By Heather Date

My sister Sara e-mailed me from a recent business trip to Beverly Hills to tell me that she missed me. Our last sister-trip was to Beverly Hills for the Gracies in May 2011. I was the lucky recipient of a Gracie Award for my work as producer of the public television series, The Kalb Report, and I invited my sister, an ESPN producer, to join me for the trip to Hollywood.

We had a blast spending time together supporting an organization we both appreciate and admire. We loved celebrating some of our favorite women in news and entertainment - from host Patricia Heaton to presenters and honorees Meredith Vieira, Maria Menounos, Erin Andrews, Giuliana Rancic, and Linda Ellerbee.

But the real fun for us took place behind-the-scenes. My sister and I are two years apart and we spent every moment of our childhood together. We now live in different cities and spend more time together by phone and e-mail than in person. All these years later, we find ourselves in the same line of work and the Gracies brought us together professionally for the first time.

So, call your sister – or someone you love like a sister – and head out to the Gracies May 22 and 23. Be sure to cheer extra loud for the winners from ESPN in the Outstanding Sports Program category for their work on the 2011 Women's World Cup coverage. You'll be cheering for my sister who was part of this incredible ESPN team!


Heather Date is a Gracie winner and Associate Vice President for Communications at University of Maryland University College.