It was an emotional homecoming for Hoda Kotb and her Today Show team as they returned to Rockefeller Plaza after two weeks away.
On Monday, August 12, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Craig Melvin, and more of the Today family made a return to their usual setting after spending two weeks working from Paris for the 2024 Olympics, which came to an end on Sunday.
And not only did they celebrate reuniting with their colleagues Jenna Bush Hager, Dylan Dreyer, and Sheinelle Jones, among others, but they also celebrated Hoda's milestone 60th birthday, with quite an emotional segment on the show.
In honor of the veteran NBC anchor's special day, which fell on August 9, the show gave focus to some of the people and stories that she has had the most impact on through the years.
"We are a wonderful village that works with you everyday, and we know you, our friend, our partner, we love her so much. And many, many other people are right there with us, they adore you too," Savannah first said.
She then asked her longtime colleague if she was "nervous" about having "no idea" about the surprise they had in store for her, before unveiling a tear-jerking video montage featuring some of Hoda's past interviewees "whose lives you have touched over the years, and who also deeply impacted you."
Hoda was promptly brought to tears as both past and current videos flashed on the screen of Asha and Devon Still, whose daughter Leah's journey surviving cancer was featured on Today, Bart Conley, whose wife Jill passed away after a battle with breast cancer, plus Frank and Stacey Parrado, who Hoda supported through their adoption journey with their daughter, Addison, now six years old.
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"It's too much," Hoda exclaimed, before Craig and Savannah revealed that Leah, Devon, Bart, Frank, Stacey and Addison had all stopped by the show to surprise her.
Devon, recalling what Hoda's impact meant to him, shared: "Our story was really big, and for a lot of people it was just a story. But with Hoda it was different, it was like a connection, and I knew that when she caught a train to Philadelphia, incognito [...] that's when I knew you were real."
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"Thank you, this is the best birthday, thank you, thank you, thank you," Hoda emphasized after catching up with everyone.
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"This is your legacy, people," Savannah maintained, adding: "All the people who get to know you and love you. What you do for us, thank you."
Hoda was later joined by her daughters, Haley, seven, and Hope, four, and everyone went on to enjoy performances from Little Big Town and Sugarland as part of NBC's summer concert series.