Kelli Saam anchors NBC 24 First News at Five with her husband Jerry Olenyn, and works alongside Alan Marsden on CBS 12 News at 6:30, and The Eleven O'Clock News.
An award-winning anchor and reporter, Kelli has enjoyed covering major news events in virtually all parts of the country. Raised in Illinois, Kelli began her career as an anchor/reporter in Lansing, Michigan where she attended Michigan State University. She worked as a correspondent at the Presidential Debates of 1992 in East Lansing.
From there it was on to Nashville, Tennessee where she worked a variety of positions from news anchor to sports anchor. “I really liked Nashville. Where else can you interview Garth Brooks in the morning, and Brooks and Dunn in the afternoon?” Saam was awarded an Emmy for her reporting and worked as the special assignment correspondent covering the Houston Oilers’ move to Nashville.
Kelli and her husband, Jerry Olenyn, moved to California in 2000 to co-anchor a newscast on KCOY-TV in Santa Maria. There, Kelli won an AP award for best newscast. Then the family both moved back east to work in television in Lexington, Kentucky. Kelli won a 2nd Place Award for Best Reporter in the state, and was nominated for an Emmy for Best Investigative Reporting.
After all of her travels, California is the place Kelli considers home. She was thrilled to move to Northern California to work as the evening anchor for KHSL and KNVN-TV. “We were looking for a place to settledown and raise our children. I can’t think of a better place for kids than Chico.” You might see Kelli and her husband walking their dog and their kids in one of the area’s beautiful parks. She’s also an avid movie and sports fan, particularly fond of the Chicago Cubs, Michigan State Spartans and the USC Trojans.
You can email Kelli at ksaam@khsltv.com
