Creston High School graduate wins Emmy award, named Texas 40 Under 40

2005 Creston High School graduate Tiffany Murphy was nominated and won an Emmy award for her role in anchoring a newscast during Tropical Storm Harvey.

Murphy joined the CBS News team in Beaumont, Texas, in 2015 and anchors the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. broadcasts, Monday through Friday.

In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast and by the time it made its way to southeast Texas, it was downgraded to a tropical storm. The storm system sat over the area for days … dropping nearly 5 feet of water in Murphy’s viewing area. Murphy, along with her team at KFDM, were live on the air 24/7 for days, delivering life-saving information to viewers.

Thousands were rescued, as flood water filled their homes, turned freeways and highways into raging rivers and left southeast Texas an island from resources, fresh water, gasoline and food. Murphy and her team did not evacuate, but instead were in the middle of the flooding, dedicating the entire week to helping protect and relay valuable information to southeast Texans.

Murphy anchored the Emmy award winning broadcast and was recently awarded the prestigious honor from the Lone Star Emmy Association.

Murphy has also been selected as one of the “40 under 40” by the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce.

Earlier this year, southeast Texans were asked to nominate the best and brightest young professionals under the age of 40. An independent panel of judges selected the 40 honorees for their academic achievements, professional success and community involvement. The emphasis of this prestigious award is on leadership, whether it’s in business, law, real estate, nonprofits, education, healthcare, arts and entertainment or other industries.

Murphy has spent thousands of hours volunteering with various nonprofits since moving to Beaumont, Texas. She has helped raise 10’s of thousands of dollars. From hosting events with the United Way of Beaumont and Jefferson County, helping dozens of animals find forever homes to tutoring children and giving motivational speeches to various community organizations, Murphy has made it her mission to give back.

Murphy got her start as an eighth grader at KSIB radio in Creston hosting Trading Post. She was named the 2004 Union County Youth of the Year.

After graduation, Murphy earned her bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. She went on to report and anchor at TV stations in Des Moines, Santa Barbara, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Missoula, Montana, before joining the Texas-based news team in 2015.