Former CNN Anchor Visits N. Fulton Rotary

publication date: Jul 24, 2008

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author/source: John Breech / STAFF

By John Breech / STAFF

Former CNN anchor Daryn Kagan signs a copy of her book at the Rotary Club of North Fulton last week.

Each and every Tuesday, the members of the Rotary Club of North Fulton gather in Roswell for their weekly meeting. Well last week, they decided to shake things up. With special guest former CNN anchor Daryn Kagan on hand, the Rotary turned their meeting into a power lunch as the club congregated at the Brookwood Grill. 

After the club finished the rest of their weekly formalities, club President Ryan Rothacker introduced the featured guest. For those unfamiliar with Kagan, she’s had a long and distinguished career in the media. She spent 12 years at CNN and covered an eclectic assortment of events. She’s been on-air for exciting occasions, like the Academy Awards (“I loved the live aspect of the Oscars”) and the Super Bowl. She’s done exhilarating events, like the time she went on a 10-day tour of Africa with U2’s Bono. She’s also seen the harrowing side of things, as she was the CNN anchor on-air when the heartrending events of 9/11 unfolded.   

After being asked to leave CNN in 2006, the Stanford graduate decided that she wanted to “show the world what is possible,” as she told the Rotarians. Kagan wanted to do something that the media rarely does – tell inspirational stories.

“My favorite stories have always been the inspirational ones.” So taking a page from the book of world traveler Mike Pugh, Kagan made the decision to “go visit all of the inspirational places in the world.”

Many friends and critics asked Kagan how she planned to find inspirational stories, but to Kagan it was simple. “I saw it like ‘Field of Dreams,’” she said. “If you build it, they will come.” Her website was created to “be a vessel for stories like this to exist.” Within months, the website was huge and stories were coming in from all over the world.

Kagan told the story of Adrienne, an Atlanta woman who was laid off twice and having trouble finding a job. One day the woman’s elderly parents asked her if she would help them move. The woman, not one to turn down her parents, helped them move and did it by specifically catering to the needs of the elderly. Her parents told their friends about the effortless move and suddenly Adrienne was a hot moving commodity.

After doing an extensive search, Adrienne discovered there was no moving company that specifically served the elderly. Many elderly couples are moving into nursing homes and sometimes they need help and advice sorting through decades of sentimental items. Adrienne then started Smooth Moves, and needless to say, she’s back on her feet.

Kagan’s website is filled with stories like that, and most of them are even more touching than Adrienne’s story as they involve children or people overcoming illness.

In April of this year, Kagan decided she wanted to get her message out even more, so she compiled many inspirational stories she had heard and wrote her first book, entitled “What’s Possible! 50 True Stories of People Who Dared To Dream They Could Make A Difference.”

Between the book and her website, Kagan seems to be enjoying herself a lot more in her post CNN career. “It’s my job to talk to inspiring people every day, and that’s a good job,” she said.

A Yankee Stadium Memory
The Rotary is full of interesting characters and many of them are able to share a little information about themselves during a session the club calls “happy dollar.” The session involves members buying a chance to tell a happy story, memory or event from their lives for a mere dollar.

One of the highlights of the happy dollar session last week was Bob Lynn’s story about his one and only trip to Yankee Stadium. It was October 1956 and Lynn was a student studying journalism at Columbia. A friend of his convinced him to head to Yankee Stadium, as the World Series was going on. Lynn, skeptical that they could get tickets on the day of the game, was unsure he should go.

However, after his friend nagged him a little more, Lynn was persuaded to go. His decision to attend the game turned out to be a good one. Lynn ended up going to game five of the 1956 World Series. What’s so special about game five? Yankee pitcher Don Larsen pitched the first and only perfect game in World Series history.

Lynn gushed about his only trip to the stadium, which will be replaced by the New Yankee Stadium next baseball season. Lynn ended his story by echoing a Yankee great, “Like Lou Gehrig, I considered myself the luckiest guy in the world that day.”

If you’re interested in checking out the Rotary of North Fulton, they meet every Tuesday at noon, usually at the Doubletree Hotel in Roswell.