Susan Audé
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Susan Audé (born October 31, 1952) is a retired American television news anchor in
Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...
at
WIS-TV WIS (channel 10) is a television station in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW. The station is owned by Gray Television, and maintains studios on Bull and Gervais Streets (US 1/ US 378) in downtown Columbia a ...
. A child of military service parents she entered adulthood from Virginia to Erskine College in South Carolina in 1972 when she was seriously injured in a car accident in 1974. She spent six months in the hospital. Living the rest of her life in a wheelchair, she overcame depression and anger at the time and earned degrees and a career in television news broadcast, starting in 1978 until retirement in 2006, as well as working in theatre and public speaking. Raised a
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
, she converted to the
Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
in 1995 and she says it broadened her views of society and religion.


Personal life

Audé was born on
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1952 into a military family living in many locations - she graduated from high school in Germany and was in
Fort Lee, Virginia Fort Lee, in Prince George County, Virginia, United States, is a United States Army post and headquarters of the United States Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM)/ Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCoE), the U.S. Army Quartermaster Scho ...
about the time she went to college. Audé attended Erskine College from about 1972 because an aunt and uncle attended, served as a dorm representative to the student government council, and was a runner-up in the contest for Homecoming Queen. In 1974, Audé was in a car hit by a truck - two were killed and two others injured - during her junior year, and sustained severe internal injuries. She recovered but was left paralyzed from the waist down. She has spent her life since then in a wheelchair. Following a year of hospitalization and rehabilitation, during which she had depression and anger, she went on to finish her college education, competed for national Miss Wheelchair America after winning at Virginia's Miss Wheelchair,
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with distinction in javelin and shot put contests, was elected Erskine Homecoming Queen in 1975–76, and earned an A. B. in English and Spanish in 1976. She earned a master's degree in journalism/communications from the University of South Carolina at Columbia in 1978 and joined
Kappa Tau Alpha Kappa Tau Alpha is an American college honor society which recognizes academic excellence and promotes scholarship in journalism and mass communication. Membership must be earned by excellence in academic work at one of the colleges and universit ...
. Audé has often spoken of how her spiritual faith shaped her life. In 1995, while attending a
Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
where she was teaching
Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...
and attended seminary classes, Audé began a period of intense study of the
Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
across some three years before converting following contact with a friend of her daughter's parents and her own exploration including some 20 books in about a year. The conversion brought awareness of her social circle having limited exposure to people of other races, and provided an optimism of the future of humanity and affirmed her sense of ethics for journalists. She has organized Baháʼí
study circles A study circle is a small group of people who meet multiple times to discuss an issue. Study circles may be formed to discuss anything from politics to religion to hobbies. They are differentiated from clubs by their focus on exploring an issue or t ...
, and assisted in Baháʼí publication. During her newscaster career Audé was actively involved in many activities and organizations and upon her retirement in 2006 she was awarded the state's highest civilian honor: The Order of the Palmetto for her contributions to the state by then Governor Mark Sanford. Audé married Kevin Fisher in 1982. She was known as Susan Audé Fisher on-air until their 2001 divorce. They have a grown daughter, Blythe.


Careers


Broadcasting

Audé entered the television news business inspired by
Barbara Walters Barbara Jill Walters (born September 25, 1929) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, Walters appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including ...
12 years before the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 19 ...
initially as weather announcer and reporter. "If I went to cover a story that was on a second floor of a building that didn't have elevators or ramps," Audé said in a 2006 interview on the Today Show, "I couldn't go back to the newsroom and say 'I couldn't get the story.'" Initially hired as a "weather girl" she was visible on the intro to the station's new during the intro. After a year at
WIS-TV WIS (channel 10) is a television station in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW. The station is owned by Gray Television, and maintains studios on Bull and Gervais Streets (US 1/ US 378) in downtown Columbia a ...
she was a weekend anchor, and by 1982 she joined longtime anchorman Ed Carter on the weekday newscasts as the first full-time female anchor in Columbia television history. She and Carter were together for 16 years until Carter's retirement in 1998. In 1981 she was elected president of the state chapter of the Associated Press Broadcasters Association. Audé announced her retirement on February 1, 2006, after 28 years as a television news reporter and anchor. Susan decided to retire after a hip fracture.


Speaker and services

In 1983 Audé returned to Erskine to give the first "Cardwell speaker", In 1984 and 1989 she addressed a legislative conference. In 1985 she gave the commencement speech at the
Valencia Community College Valencia College is a public college in Orlando, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. The college was founded in 1967 as Valencia Junior College and changed its name in 2010 because the academic scope of the school had expanded to ...
's Computer Programmer Training for the Disabled. In 1995 she addressed the graduating class of Erskine College and was named as a new member of the board of trustees of the college and a vp of a committee that raised funds for the college in 1998. In 1996 she helped with the Columbus Musical Festival Association, was interviewed by Clemson-based ''Making It Grow!'' educational television program, and was part of the carrying of the Olympic torch through South Carolina for the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in Atlanta. In 1998 she spoke to a chapter of the
Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...
. Her life and accomplishments have been the subject of stories in Good Housekeeping and
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s, as well as on
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and
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cable channels and
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. In 2003 Audé hosted a South Carolina Educational Television documentary on special-care children. In 2010 Audé was emcee at an April 2010
tea party A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...
rally in front of the
South Carolina Statehouse The South Carolina State House is the building housing the government of the U.S. state of South Carolina, which includes the South Carolina General Assembly and the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. Located in th ...
.


For the Baháʼí Faith

Since retiring from broadcasting as a professional career she has traveled, given talks, and worked part-time at Baháʼí Radio, WLGI, in South Carolina including interviews of Baháʼís for broadcast. She was interviewed on the radio program and podcast series ''A Baháʼí Perspective'' as well as contributing to its body of work reviewing authors of books at the library at the Louis Gregory Institute.


Theatre career

Audè has appeared in a variety of plays. In 1972 she appeared in ''What did we do wrong?'' by
Henry Denker Henry Denker (November 25, 1912 – May 15, 2012) was an American novelist and playwright. Biography Denker was born in New York, the son of a fur trader. After initially studying to be a rabbi, he change to the study of law and graduated fro ...
while attending Erskine College, as well as publishing some poetry. In the late 1980s Audé appeared in two films - ''Distortions'' (1987) as Mourner #9, and in Staying Together (film) (playing herself). Audé played Madame Rosemonde in Workshop Theatre of South Carolina's January/February 2009 production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons).


Awards and honors

Audé received dozens of honors across her life. While at the University of South Carolina for her master's degree, she was added to the "Who's who among students in American Universities and Colleges" as rookie of the year. ''Good Housekeeping'' listed her as one of its "100 Young Women of Promise". In 1988
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
awarded her an honorary doctorate in humanities, and was awarded the Handicapped Professional of the US and was a runner up for the international award for the state chapter of "Pilot International". In 1998, Audé was named to the University of South Carolina College of Journalism's "Diamond Circle". In 1999 she won the "Sullivan Award" from Erskine College. The Governor's Commission on Women honored Audé with its 2001 Woman of Achievement Award which is presented for "remarkable accomplishments and commitment to our state". In 2006 she was awarded the state's highest civilian honor: The Order of the Palmetto for her contributions to the state by then Governor Mark Sanford.


See also

*
Marty Ravellette Marty Ravellette (December 18, 1939 – November 12, 2007) was born in Goodland, Indiana without arms, attended Allentown, Pennsylvania#Health care, Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network in Allentown, Pennsylvania as an infant and then the famil ...
, a Baháʼí born without arms. *
Baháʼí Faith in South Carolina The Baháʼí Faith in South Carolina begins in the transition from Jim Crow to the Civil Rights Movement but defines another approach to the problem, and proceeded according to its teachings. The first mention in relation to the history of the re ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aude, Susan Living people American Bahá'ís Erskine College alumni University of South Carolina alumni American people with disabilities 1952 births Converts to the Bahá'i Faith from Protestantism 20th-century Bahá'ís 21st-century Bahá'ís American women journalists Former Methodists People with paraplegia Television personalities with disabilities South Carolina television anchors Beauty pageant contestants with disabilities