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Ciarrocchi, Gardner get a Hall of an honor

Ciarrocchi has the distinction of being the first female anchor inducted.

Pat ciarrocchi
Pat ciarrocchiRead moreCourtesy Image.

CBS3's Pat Ciarrocchi and 6ABC's Jim Gardner have been inducted into the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. They join KYW's Malcolm Poindexter and Larry Kane as the only other broadcast-news anchors in the hall.

Ciarrocchi, who celebrated her 32nd year behind the anchor desk at CBS3, has the distinction of being the first female anchor inducted. The Chester County native, who grew up watching Mort Crim, Vince Leonard and Jessica Savitch, joined the station on March 15, 1982, and credits her longevity to a genuine love of the community and desire to tell its story. She's come a long way since her radio days, when her first on-air appearance was as a screamer for a Halloween spot.

"I don't say 'humbling' lightly," she said, when I asked her about what this honor means to her. "I'm in iconic company. It's humbling to be recognized for a body of work. It's great to be recognized for work that I love. And it's a great opportunity to wear really great-looking patent-leather heels."

Gardner released a statement about his own honor:

"I feel deeply honored by this wonderful gesture by the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters. But understand that when they honor me, they are really honoring 6ABC and Action News. There is a culture in this organization that no individual stands above our collective effort to serve our viewers, and that 'team mind-set,' in fact, may be one of the reasons behind our sustained success."

What is NBC10?

Former NBC10 traffic reporter John Ogden was on "Jeopardy!" last night, coming in second and taking home the standard $2,000.

Ogden left NBC10 in 2008 after getting the gig under funny circumstances. The La Salle grad won a summerlong stint as a traffic reporter in 2003 but ended up staying until he went on to pursue other avenues. He's now vice president of communications and community relations at Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic.

Ice Pack melted

City Paper, where I worked before coming to the Daily News, is axing Ice Pack, the gossip column written by A.D. Amorosi for the past 25 years. But fear not for Amorosi, who will now hang his gossipy hat at Metro. Today marks his last column for the alt weekly, although he will continue to write arts, music and scenester features for the paper. He starts at Metro on Wednesday under a different, still-undecided column name.

Although there were many highlights over his quarter-century tenure, a few stand out, including meeting his wife, Reese, through Ice Pack. "She always told me that it was the writings in that column that really attracted her to me," Amorosi told me. "She didn't know who this guy was but she loved him." They've been married since 2000.

City Paper editor in chief Lillian Swanson told me that Amorosi's space will be filled by rotating arts, movies and music columns penned by CP editors.

Everybody hits

The torrential downpour brought the media day for the 17th annual Richie Ashburn Memorial Home Runs for Heart indoors to the bowels of Citizens Bank Park, where media stars took to the batting cages to hit a few balls. Some names in attendance included NBC10's Keith Jones and Jillian Mele, 1210 TalkRadio's Chris Stigall, WIP newbie Josh Innes (and gal pal Wired 96.5's Silly Jilly, who declined to hit) and Comcast SportsNet's Marshall Harris, who gets mocked by co-workers annually for his performance at the media day (it's all in good fun - don't let the haters get you down, Marshall!).

This year's Home Runs for Heart, where participants get to hit on the field at CBP, takes place next Wednesday and Thursday. For more info, go to ph.ly/hrfh.

Vick's pick

Michael Vick may no longer be an Eagle, but that doesn't mean he's abandoning Philly. The former Eagles QB and head of the Team Vick Foundation will be at the Let's Get Physical event on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at 3824 Jasper St. in Frankford.

'Gown' town

Philly's own Kerri Hanley will be on TLC's "I Found the Gown" tomorrow at 10 p.m. I hear Hanley and her crew went into high-end discount bridal boutique Vows looking for a "bodacious" dress that highlights her curves.

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Online: ph.ly/DNGossip