Happy Friday!

You've seen his slippers, his votes of approval with a thumbs up and his "spirit fingers" and now, here he is...The genius behind the camera...The man you've all been waiting for (drum roll please) ...The Man, The Myth...NATE MCLAUGHLIN!

Every morning, Nate walks into the newsroom with his hands in his pockets, bundled up from the cold weather outside and gives me a nod. (That means, "hey". He usually needs at least 10 minutes until he's ready for some serious conversation!) But give him those 10 minutes and he'll make you roll over laughing, give you great insight to life or simply make you smile.

Bundling up for the chilly weather isn't new to Nate. He was born and raised in Caro, Michigan, (That's in the "thumb part" of Michigan) so he already had the hat and gloves handy! But feet and feet of snow didn't scare him off. Nate went to Michigan State University (Go Spartans!) and majored in Telecommunications. I tell this story all the time, so I have to tell it now. Plenty of mornings I'll come in and say "How'd Michigan play last night?" He'll shoot me a annoyed glance and say "Michigan State". I quickly learned not to get the two confused! MICHIGAN STATE is where he met the love of his life, Katie. Also a Great Lake State native, the two were married in her hometown in September, 2004. When he was a kid, Nate wanted to be a carpenter or an architect, but says he realized he couldn't draw and didn't have any "mechanical skills" so that didn't work out...Thank goodness he decided to pick up a camera! ;) He worked for a CBS affiliate in Northern Michigan before making his way down here to Knoxville. His daughter Ella just turned 1, but before the little cutie pie came into the world, his kids were 2 cats, Emily and Percy. "Emily" for the country song "Good Enough For Me and Emily" and "Percy" for "the great linebacker" Percy Snow, (of course from Michigan State). I hear they're crazy.

Hopefully you don't think Nate just stands there with the camera, points and pushes record, because he doesn't! He makes all the magic happen! From setting up the truck so we can go live, to getting awesome shots during our segments, Nate is constantly coming up with creative ways to tell you a story every morning. And this is just until 7 AM! After that, there's always more.

On a less "serious" note, Nate's a goof ball. He'll sing along in the car to fun pop music, talk about hip tv shows like it's real life and knows a little bit about everything I ask him. He'll do a lot for the segments too...except for one thing...touch the snakes at the zoo! (Sorry I had to tell them Nate!) You can't help but laugh when he does and he's very clever and witty. But the best part...his work is really inspiring. It's been such an honor to work with him every day for the last 4 months. Hope you enjoy what he does every day too.

So next time you hear me say something to "Nate" you'll know who I'm talking about...and don't worry, keep watching, I'll get him on camera eventually!

Allison