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Meet Your Neighbor: Meet The Neighbor – Gerard and Elizabeth Ramalho
By Callie Thomas
How many famous Las Vegas power couples can you name? Steve and Elaine, Oscar and Carolyn, Donny and Marie… okay that last one is a brother and sister act, but all are well known in the community as individuals as well as successful duos and can still get their competitive game on. Gerard Ramalho and Elizabeth (Watts) Ramalho are another couple that could be added to the list. As Gerard would say, he’s “married to the competition.” Gerard is a news anchor on KSNV (NBC) TV3 and Elizabeth is an anchor at KVVU (FOX) TV5. While the residents share a lot in common, including a passion for their work reporting on important stories that affect locals, getting involved and giving back to the community, having fun playing Megabucks and rooting for the Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV (Elizabeth’s alma mater), they also have a few differences… namely their respective newscasts and the multitude of local charitable organizations they support. But together, they cover and help sustain the community, and in the process have made an important difference in the hometown they report on every day.
Gerard has been involved with the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Campaign as a committee member, St. Baldrick’s Charities benefiting childhood cancer research as a volunteer and the Las Vegas Youth Orchestra as an Honorary Board Member. Elizabeth is involved in a variety of organizations, particularly through FOX5 Take 5 to Care events throughout the year and has recently joined the board of the nonprofit Shine Foundation, which was founded by FOX5 weekend weather anchor Les Krifaton and his wife Rowena. Together, Gerard and Elizabeth tell us how they met, talk about their most influential stories and show us that while opposites attract, it was their similarities that brought them together.
How did you meet?
Gerard: “I met Elizabeth while she was just a newsroom assistant at channel 3. I was interested from the beginning, and when she eventually became a producer for my weekend newscasts, that’s when our relationship began to grow.”
Elizabeth: “Co-workers relayed messages to me that Gerard was interested and I was pretty much embarrassed, but he was very determined. I kept turning him down but eventually agreed after spending time together at a co-worker’s birthday party.”
And the rest is history?
Gerard: “Not exactly. Elizabeth was offered an important job in Yuma, Arizona and we both knew she had to go. We had a long distance relationship till just before our wedding when she was offered a job at KVVU, and now she’s my competition… but also my motivation and inspiration.”
What does it mean to report on events that affect the lives of everyone in the community?
Elizabeth: “I love going to work to help others and tell stories. My compassion comes out when reporting on tragedies and I stay unbiased covering politics, which is hard to find on the news sometimes. We cover a variety of stories. A lot of people think we just cover the unhappy events, but we cover the happy ones too.”
Gerard: “Being an anchor gives you access to incredible people. Not just elected officials or celebrities but everyday people with amazing stories. I’ve had the opportunity to interview Holocaust survivors, war veterans, inventors, child prodigies and many, many heroes. Just when I think I’ve seen it all, something or someone else comes along that blows me away.”
Why is giving back so important?
Gerard: “It’s a privilege to be a news anchor. I believe part of that privilege is giving back. Volunteering and meeting people in the community is actually one of the most rewarding aspects of my career.”
Tell us about your shared interests.
Elizabeth: “You can find us hiking at Red Rock or Mount Charleston or trying to win Megabucks. We love going to shows and cheering on my UNLV Runnin’ Rebels basketball team. You’ll also find us on Twitter; we love to tweet.”
Gerard and Elizabeth invite you to interact with them on Twitter at @ElizabethWatts5 and @gmannews.
