Nancy Grace swept into the ballroom of The Estate events facility in Buckhead on Thursday morning and beat a trail to the front of the room.
The HLN host was the keynote speaker at the Women in Media luncheon hosted by B98.5 FM “Morning Show” host Vikki Locke to benefit Emerge, which provides scholarships to women who have overcome personal obstacles and want to further their education. Given the possibility of breaking legal news, Grace was on a tight schedule.
“Is there a Jodi Arias verdict yet?” she said with a glance at her BlackBerry, referring to the penalty phase in the convicted murderer’s case, which had not yet been reached at the time. “Miss Thing is holding us hostage!”
Then Grace, known for her feisty on-air persona, delivered a short but moving address. She recalled how she entered the legal profession after the death of her fiance Keith Griffin, and the beginning of her career as a prosecutor. She mused at how she showed up for her first trial (an attempted shoplifting) wearing her first blue suit and a pair of white hose that were so trendy back in the day. The air conditioning went out midtrial, in August. Somehow she made it through, and the jury returned a guilty verdict.
“My cases soon took on a more sinister tone,” Grace said. She became emotional in recalling details of the first homicide she prosecuted.
“That was the first autopsy photo I ever saw,” she said, her voice choking and tears streaming down her face. “There was no way I could fix things for this family. I remember telling that jury, ‘You must speak for those who no longer have a voice. That’s what separates us from animals in the jungle.’ “
Although she won a conviction in that case, too, her early legal successes were not enough to remove the sadness from her spirit. Late one night in a courtroom, she said she remembered thinking, “Why I am here? Why I am not married to Keith and living in Colorado like we planned, putting our kids to bed? This is not what I signed up for.”
But she didn’t give up.
“God blessed me that night,” she said, explaining that she experienced a peace and knowledge that she had been given a new path.
“It may not be the race you signed up for,” she said in closing, “but it is the race you are in. So by God, run!”
With that, she had to run.
Grace was introduced by author, speaker and consultant Myra McElhaney following a welcome by WXIA’s Karyn Greer.
In keeping with the “Women in Media” theme, the crowd included CNN’s Holly Firfer, writer, consultant and speaker Dr. Karin Smithson, author Kimberley Kennedy, Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles publisher Gina Christman, Georgia Public Broadcasting producer Jessica Forkel and 97.1/the River morning host and Georgia Radio Hall of Fame candidate Kaedy Kiely. There were some Guys in Media in attendance as well, including Atlanta Magazine writer and VOX associate editor Richard Eldredge.
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