Dan Marries
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Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life. That is exactly how Dan Marries feels about working as the evening news anchor at KOLD News 13 where he's been keeping Tucsonans informed since 1999.
Dan got his start in television news in 1995 while he was still a junior at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, CO. His internship lead to his first job in journalism as the morning anchor and noon weatherman. Further news jobs took him to Mankato, MN, Yuma and finally Tucson. It was also during college he spent four summers as a wildland firefighter for the Bureau of Land Management.
Dan is the father of two boys: 19-year-old Kurtis and 3-year-old Dean. He's the lucky husband of Jennifer who's originally from Nassau, Bahamas. The were married in 2010 and love calling Tucson "home."
Dan is heavily involved in our community. He's the charter president of the Casas Adobes Optimist Club. For the past several years that club has adopted upwards of 30 less-fortunate families during Christmas, making sure the kids have presents under the tree and food on the table.
Dan is also a founding trustee board member of the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation assisting our local fire community with funding, tools, technology, advanced training, equipment, survivors' help, and education campaigns to support these brave men and women.
Every year he volunteers during Love of Reading Week, spending time with children letting them know the importance of education. He's also a frequent visitor to the Southern Arizona VA Medical Center, visiting with veterans to thank them for their service. For the past 11 years he has served as the official announcer for the Tucson Veteran's Day Parade and the Tucson Rodeo Parade telecast. His schedule is kept busy emceeing and attending hundreds of fundraisers for a variety of local charities including "BAG IT," which provides vital information for cancer patients, the Tucson Utility Contractors Association, United Way, Boys & Girls Club, the Marana School Foundation, and the Tucson Police Officers Foundation, to name just a few.
Dan has been recognized with numerous awards as a journalist including two Emmys, one which came from a half-hour documentary he shot, wrote, and produced on one of his three trips to Vietnam with local veterans. He won a Communicator's Award for a rodeo story on legendary Ty Murray, and Ty's efforts to give retired bucking horses a place to live. He's also been recognized several times by the Arizona Associated Press.