WATCH: The Emotional Moment a 40-Year Veteran Newscaster Reveals His ALS Diagnosis in a Heartrending On-Air Goodbye Just Five Months After Doing the Ice Bucket Challenge

WATCH: The Emotional Moment a 40-Year Veteran Newscaster Reveals His ALS Diagnosis in a Heartrending On-Air Goodbye Just Five Months After Doing the Ice Bucket Challenge

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was trendy for a little while, but then the trend died down and people forgot about it. But for people living with ALS, they can’t just forget about it and move on when the trend is over — and for one legendary North Carolina newscaster who participated in the challenge, ALS ended up impacting his life irrevocably.

larry stogner

A beloved North Carolina news anchor revealed his ALS diagnosis Friday in an emotional on-air goodbye to viewers after nearly 40 years at the same station.

Larry Stogner signed off from WTVD Raleigh last week in a tearful farewell to the station and viewers he’d reported the for daily since 1976.

The shocking reveal came just five months after a seemingly healthy Stogner participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge, meant to benefit ALS–also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease–in a segment shown on the air.

… Stogner signed off by saying he was going on vacation with his wife and would be back in a few weeks to offer his loyal viewers a ‘more personal’ goodbye.

The veteran newsman’s legacy will be honored by his station with a week of special stories beginning February 2.

Stogner will appear one final time on February 6.

Over the course of his illustrious career, Stogner has had the honor of interviewing such notables as Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton.

In 2010, Stogner was inducted into the North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame, joining such journalists as David Brinkley, Charles Kuralt and Charlie Rose.

It was heart-wrenching to watch him fight back his tears as he said his goodbye to the viewers he had spent decades with. And in that one video, he showed remarkable bravery. His will truly be a great loss for the journalism community.

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