NBC5 evening anchor and veteran journalist Stewart Ledbetter has announced his retirement after forty years of service to the station.Ledbetter, who currently serves as the 5:30 p.m. weekday anchor as well as the host of the Sunday public affairs program NBC5 In Depth, has been a fixture of Vermont's broadcast news industry for decades.His last scheduled broadcast will be Friday, Feb. 16."I never imagined back in 1983, when I got my professional start, that I would spend four decades telling the story of Vermont," Ledbetter said in a prepared statement. "It's been an absolute joy meeting tens of thousands of people across my home state, and I could not be more grateful for the experience."After his first professional job as a radio journalist for WJOY-AM and WQCR-FM (now WOKO), Ledbetter joined NBC5 in 1984, covering City Hall and the Statehouse in Montpelier.Since then he has held multiple roles within the company, including serving as News Director in the 1990s, during which time he launched the station's website, and helped add several newscasts to the weekly lineup.Ledbetter has reported on every major political race in Vermont, moderated countless live debates, and traveled the country to cover the presidential campaigns of Gov. Howard Dean and Sen. Bernie Sanders. Outside of his work at NBC5, he served as moderator of the Friday reporter roundtable, "Vermont This Week" on Vermont Public from 2007 until 2023.During his time at NBC5, he has won multiple awards from the Vermont and New York Associated Press, a regional EMMY and a 2015 national Edward R. Murrow award for continuing coverage that he shares with a colleague. He was inducted into the Vermont Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2019.Stewart's unwavering passion and dedication to local journalism have done so much to better our community over the last 40 years," said WPTZ/WNNE General Manager Ryan Rothstein. "Stew's contributions within our NBC5 newsroom cannot be overstated. He leaves behind a remarkable legacy, and we are thrilled for Stew to enjoy his well-deserved retirement."Ledbetter said he would take some time to determine what is next, but plans to return as an NBC5 political contributor later in the year."There are very few people who can provide the wealth of knowledge Stewart has when it comes to state politics," said NBC5 News Director Michael LaFlesh. "We're grateful to know we'll still have access to a valuable resource to provide our community with his insight."