Life and Work with Kalee Dionne

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kalee Dionne.

Kalee is a Meteorologist on the NBC 5 Chicago Storm Team. She started back in October 2016 but previously was the Morning Meteorologist at 41 Action News in Kansas City, MO. In the fall of 2014, she was voted Kansas City’s Best Meteorologist by KC Magazine. She joined the team back in April of 2013 after three years of giving the daily weather and traffic reports every morning Monday through Friday on Wake Up Alabama in Birmingham, AL. She is excited to move back to the Midwest to be able to forecast all four seasons. Most importantly, she brings a lot of severe weather experience to Tornado Alley to keep the people of Kansas & Missouri safe.

In 2011, Kalee was brought to a new level of excellence in her weather broadcasting career. On April 27th, a strong line of tornadoes decimated the state of Alabama. April 27th was a part of a super-tornado outbreak that was one of the largest in US history. The WIAT-TV weather team went wall to wall with their coverage. Kalee kicked off the coverage from early morning until late at night. The broadcast featured live images of tornadoes destroying parts of Alabama. 243 people were killed in the outbreak.

It’s a day that Kalee will never forget, but her professionalism and team approach the coverage received recognition in competition. WIAT won numerous broadcast honors through the Edward R. Murrow, Associated Press and Alabama Broadcasters Association – including Station of the Year. It was in large part due to the efforts of the weather team during that terrible day.

Kalee began at Lincoln College in Lincoln, IL where she took on Musical Theater. She performed at Disney World, Carnival Cruise Lines, Cedar Point and in the musical “Smile” in Cisco, TX before deciding to take her performance to the camera. She then transferred to Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where she received her bachelor’s degree in Radio/Television Broadcasting. Kalee worked as a Weather Anchor/Supervisor, Reporter, Anchor, and Producer at the Southern Illinois University student run station, River Region Evening Edition. While she was there, the student program won state and national awards including, Best Student Run Newscast at NAB 2007.

Kalee also interned and later worked as a Weathercaster at the ABC affiliate in Southern Illinois, WSIL-TV. There she would put together general assignment stories, including the old Murphysboro Grocery Company building going up in flames, which won Kalee a Best Spot News from the Associated Press. She also did live reports during the Southern Illinois Ice Storm of February 2008 and historic flooding of March 2008.

In late Spring 2008, Kalee relocated up the interstate to Central Illinois. She worked at the CBS affiliate in Champaign, Illinois, WCIA-TV. There she was the Weekend Weather Anchor and live weather reporter for the Morning Show during the week. Kalee spearheaded a Winter Weather Awareness class at Lincoln College. Kalee, along with the Central Illinois National Weather Service, wanted to make sure the people of Central Illinois knew what to do to prepare for winter storm season.

Kalee went back to school while working full-time to get a second Bachelors Degree in Broadcast Meteorology from Mississippi State University, which she completed in the summer of 2011. She is also a member of the National Weather Association, which she was the Secretary/Treasurer of the Central Alabama Chapter. Kalee also was chosen to speak at the 2011 National Weather Association Conference about the Social Media and the effectiveness during the Deep South Outbreak on April 27, 2011.

In her free time, Kalee enjoys singing and dancing, which she sings the National Anthem at local sporting events, including a Kansas City Royals game. She also enjoys working out! Pilates and running are her favorites. She ran her first half marathon in Birmingham in 2011. She loves cheering for her Chicago sports teams. The Chicago Bears, Cubbies, Hawks and Bulls keep her busy all year long. She also enjoys hanging out with her husband, family, friends, and dog Mia Bean.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has been an amazing journey, but it hasn’t always been easy. People see the world of Television as this glamorous field with money, stardom, beautiful clothes, etc. Well, for television news you graduate from college and move to small towns throughout the country for little pay. My first job paid me $17,000 a year and I still had all of the normal bills and I lived far away from many family and friends. You get a bump in pay each contract or station you move up to, but the big news salaries aren’t there. My advice for young women starting their journey whether it be in Television News or whatever career they choose is to do what you love. If you love it and you are passionate about it then money won’t matter. You will make it work whatever may come and then each bump will be a victory.

News is also a 24 hours a day… seven days a week operation. Weather is the most important part of the news, so you don’t have a Monday through Friday 9-5 schedule no matter what. The past 10 years of my career my alarm clock goes off at 2:30 to 3 o’clock in the morning and I go to bed at 6 pm at night. My schedule now is working on the weekend, so my husband and I do not have a day off together currently. Severe weather is one of the hardest parts of the job because sometimes you will be working 15+ hours in one day and they can be multiple day events, so you are working around the clock to keep people safe. This is the most important part, but I don’t think people realize how hard we work to succeed at this. My advice is to know that no job is easy and no job will be PERFECT, so count the positives and know that in the end, you are writing your own journey even if that includes going to bed before the sun.

One of the hardest parts that I think is particularly harder for young women in this career is constant comments from people online about you. Whether it is about your performance, clothes, voice, how you pronounced that name, etc. Some days I have a thicker skin than others, but having to day in and day out read things about myself from people can weigh on you. The sad part is most of these comments would never be said to my face, but because they can hide behind a keyboard they don’t think we actually see them. My advice is to let it bounce off… allow yourself for a second to feel hurt, upset, mad, but then throw it away. Most of the time these comments come from the other person’s unhappiness or pure fact that the person doesn’t actually think you will read them. Sometimes, I’ll send a very positive message back and they apologize and they are a fan for life. It isn’t fair, but you are special and fabulous the way you are and you just have to constantly tell yourself that or this part will suck you up and spit you out.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with NBC Chicago – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
You can take from the first long bio if you want on what I do and what separates me from the rest. I’m a scientist and I go the extra mile to bring the best coverage for weather that I can. Each person that picks up the remote and turns on Channel 5 for weather coverage will get the best no matter how long I have to work or how much I have to go along with our team of Meteorologists.

Who have you been inspired by?
What is great is there are so many amazing women out there that are pushing the envelope and straight killing it. I would have to say my mother is number one for me. She has always been so strong and she succeeded at ANYTHING she put her mind to do. Growing up she pushed me to dream the biggest dream and never give up no matter how uncomfortable or hard the journey would be. I can never thank her enough for that… plus, she had very little patience for me feeling second best. This helped me create this self-confidence that has to help me succeed in life.

Also, I am surrounded each day by women who inspire me. It brings me joy to watch strong women all over the world standing up for being treated as an equal and for working harder to be given the respect we deserve. It is such an exciting time to be a woman and I am so happy to know so many women that inspire and kick butt!

Contact Info:

• Address: 455 N. Columbus Dr.
  Chicago, IL 60611
• Website: www.nbcchicago.com
• Email: kalee.dionne@nbcuni.com
• Instagram: kaleedionne
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/KaleeDionneNBC5
• Twitter: KaleeDionne

Image Credit:
NBC Chicago

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