Heather Schallock joined WJFW in June of 1994 after she graduated from UW-Oshkosh. At that time she anchored weather during our 5pm and 10pm weeknight newscasts. In 1995 Heather joined WEAU, the NBC affiliate in Eau Claire, Wisconsin as a weekend weather anchor and weekday reporter. Soon after that Heather came back to WJFW as a reporter and 5pm producer/anchor.

In August of 1995 Jerry Schallock got down on one knee during Newswatch 12 at Five and asked Heather to marry him. She, of course, said yes and the clip has aired on NBC Bloopers and Practical Jokes several times. (She still maintains it was no joke.) On Thanksgiving Day of 1998 Heather and Jerry welcomed their daughter, Sydney, into the world. On April 6, 2005 their son, Jake, was born.

In 1996 Heather won the Associated Press Award for Best Spot News for her report on a high speed chase through Rhinelander. Heather was promoted to News Director in 1999 and currently anchors Newswatch 12 at Five. In 2006 Heather won a Bronze Award in the Muscular Dystrophy Association Broadcast Journalism Awards for her coverage of a Rhinelander teenager battling a neuromuscular disease. A reporter in Dallas took first place and a reporter in Boston took second place.

Heather is proud to call the Northwoods home and enjoys cooking, water skiing, and snowmobiling.

Asavari comes to WJFW from sunny southern California. Asavari joined our team in July 2001 anchoring Newswatch 12 Today and reporting. In 2005 Asavari gave up the early morning shift for a chance to anchor our evening newscasts.

Asavari graduated from the University of California, Irvine, with a B.S. in Biological Sciences and a certificate in Marketing Communications. After working in public relations and the entertainment industry, she decided to pursue a career in television news. Asavari completed a certificate in Broadcast Journalism at UCLA and completed an internship at KCAL-TV in Los Angeles. She then worked as an assignment editor at KMIR-6 News in Palm Springs, CA.

She found the job listing for Newswatch 12 on the Internet and was excited to begin a new adventure in northern Wisconsin.

Asavari says life here is 180 degrees different from her hometown of Hermosa Beach, California, but she says she loves the four seasons, the beautiful Northwoods lakes and forests and even the snow. She credits her newfound love for nature to her husband Tom.
On the weekends she and Tom love to fish, try out new restaurants, shop and check out the newest Box Office hits.

Chad Silber is a Northwoods native and joined WJFW in January of 2007 as a News Reporter. In May of 2007 Chad joined Asavari Phadnis on the news desk to co-anchor Newswatch 12 at 10. He graduated from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville in December of 2005 with a B.S. in Communications with an emphasis in Broadcasting and a minor in Political Science. Chad also interned at north Florida’s top-rated TV station, First Coast News (NBC-12/ABC 25). In addition, Chad served as anchor and reporter for a student-produced public interest show that broadcast over all of north Florida on the WB-17.

Chad started college at Northern Michigan University in Marquette and anchored and produced the all-student produced newscast, “Public Eye News,” for a year and a half. After two years in the cold, Lake Superior weather, Chad moved to the Sunshine State to finish his schooling.
He first got an interest in television broadcasting during his freshmen year in high school in Eagle River when he went to his first Packers game at Lambeau Field with his dad.

Chad was born in Eagle River and graduated from Northland Pines High School in 2001.

While in school, he played hockey and soccer for the Eagles. He also interned at WRJO 94.5 in Eagle River during his senior year.

Chad enjoys watching football, tennis and college basketball. GO BADGERS! GO GATORS! Chad has two younger sisters, Chelsey and Erin, who are both in college and parents who live in Eagle River and enjoy watching their son on the news every night. Chad’s grandparents also live in the Northwoods and love seeing him on TV.

Chad is excited to be in Rhinelander working for the station he grew up watching.

Lara Reed came to Newswatch 12 in August of 2005 as a News Reporter. In October of 2006 Lara joined the morning team to co-anchor Newswatch 12 Today. After a year and a half of very early mornings, Lara now co-anchors Newswatch 12 at 6pm and also serves as an Executive Producer.

Since moving to Rhinelander she has covered everything from breaking news to all the festivals and events throughout the Northwoods.
Lara is from Northern Indiana. She attended Butler University, where she received a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism.
While in school she had internships at both WLFI in West Lafayette, Indiana and WTHR in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Kelly Larson joined WJFW as a Weekend News Anchor and Reporter in November 2006. In April 2008 Kelly started co-anchoring our morning newscast, Newswatch 12 Today. You can also see Kelly's weekly feature, "Green Thumb Thursday," on Newswatch 12 Today and Newswatch 12 at 5.

Kelly graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communication and a minor in Theatre. While at school, she served as a reporter, producer, anchor, and program host.

Kelly's first professional experience in the broadcast journalism industry happened after her junior year of college as she interned at WLS, ABC 7 Chicago. Kelly always knew she wanted to get into broadcasting because she enjoys being involved within her community. A native of Shorewood, Illinois, she has emceed for the Easter Seals Telethon as well as fashion shows in Illinois.

In her free time, Kelly enjoys singing, working out, and running, especially marathons. Her goal is to run a marathon in every state, having already completed two Chicago Marathons. She also enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She is very excited to try cross-country skiing and other adventures the Northwoods may offer.

James Fillmore joined the WJFW team as a co-anchor for Newswatch 12 Today in June 2008.

He comes to the Northwoods from Grand Rapids, Michigan. James graduated from Central Michigan University in May of 2008 with a B.A. in Journalism.

While in school, he worked at News Central 34 as a reporter and news anchor. James also completed internships at WOOD TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan and WEIU in Charleston, Illinois.

Whether it's working out, running cross-country, or playing tennis, in his spare time, James enjoys being active. He is excited to call the Badger State his new home and can't wait to take advantage of all the recreational activities the Northwoods has to offer.

Rebecca Solomon joined Newswatch 12 in October 2006 as a news reporter and fill-in anchor. In April of 2008 Rebecca started anchoring Newswatch 12 Weekend at 10pm. Rebecca also enjoys exploring restaurants in the Northwoods and she shares her experiences in her special reports, "Reservations with Rebecca" once a month.

From the moment Rebecca saw her first newscast as a little girl, she knew her career would be in television. Rebecca grew up in Pennsylvania’s state capital, Harrisburg. After high school graduation she made her move to the Midwest where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Indiana University. At IU, Rebecca was a news anchor, reporter and producer for WTIU News Forum. Rebecca spent her summers in New York where she interned for WNYW Good Day New York, and Inside Edition.

During her free time, Rebecca enjoys the arts and entertainment, dancing, cooking and catching up with family and friends. Rebecca is thrilled to be making her first job in television at WJFW and is excited to be a member of the Northwoods community. She looks forward to trying activities like ice fishing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling and maybe even hunting!

Barclay Pollak joined Newswatch 12 in May of 2006 as a Master Control Room Operator. In March of 2007 he joined the news team as a News Reporter. Barclay has had the chance to direct newscasts and even shoot highlights of our local high school games.

Barclay graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in August of 2005 with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Journalism. While in school he served as co-host for a weekly sports talk show on WSUM, Madison’s student radio station.

Barclay was born and raised in Milwaukee. In his spare time he enjoys watching movies and is obsessed with the television show Nip/Tuck. Being from Wisconsin, Barclay is definitely a homer. He loves the Brewers, Bucks, Packers and of course the Badgers.

Janelle Dobson joined Newswatch 12 in November 2007 as a News Reporter and Fill-In Weather Anchor. Janelle was born and raised in the state capital of Illinois, Springfield. After high school she went to college to become a journalist so she could get involved in the community and make a positive impact on people.

In May 2007 she graduated from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communications and a minor in Speech Communication. Janelle began her journalism career in college as a Sports Reporter for The Alestle, the school newspaper. She also worked as a News Reporter for 88.7 WSIE-FM. During her last semester of college, Janelle interned at Fox 2 News in St. Louis. She was also very active in her sorority, Alpha Phi, and even served as the President in 2006.

In her free time she enjoys cooking and eating even more! She also likes to run, shop, travel and spend time with family and friends. Janelle loves the outdoors, and is excited to take advantage of the Northwoods beautiful landscape.

Luke joined the Weatherwatch 12 Storm Team as Chief Meteorologist in May of 2006. Luke is also a full member of the American Meteorological Society.

Raised in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, Luke has learned to become very familiar with the variable Wisconsin weather we often experience. “Forecasting the weather in a place like Wisconsin makes my job very challenging and usually there is something new to consider in every forecast.”

After high school, it was off to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where Luke received a B.S. in Atmospheric Science in 2004. It was during his junior year in college when Luke called up WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee and inquired about working behind the scenes as a weather intern…that’s when Luke discovered that perhaps this is the career he wanted to pursue. After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree, Luke went on to earn his Master’s degree in Atmospheric Science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He completed a thesis with a research focus of improving winter weather precipitation forecasts. “Writing a thesis was the most demanding and strenuous accomplishment I have ever undertaken and I am so relieved I made it through.” After 7 years of school and 4 years of helping out behind the scenes at WTMJ, Luke decided to try the “other” side of the camera.

“I try to bring a credible science-based approach to the day’s weather and forecast…without being too boring of course!” Being a rather shy person, Luke says it just takes a LOT of practice and patience to get up in front of a viewing audience. “You may or may not know, but a weathercast is completely unscripted and NO, there is not a teleprompter. However, I enjoy the freedom to tell the weather story as I see fit in that moment…you may just have to forgive some goofy words that come out of my mouth every once in a while.”

Luke also enjoys getting into the classroom…but NOT as a student. “I was able to get an opportunity to teach Meteorology courses when I was in Graduate School. I found out that I love to teach.” Luke even teaches up here in the Northwoods. He is a community faculty member at Nicolet Area Technical College.

Luke married his longtime sweetheart Amy on June 2, 2007. She is a Two Rivers native as well and is a teacher employed at Nativity of Our Lord in Rhinelander as a 4K teacher. Luke is very jealous of her summers off!

On April 24, 2008 Luke and Amy became parents with the birth of their son, Owen.

Matt was born and raised in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities, but his family’s roots are from all across the Northwoods. His family owns a cabin west of Minocqua where he has experienced the Northwoods weather first hand!

Matt joined WJFW in February of 2008. He graduated in May of 2007 from the University of North Dakota with Bachelors of Science degrees in Atmospheric Sciences and Environmental Geography. During his freshmen year in North Dakota, Matt became involved with several campus weather shows working as a forecaster and producer. “This was a great way to get my feet wet in broadcasting and a way to find out if I really liked it.”
By his second year, Matt was anchoring and producing weather shows for Prairie Public Television in North Dakota and Southern Canada. After that, he was hooked and knew that he wanted to be a weatherman! It was also during this time that he interned with Studio One, the National Award winning campus show at UND. Here he interned for eight semesters as a member of the weather team and was able to work as a reporter, anchor, and producer for the live shows.

North Dakota was a great place to live and learn how to forecast the weather and find out just how extreme and sometimes unpredictable Mother Nature can be! “ I remember one spring day where it was 80° at noon, but by 5pm the temperature plummeted to near 30° and I was stuck wearing shorts for my walk home!”

In his spare time, Matt enjoys fishing and hunting during the summer and fall and skiing, snowmobiling and ice fishing when the snow begins to fall. He looks forward to living in the Northwoods and exploring what Northern Wisconsin has to offer!

Tony comes from Milwaukee where he was born and raised. The Northwoods is a familiar territory to him because his family has lived in Minocqua and Rhinelander. He used to come to Plum Lake in the summer to visit his great-aunt’s cottage.

Tony joined our station in September of 2007.

He attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Atmospheric Science in May of 2006. During his time at UWM, he also spent five years interning at WTMJ in Milwaukee. It was through the mentoring and leadership of the Chief Meteorologist that Tony learned the behind the scenes knowledge of becoming a broadcast Meteorologist.

When he is not forecasting the weather, Tony likes to be out enjoying it. Depending on the season you can find him mountain biking, camping, backpacking, snowboarding or hiking.

Tony says, “Being a meteorologist in Wisconsin is great. It really presents a challenge everyday with our constantly changing weather conditions.” As the saying goes, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait a day!”

Sports Director Matt Thompson joined Newswatch 12 in July, 2003.

He came to the Northwoods from WGBA-TV in Green Bay where he was the sports reporter/fill-in anchor since 1998. "I had been vacationing in the Northwoods for the last 13 years so I figured I might as well live the good life all the time."
Matt is from Madison and can't think of a better sports state than Wisconsin. "The passion Wisconsinites have for sports is unmatched. Especially the Packers. The Brewers, Bucks and Badgers all have rabid fans as well."
His true passion is breaking stories. "It doesn't take much to find a great story, if you keep your eyes and ears open. Sometimes the best story isn't the person who comes in first."
Matt spends most of his time away from work watching SpongeBob, Barney and the Wiggles with his wife and three kids. "I took my kids to see the Wiggles in concert and found myself singing all of the songs. I knew then I was in trouble."

George Savaricas joined Newswatch 12 in November 2007 as the Weekend Sports Anchor.

He comes to the Northwoods from Columbia, Missouri where he attended college. While attending the University of Missouri, George worked as a sports producer, reporter and weekend anchor at KOMU-TV.

George also interned at WMAQ-TV in Chicago the summer before his senior year and was able to cover the 2006 PGA Championship.

George is from Wilmette, IL a suburb just north of Chicago and his family now resides in nearby Evanston, IL. He roots for all Chicago sports teams, except the White Sox. As a sports nut, George loves playing them as much as he does covering them. If you can't find him at the station you'll probably see George out on links or hitting the open waters up in the Northwoods. "Local sports stories are what drive our coverage", so if you have any story ideas please e-mail him.