For nearly four decades, Anne Trujillo has been the trusted face on Colorado TVs.
The story behind the face is the story of a Mile High icon. She's a journalist who's covered history — and made it.
But Anne's journey didn't start on the anchor desk.
"I was a general assignment reporter, and that meant that I did anything and everything on any given day," said Anne.
Anne earned her stripes reporting in the field — all over the state and beyond. Her first major story is one of her most memorable.
"In 1985, there was an earthquake in Mexico City, and there were only two of us on staff who could speak Spanish. So they sent us to Mexico City," she recalled. "I think about it all the time. You see buildings that crumbled to the ground, and you hear someone say, 'Everybody hush,' so they can listen to it, to try and hear if anyone was buried under the rubble. That hasn't changed to this day."
But over the years, so much has changed. In 1999, the headlines in Colorado changed us all.
"Colorado had never experienced anything like that. I think the nation hadn't experienced anything like that," said Anne. "And I felt like I was always, I just always felt like I needed to be compassionate and talk to people. As a parent... it's a whole different frame of mind when you're talking to someone who has lost a child, who has lost a loved one."
Those stories have never left Anne.
"It was it was just all too much. And I do remember going home and just... I can't talk about," she said.
Over the years, Anne has interviewed presidents and Oprah. She's covered popes and hosted Politics Unplugged. But there's something special about how she talks to everyone, informing Colorado through the tough times and the triumphant, including Super Bowls and Stanley Cups.
"I am a [Colorado Avalanche] season ticket holder, and I've been a season ticket holder since the Avs came to town — and actually even before the Avs when the Grizzlies were here," Anne said with a grin.
Her personal passion carried into her reporting.
"It's just fun. It's fun to report on those kinds of events that, you know, people love and people get excited about and are that excited with you. It's just the best," said Anne.
"Be honest with me," Denver7 anchor and friend Jaclyn Allen pressed. "Have you ever been happier than when the Avs won the championship?"
"No, I have never... Well, OK. There have been some family events that make me so happy, but that was a really fun event," Anne replied with a laugh.
Behind the scenes, family is what makes Anne. She met her husband, Mike, at Denver7.
"My first day on the job, I met Mike," Anne said. "I was assigned to follow a crew around, and it just happened to be that Mike was the photographer "
Their love kept growing. Their two children, now grown, have given Anne a title she's most proud of — grandma.
"I'm 'Lita' to little Lucia and little Rafael," she said.
Anne Trujillo has become the longest continuous anchor on Denver TV. As she's recognized with every award you can imagine, Anne is thinking less about the past and more about the future.
In her retirement announcement, she quoted Isabel Allende, "I'm not going to retire. I'm going to renovate."
"I thought that was brilliant. I love it," Anne said of the quote. "I think retire just sounds old, and I don't feel old. "
It's now time for a renovation.
"I have been feeling for a while that I need to renovate. And so that word just hit home for me that it's time. It's just time," Anne said.
After all these years, saying goodbye isn't easy. Notes and memories have poured in from viewers and colleagues to the journalist who is part of our collective history — a Mile High icon.
Her goodbye note to everyone is simple.
"Thank you. I am so thankful. I feel so honored and blessed to have had this position all of these years, and to have had this opportunity to just understand or try to understand people's lives and their experiences and their heartaches and their joys. And it just has been such a privilege. I wanted to walk out with my head held high and faith that people trusted in what I was doing."