There is nothing remotely marginal about Dallas Fox News Anchor, Heather Hays. She is a kinetic, information tempest. Star-power, under pressure: she might just be redefining the way evening news is done.

She is beautiful, poised and confident- but don't let her graceful, Hepburn-like persona mislead you. This former Miss Hawaii is at the top of her game. She speaks with a punctuated crispness, even as she demonstrates her affinity for factual sound-bites. Her twelve- year journalistic ascent to the top of the 7th largest television news market in the country has been an arduous, howbeit, she admits a delightful one. "I literally started at the bottom," she candidly confesses. "I swept up the studio late at night, I lugged my news camera and I edited. I did it all. I had to. It was a great learning experience."

Her no-nonsense approach to broadcast journalism has earned her more than just the respect of her peers; the nation's eyes are focused on her. This year she was nominated for a Lonestar Emmy. Last year she won the prestigious Katy Award, a co-anchor honor she proudly shares with her close, trusted colleague, Steve Eager. "It was an amazing experience," she says, as a warm glow illuminates her lovely face. "To be recognized for your work among your peers is a very gratifying experience. It's hard to ascribe words to adequately context the feeling."

And though Heather Hays might have some difficulty synthesizing her feelings about her accomplishments into words, she shows no such oratory deficiency in front of the news camera. She is about as professional and polished as they come. "Stories move you, they touch you... you can't help but be touched by the magnitude of this job," she says.

Being in the midst of the stream of history's lurid revelations as they unfold minute-by-minute, might not be the place for the squeamish, but its center stage for Heather Hays.