An anchor at an NBC affiliate in Detroit bid a heartfelt farewell to her colleague on the air as he races off from the Motor City for a new gig in Beantown.
Priya Mann welled up during the sendoff to her weekend morning show co-anchor Grant Hermes in their final broadcast for WDIV-TV on Sunday.
“Grant, you’re just absolutely incredible,” Mann said, bringing her hand to her chest during the tender moment.
“It leaves a hole in my heart.”
Hermes, who has teamed with Mann for nearly three years, also got emotional.
“Priya, I could not have asked for a better partner on air and a better friend off air,” said Hermes, who has accepted a reporter position with independently owned WHDH-TV in Boston.
“Thank you so much.”
Mann then described how she and Hermes managed to bond during the pandemic, when the news anchors were working remotely.
“Bantering with someone who is not sitting next to you is extremely difficult but you made it so easy,” Mann told Hermes.
“It’s been my pleasure,” Hermes responded.
Hermes’ impact on viewers was immense, according to another member of the weekend morning crew, meteorologist Brandon Roux, who was on set for the segment.
Roux remarked at “how your co-workers are like family,” adding: “We have a family member that is leaving us.”
He then shared an anecdote about running into a viewer at a local grocery store.
“I talked to a woman in Kroger about [Hermes leaving] yesterday and she was practically in tears,” Roux told Hermes and Mann.
“As are we,” the meteorologist added.
“We are so sad to see you go,” Mann added. “We’re happy for you, but we’re sad for us.”
Hermes wrote a goodbye message to viewers on his social media.
“My wife and I moved to Detroit at the beginning of the pandemic and I can’t thank the amazing people at @Local4News and @clickondetroit (enough) for their kindness they’ve shown us 2,” Hermes wrote on Twitter.
On his Instagram account, Hermes wrote: “There is truly no city like Detroit and no community quite like Detroiters in the best possible way. It’s been such a privilege to tell your stories and bring you the kind of news you all deserve. Thank you so much.”
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
