S.C. United Methodist meteorologist receives an Emmy Award

NORTH—An active member of St. Mark United Methodist Church has been honored with an Emmy Award.

Lake City native and WIS-TV meteorologist Von Gaskin received an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Chapter in June 2018. The Emmy was awarded to the WIS News Sunrise Crew for Hurricane Irma coverage.

Gaskin began her career in meteorology more than a decade ago. Although she knew being a successful television meteorologist would not be easy, she was up for the challenge.

“When I started in the business, my goals were simple. I just wanted to give people an accurate weather forecast,” Gaskin said.

After what she calls a rocky start in the television news business, she wanted to give up on the career because of the daily pressure and public scrutiny, but she didn’t. She continued to give accurate forecasts at television stations across North and South Carolina. She became a meteorologist at WIS News 10 in Columbia in early 2010, where she continued to build her career by finding mentors and developing skills that would help her succeed instead of fail.

“I cannot believe that I was on the team that received the highest award in my field,” Gaskin said.

The WIS News Sunrise Crew received the Emmy for Best Daily Newscast during the coverage of Hurricane Irma. Gaskin was the meteorologist for that morning updating viewers on the weather hazards associated with a land-falling tropical system.

According to the National Weather Service, Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys as a Category 4 hurricane in September 2017. The storm weakened as it moved north but still produced four tornadoes, several inches of rain and wind gust over 60 mph in South Carolina.

WIS News 10 is the NBC affiliate television station in Columbia, SC owned by Raycom Media.

Prior to working at WIS, Gaskin worked at WPDE from 2004-2006 as the weekend meteorologist.

Gaskin earned a master’s degree in Broadcast Meteorology from Mississippi State University and a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of South Carolina. She is also a 1997 graduate of Lake City High School.

Dr. Thomas Bowman is her pastor at St. Mark.