Deborah Knight has paid tribute to the woman who started her career upon receiving news of her death.

Mentor Sandra Firth passed away earlier this month, aged 81.

“Sandra was so influential for me: Sandra gave me my first job in journalism at 2WG in Wagga Wagga,” Deborah said.

“She was a tough cookie, but I’ll tell you what, she was such a wonderful woman and I learnt so much from Sandra.”

While Deborah was unable to attend the funeral due to Sydney’s lockdown, she was lucky to have recently travelled to tell Sandra how much she meant to her in person.

“She was great to have while she was here,” granddaughter Jessica said.

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