Reporter Kerry Sanders retires after 32 years at NBC: 'It's been a dream come true'

NBC News correspondent Kerry Sanders is retiring after 32 years with the network.

Sanders first joined in 1991 with NBC Miami affiliate WTVJ before appearing on "Today," "NBC Nightly News," MSNBC and "Dateline NBC."

"I can’t believe that I had this amazing opportunity to join this family," he said on the "Today" show during a special tribute Tuesday morning. "I still pinch myself to think that you all welcomed me and that I was a part of this. It’s been a dream come true."

Sanders added: "What will I miss most? Ultimately, it's the camaraderie and the family, because this is a daily, high-energy experience."

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The multiple-Emmy and Peabody award winner covered a wide range of topics that allowed him to travel to all 50 states, all seven continents and a total of 65 countries.

"The amazing thing about this job is that I got a chance to go everywhere," Sanders said Tuesday.

However, that also meant he spent the majority of his years away from home, with the exception of time at the height of the pandemic when he was able to be with his wife more. "With 200 days a year, my wife, Deborah, has been an amazing supporter. But we kind of sat and said, 'This might be the right time,'" the correspondent shared. "We realized that we do really good together all the time, so maybe that's what we should do now."

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Sanders' work involved constant travel due to reporting on topics including severe weather of more than 100 named storms, on the ground correspondence during the war in Iraq, the Parkland school shooting, the shooting of Trayvon Martin, the Casey Anthony trial and elections across the nation.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kerry Sanders retires at NBC News after 32 years of reporting