.
September 21, 2010 7:42 pm
They call it the Machine Gun Fire because soldiers sparked the blaze at a practice firing range.
I had already seen the strips of fire blazing against the black sky as I drove to Herriman late Sunday night to help cover the story for NBC. The first video I saw was a house reduced to glowing flames and showers of sparks. It looked as if it had been built of logs ---- logs that now fed the flames. I knew at least one family had lost their home and did not know it yet.
That morning, I spoke with many families who were evacuated and spent the night in a shelter. Most had spent a worry filled, sleepless night wondering if their home was spared or destroyed. . One family – Jackie and Robert Burns – told me about their dream home of 34 years. As they described their log home to me…. I suddenly had a strong feeling I had seen their home ablaze. I stifled a gasp…and said nothing. How could I know for sure?
An hour later, as they sat in the school cafeteria waiting for news…they saw their home on the front page of the newspaper. It was true. Their dream home was burned to ashes along with a lifetime of collectibles and family treasures. I hugged Jackie, shed a few tears and expressed my sympathy to Robert. They were in shock and mourning the loss of their worldly possessions, but they were also angry --- angry that someone’s carelessness had cost them everything. Robert said, “I think the guy that authorized the military to do the machine gun testing should be put in jail, because it's arson."
On a hot windy dry day, Utah National Guardsmen at Camp Williams were doing shooting practice and started the fire. Strong gusty winds spread the flames quickly across the mountainside and down on to the homes of Herriman …. consuming the Burns home and two others. It was not the first time their target shooting had ignited a blaze and policies are in place to avoid this…. But they were not followed.
It was mistake with serious consequences. But too often these days, people fail to take responsibility for their actions. So I was surprised to hear the Utah National Guard's commanding general apologize and admit major mistakes.
Major General Brian Tarbet said “ We are sorry, deeply sorry.” He admitted, “ We shot in the face of a Red Flag Warning, which is something we do not do.” And most importantly: the National Guard will try to make it right. It is accepting claims for losses resulting from the fire.
I have learned that a sincere effective apology has three elements: Say “I am sorry. ” Take responsibility for the problem and the most important, “What can I do to make it right?”
Jackie and Robert have tremendous challenges ahead of them and many of the things they lost are irreplaceable. But at least the Utah National Guard says it will make it right. And I hope they do. The Burns family and others who lost their homes deserve it. And so do the people of Herriman.
