Biography

Dan Hellie is an American sports anchor

Sports commentator

In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...

 and reporter for WRC-TV

WRC-TV

WRC-TV, channel 4, is an owned and operated television station of the NBC television network, located in the American capital city of Washington, D.C...

, an NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

Early life

Hellie was born in Manila, Philippines, and was raised in Gaithersburg, Maryland

Gaithersburg, Maryland

Gaithersburg is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The city had a population of 59,933 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest incorporated city in the state, behind Baltimore, Frederick, and Rockville...

. He attended Magruder High School, where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball. The sportscaster graduated from the University of Tennessee

University of Tennessee

The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

 with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism; he was also a member of the FIJI fraternity

Phi Gamma Delta

The international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...

 during his time in Knoxville.

Career

Hellie began his career in Alexandria, Minnesota

Alexandria, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,820 people, however the most recent count suggests a population upwards of 10,000, which is displayed on Alexandria's city limits signs. The census lists 4,047 households, and 2,011 families residing in the city. The population density was 992.5 people per...

, as an editor, producer and reporter. After nine months, he landed a job in Florence, South Carolina

Florence, South Carolina

-Municipal government and politics:The City of Florence has a council-manager form of government. The mayor and city council are elected every four years, with no term limits...

, as a reporter/anchor. Following his two years in Florence, Hellie called Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 home, first working in West Palm Beach at WPTV

WPTV

WPTV-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for South Florida's Gold and Treasure Coasts. Licensed to West Palm Beach, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 12 from a transmitter in Lake Worth along U.S. 441/SR 7. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 3...

, and then, in 2003, as sports director at WFTV

WFTV

WFTV, channel 9, is the ABC-affiliated television station for Central Florida that is licensed to Orlando. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter between Bithlo and Christmas. Owned by Cox Enterprises, WFTV is sister to Independent WRDQ. The two stations...

 in Orlando. In 2005, Hellie was named best sportscaster in Florida. The Associated Press

Associated Press

The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

 also awarded him best feature story for a piece he did on bull riding

Bull riding

Bull riding refers to rodeo sports that involve a rider getting on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal attempts to buck off the rider....

. In the feature, Hellie attempts to ride a bull and stays on for 1.8 seconds. In July 2006, Hellie returned to the D.C. area. He was hired by the legendary George Michael

George Michael (sportscaster)

George Michael was an American sportscaster best known nationally for The George Michael Sports Machine, his long-running sports highlights television program. Originally named George Michael's Sports Final when it began as a local show in Washington, D.C...

 to work for WRC-TV

WRC-TV

WRC-TV, channel 4, is an owned and operated television station of the NBC television network, located in the American capital city of Washington, D.C...

 as an anchor/reporter, where he covers his hometown teams.

Personal life

Hellie resides in Bethesda, Maryland

Bethesda, Maryland

Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...

, with his wife and their two children. In 2008, Hellie presented the commencement speech

Commencement speech

A commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions. The "commencement" is a ceremony in which degrees or diplomas are conferred upon graduating students...

at his alma mater, Magruder High School.

External Links