Cynthia Hunt came to Local 2 in September 2003 as a reporter already familiar with the Houston news market.

But her roots began in Alabama. She was raised on a dairy farm near the small town of Eva in north Alabama, where politics were a frequent topic of conversation. Politics ran in the family -- her father ran for the Alabama state legislature and her great uncle was governor of Alabama.

She remained in Alabama to attend the University of Alabama, majoring in political science and print journalism.

Cynthia landed her first job as a reporter with WAFF-TV in Huntsville, Ala., before moving to Houston for her second job as a television reporter at a competing station.

"Local 2 offered me the chance to do more substantive work. I feel blessed for the opportunity to work here," Cynthia said. "I consider it an honor to tell people's stories. Each day, I strive to tell those stories in a fair, balanced and compelling manner."

Cynthia prides herself as a reporter who gets the exclusive, including an interview with Andrea Yates' mother and siblings, which made national news. Yates was the Clear Lake mother who drowned her five children in the family's bathtub.

Other exclusives include receiving letters from "railroad serial killer" Angela Maturino Resendiz shortly after he was captured. In one of the letters, he confessed to several of murders and the letters were subpoenaed at Resendiz's capital murder trial. Cynthia used her FBI contacts to break the story of an astronaut imposter who gained access to two secure NASA installations and a military area. She invoked the Freedom of Information Act to get official NASA video of the imposter inside Mission Control.

One of Cynthia's proudest professional moments came a few years ago when she aired a story about three families that had their children's Christmas presents stolen. After seeing her story, Houstonians reached out and people from all over town showed up with gifts. The children had the biggest Christmas of their lives.

Personally, Cynthia is the proud owner of a five-pound Chihuahua named Maxwell. He amuses her neighbors because Maxwell considers himself "fierce" and often tries to pick on larger dogs.

Her favorite book is "To Kill a Mockingbird," which won a Pulitzer Prize for author Harper Lee for the story of racism in a small Alabama town. She also loves "Tuesdays with Morrie" since her sister is fighting a terminal illness and it reminds them that every day, life should be lived to its fullest.

She keeps in shape by remaining a loyal yoga student of teacher Yannis Avramidis. It's the same type of yoga that Madonna follows.

Cynthia is also a photography buff and loves taking black-and-white pictures of her family, friends and pets.

For more information on Cynthia, visit her Web site at www.cynthiahunt.com.

If you would like to drop Cynthia a line, e-mail her at cynthiahunt@click2houston.com.