Julie Summers joined Local 10 in September 2004 -- just in time for the start of our historic hurricane seasons. Within hours of her arrival at the station, she was live on the air as the newest member of our team bringing viewers the latest in continuous coverage. Wind, rain and lack of sleep not withstanding, she has enjoyed every minute as a reporter since.

During her time at Local 10, Julie has covered a wide range of work -- from live reporting in the field to anchoring. Julie is "grateful and humbled" by the opportunity to make a difference whenever possible -- whether it's exposing a contractor who was eventually convicted of felony charges or pushing city bureaucrats to move firefighters out of dangerous working conditions. Her investigative reports have prompted legislators to push for better safeguards to protect children from sex offenders and exposed local stores purposely selling expired baby medicine. She's helped a man who uses a wheelchair get HMO coverage he'd been denied. A city law's been changed to save homeowners thousands of dollars. And traffic engineers corrected unsafe road conditions - all thanks to her efforts. She's helped Local 10 viewers recover thousands of dollars from disreputable travel clubs, debt settlement companies and even a prominent dental office. Through it all, Julie has been challenged, threatened and even assaulted as the camera was rolling. The rewards, she says, far outweigh the difficulties, even when she's had to suit up for firefighter training, killer bee extermination and an Everglades python patrol.

The journey is always interesting, she says. Julie actually has a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. But when she stumbled into journalism, she never looked back. She loves the ever-changing landscape of current events and their impact on our lives.

As a morning anchor at her previous station, she also discovered the possibilities of outrageous fun on live TV: an accidental wheelie in a riding lawnmower obstacle course, a hallway armadillo race gone bad, a tumble off a scooter, injuries from a laser jousting contest and hitting a high note with singing sensation Patti LaBelle.

The daily three-hour newscast was also where Julie had a chance to hone her live interview skills. She conversed with presidents, movie stars and newsmakers. She was anchoring the morning of Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. She was also live on the air when war broke out in Iraq. And she brought live updates when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated in the skies over Texas.

Julie has won several broadcasting awards -- including two Emmys from The National Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences. She has also been honored by United Press International and Associated Press for both her news anchoring and reporting.

When she's not at work, Julie loves to travel. Highlights include cave tubing in Central America, hiking a glacier in British Columbia, trekking a Hawaiian rainforest and helping an orphanage in Honduras. But her heart is always here in South Florida with her family where she devotes time to charitable causes and practices her sign language when possible.

An ideal day is spent "hacking" around a golf course -- followed by an evening of great sushi and live music. Or you might bump into her on the beach where she loves to spend Sunday mornings reading the newspapers.

If you have a concern that needs investigating you can e-mail Julie here.