It was standing room only in the WHS gym on Thursday night as folks young and old from all over the county and surrounding areas came to watch the popular KY3 First Alert Weather Tour presentation. The many in attendance stood in line to meet meteorologist's Ron Hearst and Brandon Beck, as well as popular news anchors Lisa Rose and Paul Adler and other KY3 personalities.
The weather tour was brought to WHS through the efforts of KY3 early news producer Makayla Mais.
Mais, a 2017 graduate of WHS, grew up in Warsaw watching KY3 News and became interested in journalism as a student at WHS.
Mais was involved in the WHS journalism department throughout high school and served as The Wildcat newspaper editor as well as the Ozark Echoes yearbook editor. Mais gives WHS journalism teacher Amanda Adler credit for encouraging her to pursue a career in the news field.
“Working on the newspaper staff introduced me to the importance of informing the public about events in the community,” said Mais.
Mais continued her education at Missouri State in Springfield where she earned a degree in journalism in 2020.
“I graduated during the pandemic so there weren’t many job opportunities which gave me time to search for the right opportunity,” said Mais. She was hired as a producer for KY3 in 2021 and began working on the 5:00 AM news and morning show, “Ozarks Today”.
“I go to work at 10:30 AM at night and work through the night preparing for the early morning shows,” said Mais. “I work with reporters to pull stories from the area and our sister stations as well as setting up graphics to go with their stories.”
KY3 was a perfect choice as Mais’ employment as she had grown up watching reporters such as Ron Hearst and Brandon Beck.
“As a girl in Warsaw, I watched KY3 News every day and I felt like I knew the reporters and now I get to work with them every day,” said Mais. “It was a privilege to be able to advocate for my hometown of Warsaw to get the KY3 team to come here to present our show and to get the people of Warsaw on the air.”
Mais’ high school journalism teacher was elated to see her former student succeeding in her chosen field.
“Makayla was one of the hardest working students I have ever had and I am so proud that she followed the passion for journalism that she developed in high school. She is going to continue to do big things and find great success,” said WHS journalism teacher Amanda Adler!
Mais’ other high school teachers were also excited to see their former student shine.
“Seeing Makayla shine doing her dream job makes a teacher’s heart so happy. If you ask Makayla, ‘Do you like math?’ She would reply, ‘I cried my way through Algebra II, but I made it.’ This is the determination of a strong person who will reach her goals,” said WHS math teacher Amy Spunaugle..
Children from the Warsaw area filled the gym floor as Ron Hearst and Brandon Beck presented the KY3 Weather School. They spoke to the children about the dangers of severe weather and how to prevent weather related injuries.
“I liked the experiments the weathermen presented,” said Warsaw North Elementary fourth grader Henry Adler. “It was cool when he made clouds appear right in the gym.”
For over 70 years, KY3 has served as "the place to be" in the Ozarks providing one of the most well-known and longest running locally originated programs. From October 1, 1953 to the present, the KY3 team has covered stories that Benton County residents want to know. When news happens, KY3 is here to cover it; from local high school teams making a run for a state title, to covering other local news and happenings, KY3 is "the place to be" for Benton County.
