Julie Hays - KWTX TV

Get to know more about Julie!

Julie Hays is an award winning journalist who is no stranger to Central Texas or KWTX-TV.

She came on the scene in 2002, starting her career here as an overnight producer. Julie went on to handle responsibilities of weekend producer, reporter, and morning and noon anchor before moving to the evening newscasts alongside Gordon Collier.

Julie stayed there for nearly a decade, anchoring the 5, 6 and 10pm news. But, in early 2015, Julie needed more time (and sleep) for her young family and made the decision with the blessing of management to leave the 10pm newscast. At that time, her kids were 4, 2 and 1. Julie now anchors the 5 and 6pm news and serves as executive producer of the daytime newscasts.

Julie has covered several big stories during her time at Channel 10, including the Baylor basketball scandal. Five years after that major story broke, Julie landed the first sit-down interview with disgraced former head basketball coach, Dave Bliss.

Julie also spent many days covering the President's comings and goings in his adopted hometown of Crawford. She's interviewed President and Mrs. Bush on multiple occassions, including by invitation to the White House during his final months in office. One of her most memorable reports Julie's done, landed her an Emmy nomination for her reporting from Havana Cuba during a Baylor baseball mission trip, long before Americans were allowed to travel there.

In 2015, Julie spread her wings and also joined the KWTX Baylor Gameday set as a co-host of the Emmy nominated show in 2015.

Julie also has won multiple Texas Associated Press Broadcasters awards, the Waco Tribune's most popular on-air personality, Best TV News anchor for the Copperas Cove Leader Press, and 1st place for news anchor in the popular Wacoan Magazine. Other media awards include the statewide media honor roll for her education reporting, and the large market media award from the Texas Farm Bureau for her interest in agriculture.

Julie is well known for helping with a number of non-profits around town, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of Waco, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, and Fuzzy Friends Animal Rescue to name a few. She's always happy to help out when called upon!

For her efforts, the American Cancer Society awarded Julie the "Friend of the American Cancer Society Award."

Julie is a proud a graduate of Abilene Christian University and a former youth counselor at a church camp in Winnsboro, Texas.

She is married to Waco native Sam Hays.

The couple has three children, Callie, John and Natalie.

Julie is from the small east Texas town of Paris, Texas, where her parents still reside.

If you see Julie around town, please stop and tell her , "Hi!"