Genie Chance (born Emma Gene "Genie" Broadfoot; January 24, 1927 – May 17, 1998) was an American journalist, radio broadcaster, and Alaska state politician. She is most well-known for her coverage of the 1964 Alaska earthquake, which netted her numerous journalism awards, and her contributions to Alaska legislation. Early life Chance was born Emma Gene "Genie" Broadfoot on January 24, 1927, in Dallas County, Texas. Her parents were former Texas state representative and Sixth District Judge Albert Sidney Broadfoot and Jessie Butler Broadfoot of Bonham, Texas. She had one brother, Lt. Albert S. Broadfoot Jr., and two sisters, Jessie Butler Broadfoot Garrett and Alice Virginia Broadfoot Freeman. In 1946, Chance graduated from North Texas State Teachers College (now the University of North Texas) with a degree in Speech, then conducted graduate studies at Baylor University. Chance became an instructor at North Texas State University where she taught speech, radio, English, and government from 1946 to 1949. In 1959, at 32 years old, she moved from Texas to Anchorage, Alaska. Broadcast career Following her move to Anchorage in 1959, Chance worked as an editorialist and journalist, first at KENI radio and television and then at KFQD radio, becoming one of the first women in Alaskan broadcast news. Chance rose to prominence for her calm and measured broadcasting after the 9.2 magnitude 1964 Alaska earthquake. Immediately after the earthquake, Chance made her way to a temporary post in the Alaska Public Safety Building where she started broadcasting information about the catastrophic damage throughout the Anchorage area and shared messages from family members looking for loved ones. Chance urged grocers to open their stores, but cautioned community members against hoarding. After essentially being designated the public information officer by Anchorage police chief John Flanigan, she shared instructions for purifying snow for drinking water, requests from the local hospital for supplies, and pleas from community leaders for electricians and plumbers. Chance would spend the next twenty-four hours almost continuously coordinating response efforts, connecting available resources to needs around the community, disseminating information about shelters and prepared food rations, passing messages of well-being between loved ones, and helping to reunite families. Later, Chance would say that her dedication and calm demeanor was due in part to her responsibility to reassure people that the world had not come to an end. For her coverage of the earthquake, Chance received numerous awards, including national recognition with the