Jen Holloway-Professional Tampa, Florida base news anchor. Knowledgeable on-camera talent with extensive experience in live network news, infomercials, corporate promotional videos, and commercials.

The Woman Behind The Suit :
Jen is currently featured on the cover of Natural
Muscle Magazine.

Inside read an in-depth 6 page article about Jen, her thoughts
on health and fitness and her career in front of the camera!

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She rises each morning at 2am - that's 2 as in 2 o'clock? when most of us are just entering our REM state. By 5am she is poised and raring to go, exuding the confidence of a consummate pro taking on another news day in Tampa Bay. An "original" at the station from its inception in 1997, the anchor we have come to view as "the news lady," has played a considerable role in bringing Bay News 9 the success it currently enjoys. This Georgia native has made her mark in an industry that necessitates both beauty and brains-especially of its women-and she, by far, exceeds those requirements.

I met Jen last year at a team meeting for the annual Auction for Angels charity event sponsored by IMAGO magazine. The sole purpose of the auction? to raise money for foster children to have a more meaningful Christmas-is a worthy cause that Jen and I support and Jen was acting host for the 3rd consecutive year.

As I came to know Jen it was clear that there is much more to her than the on-air persona. More than just the news lady, more than just a suit, I wanted to delve further and perhaps give the public a glimpse into the real Jen Holloway. I sat down with Jen in an exclusive interview to peel back the layers and uncover that woman? the woman behind the suit.

Pz: Let's talk first about your background. Share some of that, if you will?

Jen: Sure. I grew up in a very healthy, but unhealthy environment. Healthy in the fact it was a farm environment. We worked hard! my grandmother has a rainbow trout farm in North Georgia. My other grandparents, who are now deceased, had a working dairy farm. The unhealthy portion stems from that good old southern cooking. I was raised in a family where everyone sits down to a big meal once a day. Anything that you could grow we found a way to fry, but with a lot of love! I didn't grow up fat, just real nice and pudgy. I was one of only 70 in my graduating high school class where at the time being size10-12 earned me the nickname wide load.

Pz: Wide load because of a butt? wide butt?

Jen: Oh, yeah, big back side. It never bothered me because I'm not a sensitive person. I learned early on to have a Teflon coating. If you didn't like what somebody said you just let it roll off your back because they're entitled to their opinion.

Pz: That's an interesting attitude for such a young age. Sounds like you believed in the sticks and stones school of thought.

Jen: I had to raise myself that way because that's what I was always told. It never really bothered me. In fact, it invigorated my spirit. Everybody would say, " Oh, Jen, you're not exactly a size 2, you have a thick southern accent, there's no way you'll ever live in the big city and be a news anchor." I heard that my entire life, not from my family, but from the people around me. Whether it was schoolmates, college professors, or counselors, I heard, "Jen you're going to have a rough road if you think you're going to be a news anchor."

Pz: Seemingly too many obstacles for you to overcome.

Jen: I just turned it into a challenge. When I got to college I knew I needed to focus more on my weight to help my career. It's kind of the unwritten rule of journalism that you need to maintain somewhat of an attractive figure.

Pz: What brought you here to Tampa?

Jen: After college, I went to work at a TV station in Atlanta, spent 2 years there, still overweight. Then went on to Houston KPRC-NBC, still overweight. 2 years there, hit a glass ceiling, couldn't move up the ladder, and didn't have enough experience. I wasn't the most attractive girl. My backside was hurting me, not physically, but in my career. I had to make a change. You can't stick to the same 30 minutes on the treadmill at 4.0. You've got to kick it up to level 5 at 4.6 do it for 45 minutes instead of 30, you've got to shock your system, you've got to shock your career, give it a change to get a different result. So I decided to look for something new and within a few weeks I saw a small ad in the back of a newspaper, "Bay News 9, new 24-hour news station opening in Tampa, apply to." You know, it was closer to Georgia than Texas. I love Florida weather. I figured why not? So, I applied and 3 months later I came in for an interview, and here we are.

Pz: Okay, we're going to get down to brass tacks. You are the first non-fitness person chosen to grace the cover of Natural Muscle in its history. I'm not sure if you knew that.

Jen: (big sigh. long pause) No, I didn't.

Pz: Yes, you are the first. What does that mean to you?

Jen: Well, me in my little self-competitive mind says, boy the pressure is on and you had better look good for that photo shoot! But then I think it's both humbling and honoring, because gosh, I really didn't know that.

Pz: Obviously there is much more to Jen Holloway than meets the eye. Do you feel you are most often judged one-dimensionally?

Jen: Everyday, E-v-e-r-yday.

Pz: How so?

Jen: When I'm out and about at the grocery store or running errands I meet people who automatically think of me in one certain way. They immediately comment, There's the girl on TV in the suit who reads the news, there's the news lady.' I hear that all the time! There's the news lady. I want to speak to those people and let them know that's not just a girl in a suit. That's a girl who was raised on a farm, a girl who can grow tomatoes, a girl who can write articles, a girl who loves to help charities, a girl who's got confidence, and a girl who would be there for you if you needed her. But I think I'm that way because of my upbringing. As I look back I realize being reared in a small community, you're being trained to help others.

Pz: Would you say everybody was connected in that town and you felt part of that connection?

Jen: Very much so. Somebody dies you take food. Something happens in the church you go immediately.

Pz: So you don't think, you just act?

Jen: Oh yeah. That mentality has stuck with me. That kinship, my family heritage and tradition, helped shape me into who I am, which is not the lady in the suit who reads the news everyday. I am that person, but I'm more than just that person. I'm so much more.

Pz: Well, you indeed are in terrific shape. Tell me what you do to achieve those impressive results?

Jen: Really, three things: First, set your goal. Tell yourself you ARE going to do it. Second, shock your system and know you have to in order to change. Third, and the most important key is scheduling. When you have a toothache you make an appointment, then you go. My life is tremendously busy, work, work, work, workout, then, schedule, schedule, schedule,workout, you've got to fit it in and stick to it. And you've got to find motivators. A recent motivator for me was finding out I had been chosen to be on the cover on NM, that was a huge motivator.

Pz: How did Jen sculpt this body? What exactly does your routine consist of? Do you use weights? Cardio? A combination? What seems to work for you?

Jen: You have to mix it up. I love free weights. I get bored with machines. Free weights and the treadmill. I swear by those. Also, portion control as far as food is concerned. I prepare my meals everyday using 6 Tupperware containers, the 10 oz. size. Every night I make sure I have at least 3-6 meals ready for the next day. Those meals aren't always cooked. Sometimes it's opening a package of tuna or chicken and eating it while I'm sitting at my news desk. You have to incorporate it into your life because everybody now knows good health means quality life and quality life is what's worth living.

Pz: Everybody has a favorite body part. What is yours and why?

Jen: It would have to be my biceps, not because they are the greatest in the world, but because it was the first place I saw change. Second favorite, and the one I like to train the most, are legs. They've always been my downfall. I've always had a thicker thigh, couple of dimples on the back. I'll admit it, but I know it's my problem area. I face it when I go to the gym and I work on it.

Pz: At this stage, what part would you say fitness plays in your life?

Jen: Tre-mendous part. I never realized the value of being healthy and what it can do for you mentally until I started working in news. I have a very stressful job. I found the best way to improve your confidence level at work, to improve your exterior physique and your all around well-being, is to be healthy and to exercise. When you're healthy on the outside you're healthier on the inside. You can't have one without the other. It goes back to those who are in good shape and are interested in health love to help each other. I work with a team of women and we are constantly motivating each other and ourselves within this little group. As I improve others are improving right along with me. So I think being fit is a must. It is a necessary part of business, no matter what business you are in. It's a necessary part of life, and once you get it you get it and you will never want to let go of that feeling, it's euphoria.

Pz:You mentioned your busy schedule. How do you prioritize and choose where you place your energies?

Jen: Obviously, work pays the bills, exercising doesn't for me, so work must come first. I began mingling exercises into my workload at home. I don't need a big piece of equipment to exercise, if people could learn to integrate simple maneuvers in their life they'd see dramatic changes that could propel them to the next stage. That's what happened to me. But you plan ahead, put the dishes in the dishwasher, then do 25 sit-ups, 25 pushups, and 15 lunges.

Pz: Now you have created a different mindset for yourself, right?

Jen: Right. It's not the old mindset anymore of, oh, I'll do it tomorrow? I'll have this cookie today or this piece of chocolate won't hurt me.

Pz: Or, my jacket will cover that?

Jen: (big laugh) Yeah. Right! You just have to prioritize. I never have the same daily schedule. I go to work and who knows what could happen, but when I get out of work I can relieve that tension and that pressure, some way some how, with exercise. I kid you not. I'll be sitting in the car at a red light doing butt-squeezes, because, you know what? That's the only time I've got.

Pz: Great. That's great.

Jen: You just learn to incorporate, you learn to squeeze it in, wedge it in your schedule.

Pz: No pun intended!

Jen: (Laughter)

Pz: I'm going to take you off on another tangent. As a TV personality and a public figure do you think you have an obligation or a responsibility to participate in the community?

Jen: I think people do expect you to participate, but when you consider my background where being part of the community and helping others has been instilled in me and is second nature . . .

Pz: . . .So it's no big leap for you, and you don't ever feel obligated? it's just who you are?

Jen: No, not at all, and I love it. It is who I am. It is just second nature to me.

Pz: The role of a lead morning news anchor is an important one. Who were your role models? Who influenced you?

Jen: Growing up, a newswoman at Atlanta's WSB was Monica Kaufman. While my mom was busy preparing the daily meal, you know that big fried dinner? I had to read or watch TV. We only had one channel and the ONLY thing on at 5 o'clock was the news. Seeing it everyday and especially seeing a woman and a woman of color motivated me. There weren't any people of color in my town. This was 1975. That was the beginning of my role models. Of course, my mother, my sisters, and my grandmothers, but I think you need multiple role models.

Pz: Do you see yourself as an example other women can look to for inspiration?

Jen: Not 100%. I'm so far away from perfect, but yes, I do, in this one aspect. How can a woman get up at 2:00 every morning, go to work, try to look decent, put on a smile, volunteer for seven charities, try to maintain a social life. . .

Pz: . . .work out?

Jen: . . .and workout.

Pz: How many hours are there in the day?

Jen: Sometimes I don't think I know! So yes. If somebody wants to look at my life and say, you know what, if she can do all that than I can too.'

Pz: I remember the first time I saw the billboard campaign with the life-size picture of you. That must have been quite a thrill driving down the interstate and coming upon that gigantic advertisement.

Jen: Honestly, to this very day, I look at those billboards and I think, there's that news lady.' I don't see it as me. The best way to describe it is an out of body experience.

Pz: Do you view yourself as an empowering woman? I liken it to my example of the crabs in the pot where one crab scratches and claws her way to the top and is just about to escape to freedom when the others reach up and pull her back down in the pot with them, the misery loves company scenario. Sometimes woman can act like those crabs in the pot and hinder rather than help each other.

Jen: Yes, that is very true, there are women who do nothing but bring you down and if you circle your life with those friends, you bet; but you just have to get yourself another crab pot. And that's right, I do see myself as an empowering woman.

Pz: A little bird told me you are an avid golfer? True?

Jen: Love golf. love it. I picked up the game thanks to the help of Elliott Wiser, my General Manager at Bay News 9. Seven years ago when I met Elliott, he took me under his wing. He saw some talent but, oh, gosh, there was a lot of work to be done.

He showed me that golf is not only a means to keep healthy, by walking and exercising outside, but also it's an avenue to meet others. It's often said there are more business deals done on a golf course than in any boardroom. I am very self-competitive and not many people are great at golf. There are a lot of good golfers, and I'm not even in the good category, but I want to be one day.

Pz: That leads me to an obvious question. You're a golfer and the game is pretty tough to master. What do you shoot?

Jen: (Big gasp) You know what? Sometimes I keep score, sometimes I don't.

Pz: Can you break 100?

Jen:It's like, it's like fitness. You set a goal with each hole. You get that ball in the hole and then you pick it up and go on to the next hole. And I just look at it as a hole-to-hole game.

Pz: So you're not too concerned with did I get a birdie, did I hit it in the fairway, you're just out there swinging away, having fun, doing your best?

Jen: Exactly!

Pz: Anchoring the 5am news broadcast, working out, staying in shape, and playing golf all require discipline. How disciplined would you say you are and how does that fit into the success you have achieved?

Jen: In this world with so many opportunities to walk down the wrong path. I have to be so regimented and disciplined, you've just got to be on the money. I think it is one of the most important qualities anyone can possess, man or woman to be disciplined. If you want to lead a healthy, happy life being disciplined is key to that success.

Pz: Give me a proud moment? One that quickly comes to mind that you were so proud at that moment.

Jen: (Long, pause) You know, the most proud moment for me recently was successfully implementing a cookbook for charity. There is a cookbook I'm publishing as we speak. Not just me, I'm getting some team help. The idea came to me, literally, when I was on a treadmill. How could I incorporate cooking and my love for children? Why don't I create a cookbook for children with cancer, sell the book, raise money, and give the proceeds to research to help find a cure? It's called "Cooking Against Cancer." Everybody has a connection with cancer, it's everywhere. This has to be one of the joys of my life getting this cookbook off the ground.

Pz: How do you think your viewers and your fans will react when they see you on the cover of Natural Muscle in a different light?

Jen: Two ways. One, I think those people who have an interest in health, and know how hard you have to work, and what it takes to create a bicep or a tricep, will respect what I'm doing. And I also expect just the opposite. There will be those who want to pull me back into their world of not being happy and being out of shape.

Pz: . . . to put you back down in the pot?

Jen: Yes, to put me back in the crab pot! I expect both sides. I expect those supportive of me will respect what I'm doing as far as my simply saying, Hey, I'm a healthy person and here's what it takes to do it in my life.' On the other hand, I expect people to be very critical and possibly react in ways like, look at her, and who does she think she is?

Pz: You feel they may not fully understand what the motivation is for you to do this, but you're going in prepared for both reactions?

Jen: I have to be prepared for both everyday of my life. Do you understand how easy it is for someone to pick up the phone, to write an e-mail or to write a letter saying, "I can't believe you wore that color lipstick, I can't believe your hair looks like this, how could you wear that suit, how could you mispronounce this name, why didn't you say it this way, or that way, I can't believe you pronounce Iraq as EYE-raq. " Everyday of my life I am criticized at my job.

Pz: So viewers sometimes offer up their opinions over the smallest or the most insignificant of things?

Jen: Oh yes. They mean nothing really. But that part of my job has taught me two things. One is be ready for criticism, it's around every corner and when it comes have a better understanding of the world around you. Two is that everybody has faults. I've become less critical myself. I'm hesitant to criticize now because I know what it feels like.

Pz: So they are very judgmental?

Jen: Everyday.

Pz: But as Bonnie Raitt once said, "Let's give'em something to talk about." Well, this certainly is giving it to them. So what drives Jen Holloway? Where do you get your motivation?

Jen: (Softly responds) From my niece. My niece is 13.

Pz: Your niece. What is her name?

Jen: Her name is Carolyn. (Tearfully proceeds) She was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 6 months old. Oh, she's fine. She's now in remission. I saw that child not just as my niece, but more like my little sister, and at the age of 6 months, when I was 21, she was diagnosed. All my life I wanted a little sister and I felt like God was going to take her away. I saw that child on her death bed in ICU for weeks on end, chemotherapy, needles, hair falling out, throwing up. Seeing a child go through what she did from age 6 months to 2 years I came to appreciate how short and how valuable life is and realized if that baby girl could fight as hard as she did I could do it, too, in different realities of my life. And today, I'm happy to tell you she plays softball, basketball, she is amazing.

Pz: Wow, that's pretty wonderful.

Jen: She gives me a lot of strength.

Pz: Are there mountains you have yet to climb and what aspirations do you have for your future?

Jen: What am I going to do when I get too gray to be on TV and have too many wrinkles?

It's going to happen. But it's like going on a diet; you've got to expect to fail. You're not going to be the perfect dieter; you're not going to be the perfect eater. You've got to expect to fail because that's just the way it is.

Pz: And what you do with those failures then becomes part of who you are, taking you forward to the next success. Would you agree?

Jen: Yes. Those failures are part of who you are. Those failures will come and my point is I'll have a failure of sorts when it comes to being too old to be on TV. My ultimate dream job would be working as a public motivator, talking about fitness and how to get through the bumps in life. I feel like God put me on this earth to communicate. I came out talking and I haven't stopped talking. So the obstacles in my future are deciding what's next? what happens after news. Who knows?

Pz: So you are saying your news career has a shelf life?

Jen:Absolutely, without a doubt. There are a few exceptions to the rule. Barbara Walters being the best example.

Pz: Diane Sawyer.

Jen: Yes. There are a few exceptions. I may not be an exception and I'm okay with that. Fitness helps me to be mentally prepared. I'm not perfect, but I know that I'm a confident person because look what I can do. If I can build this little muscle right here (points to bicep) then I can do anything? I'll be fine.

Pz: And is there something about Jen Holloway that people would be surprised if they knew?

Jen: I think my background. Knowing that I love being in a garden pulling weeds or with my grandmother in the kitchen learning to bake better biscuits. I have such a down to earth upbringing and, again, people just look at me and say, "There's the lady in the suit; there's the news lady." There's so much more. I'm a small town girl who has worked hard as hell to get where I'm at, who hasn't made it on looks all my life. My looks have hurt me as much as they have helped. People assume because I'm pretty that I've gotten where I am. Let me tell you many times people say, "She's pretty so she must be stupid, she can't be smart."

Pz: You did model for quite a while and you competed in beauty pageants so you've had a lot of experience in that area.

Jen: My motivation for doing the pageants was scholarship money, my parents don't even have air conditioning in their home. I don't come from wealth. I did it to prove that I could. I was never the perfect figure, it was rare I ever got anything beyond 1st runner-up. I was never the best looking girl. I never had that all around package. Doing the pageants also kept me in shape. I knew I had to set goals.

Pz: It sounds like you have created all of those layers along the way to bring us to where you are today, the woman who is more than just the news lady, more than just a suit.

Jen: I'm just a Georgia gal with a lot of common sense, who loves to hunt and fish with my father. I don't mind getting my hands dirty. Life's about getting your hands dirty. I think people are really shocked to learn this.

Pz: Putting you on the cover of Natural Muscle is going to be inspiring to women from many walks of life. What do you hope they take away from this?

Jen: Oh, I hope so. If the goal of this article would be to take away one thing that one thing would be if I can do it anybody can. I may have a wacky schedule with my job, but a lot of women have wacky schedules with their children, you know. I mean everybody's got their own burden to bear, you have to find a way to bear that load. And believe me, I don't feel like the most blessed individual in the world. I feel like I'm missing out on a family, where are my children, where's my husband? There is a part of my life that I don't have and other women are so blessed to have, but you've got to accept what you have whether it's your job, your family, or your body. Work with it, mold it, and be confident about it no matter what you have to work with. God gave us all special talents. We've just got to find them. He put them under the sand we've just got to dig them out.

In the case of Jen Holloway she certainly got more than her fair share of talents. Since her nickname of wide load in high school, the small town farm girl from Hiawassee has come a long way baby. As often is the case, those individuals we see only on TV, only from afar, we come to know a certain way. Jen is an anchor on a 24-hour news station that brings important headlines into our homes. Behind her desk, she is easily mistaken as merely a talking head in a suit. Maybe now when you tune in and see this news lady in action you'll do more than just listen to her words. You'll stop for a moment and think. Perhaps you'll even look beyond the suit and see her in a new and different light.

Pz is a writer and empowerment strategist in the areas of self-improvement, fulfillment and relationships. Have questions or ideas? She encourages your participation in the process. You can reach Pz @ her address: pz@pzpower.com

By:Pz Hopkins
Photos by: Solus Creations

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