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Many of us in the Capital Region turned on American Idol at 8pm hoping for an exciting and proud night for our area.  Shortly after 8pm, reality set in on one of America's most popular reality shows.  21-year-old Julia Gargano, the Staten Island native and St. Rose singer/songwriter was the casualty of the first wave of Idol chops that sent her and one other  contestant home early, leaving 5 to co

May's Hometown Hero sounds like one of the most generous and kind men you'll want to know.  His name is Jim Welch and he's from Mechanicville.  Jim does something truly unique for children in need by offering up the gift of a comfortable place to sleep.  Jim and a group of volunteers donate their time, energy and resources to literally make custom beds for kids.  Listen to the heartwarming phone c

Julia Gargano is the St. Rose senior who auditioned on American Idol Sunday night and blew the judges away.  Following her stirring performance of an original song she wrote called 'Growing Pains', Idol judge Katy Perry ran up to her and gave her the biggest  hug.  Gargano, originally from Staten Island told Brian and Chrissy on GNA Wednesday morning that she literally blacked out the moment that

When we talked to Lieutenant Erica Debie from the Ballston Lake Fire Department to inform her that she'd been nominated to be February's Hometown Hero she immediately corrected us. "I'm the Captain now, guys" she quickly informed us.  The promotion happened recently and we were thrilled to hear about her recently anointed honor.  Erica Debie from Burnt Hills is not only the captain of th

Nichole Naccarato from Latham is January's Hometown Hero after an enlightening email submission from her friend Stephanie Joslin.  Stephanie wrote to tell about this amazing woman who went from being a workout buddy to so much more, especially when times got tough.

Please take a few  minutes out of your busy day to listen to the call Chrissy and I made to Sally Benoit telling her that she was the December Hometown Hero.  Sally and her amazing husband live about 90 minutes west of Albany but their story could inspire those nationwide.  It's literally like a movie you'd see on the  Hallmark Channel.  It is our honor to introduce you to the Benoits and share wi

We called 9-year-old Cody Alessi from Stuyvesant while he was in school to tell him he was the Hometown Hero For November and probably caught him off guard a bit but it was certainly worth it. Take a listen!

15-year-old Aiden from Guilderland wrote into WGNA asking that his father, Matthew, be our Hometown Hero for Septemeber.  We were happy to call and speak with Matthew on his day off to tell him the great news, which he humbly accepted.

Penny Bartlett from Colonie is the proud Marine Mom of 26-year-old Ian and she wrote to us hoping we'd honor him as August's Hometown Hero.  Mom also told us that her son may be slightly uncomfortable with the 'fanfare' that comes along with it and decided to spend a few minutes with, in her words, why her son is so amazing.

County Waste has partnered with us to honor those in our communities who are truly making a difference and Josh Grassi from Clifton Park is truly one-of-a-kind.  He loves animals so much, his spends countless hours (and his own resources) tracking down and locating lost pets.