Melissa Gaona

Melissa joined Your Hometown Station in June 2011.

For two years she was the field reporter for WDBJ7 Mornin', and you could never tell where Melissa was going to be next.

These days she is co-anchor of WDBJ7's 7@four and 5pm newscasts each weekday afternoon.

Be sure to watch her series "Hometown Veterans: Honoring our Heroes" on the last Thursday of each month on 7@four!

Melissa was born and raised in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Yes, she is a Cowboys fan.

After high school, Melissa joined the United States Army. She served active duty and worked on diesel engines. Melissa says the experience grounded her and made her appreciate the small things in life.

In 2004, she made her way to Texas Tech University and majored in English with an emphasis in creative writing. Melissa started as a pre-med major, but soon realized her passion was storytelling.

After graduation in 2008, Melissa worked as a sports reporter for a newspaper in East Texas. A few years later, she headed to the Commonwealth of Virginia for her first TV news job at WCYB in Bristol.

Since Melissa moved to the Commonwealth, she not only fell in love with the mountains but she also met her husband in Virginia.

When Melissa is not reporting she enjoys writing short story fiction and poetry, biking on the trails, hiking, painting, fishing, cooking and spending time with her husband, Joshua, two daughters, and dog Revee.