‘Today’s Al Roker Gets Sentimental With Cohosts Over Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award

The Today family is celebrating Al Roker‘s milestone career achievement.

The legendary weatherman was honored for his decades-long career on TV at the 2025 News & Documentary Emmy Awards on Wednesday, June 25, and his Today colleagues toasted his accomplishment on the NBC morning show.

“I could not do any of this, I would not have achieved any of this without all of you and this crew and the folks who are in the control room [and] our staff over across the street,” Roker said on Thursday, June 26. “Nobody does this by themselves. I don’t care who you are. You just can’t.”

Carson Daly noted that Roker has “been doing it well for a long time, my friend.” Craig Melvin went on to clarify that Roker’s Lifetime Achievement award doesn’t mean he’s “going anywhere” anytime soon.

Related

NBC's 'Today' Announces 1st-Ever Fan Fest Celebration: Everything We Know

While the cast jokes about Roker retiring “often,” Dylan Dreyer said she doesn’t take her time with Roker for granted. “I love working with you every single day,” she gushed. “The way you looked up to Willard Scott is the way I look up to you, and I have learned so much just by having the privilege to work next to you.”

Roker was all smiles hearing his cohosts’ kind words and went on to share some of his own about his family. “My lifetime achievement really are those three kids of mine — Nick, Leila, and Courtney — and my granddaughter, Sky,” he said. “And, of course, [my wife] Deborah Roberts, who’s helped me get through all of this.”

NBC

Before toasting again, Jenna Bush Hager told Roker, “We love you so much!”

At the beginning of the segment, the show aired a video package highlighting Roker’s career journey and featuring more tributes from his past and present coworkers. “He is always, consistently reliable. He emanates goodness, and of course, he’s hilarious,” former Today anchor Katie Couric said in the clip, while NBC Nightly News alum Lester Holt added, “He’s certainly the hardest-working person in our business.”

Roker got his start as a weekend TV weatherman in Syracuse, New York, at age 19 before NBC’s Willard Scott took him under his wing. Roker took over for the late presenter when he stepped down from Today in 1996.

“From the people I work with to the people I live with, I’ve got an embarrassment of riches,” Roker said in the clip. Melvin concluded the package by stating, “Al Roker is not just the heart and soul of this place. He’s our North Star, and he has been for a while now.”

Today, Weekdays, 7 a.m. ET, NBC

From TV Guide Magazine

How 'Countdown' Recruited Jensen Ackles to Go Full 'Die Hard'

Countdown boss Derek Haas talks creating the character around Ackles, and the cast teases the “Avengers”-like team of the crime thriller. Read the story now on TV Insider.