Career: Tonia Bendickson joined WBTV News in October 2000, as co-anchor of the 5pm News with Bob Knowles. In addition to her anchoring assignment, Tonia reported and investigated a wide range of topics for the late news. She now anchors at 5:30 with Jamie Boll and on Charlotte's first choice for news at 11pm with Paul Cameron.

For WBTV, Tonia traveled to New Orleans to cover the personal stories of Carolinians affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. WBTV sent Tonia to Houston in 2004 to cover stories surrounding the Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl.

Prior to joining WBTV, Tonia spent three years at KHOU in Houston, Texas where she co-anchored the morning news. Prior to that, she co-anchored the morning news at KXLY in Spokane, Washington. She began her career in broadcasting there in 1988, working her way up as an assignment editor, producer, and reporter before becoming an anchor.

In Houston, Tonia reported on major news events like John Glenn's return to space, and the tragic Bonfire Collapse at Texas A&M. She's won numerous local and regional SPJ and AP awards for reporting and producing. She won a regional Emmy, National Iris, and Scripps Howard award for her efforts as producer/reporter on a documentary about a 1995 shooting rampage at Fairchild Air Force Base.

Beat: Tonia's passions are reflected in many of the stories she covers. She reports on breaking and continuing health news alerts at 5:00.

Honors: Tonia has won numerous local and regional SPJ and AP awards for reporting and producing. She won a regional Emmy, National Iris, and Scripps Howard award for her efforts as producer/reporter on a documentary about the shooting rampage at Fairchild Air Force Base in 1995. In Houston, Tonia reported on major news events like John Glenn's return to space and the tragic Bonfire Collapse at Texas A&M.

Community Involvement: Tonia is passionate about important community issues. She volunteers at her church to help local organizations house the homeless, feed the hungry, teach children and adults how to read, and meet basic needs like keeping lights and heat on when working people have lost their jobs.

Tonia also works to help keep adolescent mothers in school and encourages them to go to college. Tonia has worked for years to raise awareness about breast cancer, and has helped raise money to find cures for cancer in the name of her former colleague and friend, Bob Knowles.

Hobbies: Tonia is an avid runner and climber. She has finished four marathons and climbed Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens in Washington State. She also enjoys biking, dancing, singing, figure skating and snowboarding. Tonia is a former racecar driver. She started racing go-karts at age 12 and began racing Modified stock cars at age 19. She retired at age 23 to start a family.

Email: tbendickson@wbtv.com