Al Roker, Deborah Roberts Celebrate the Legacy of Their Parents While Accepting The Root 100 Honor

The TV news legends were honored for "Partnership and Purpose" at The Root 100 Gala at Harlem’s Apollo Theater on Tuesday.

Television news legends Al Roker and Deborah Roberts are both professional and relationship goals.

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ABC News' Deborah Roberts: What Makes A Good Journalist? | Securing the Bag: Part 1

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The trailblazers attended The Root 100 at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater on Tuesday, where they where honored for “Partnership and Purpose.” Their influence as two of TV’s most respected and famous Black journalists has inspired generations of reporters. As they accepted their well-deserved flowers, Roker and Roberts acknowledged the lessons they learned from their parents and how meaningful it was to be honored on the Apollo stage.

Roberts described her father as “a man who believed in hard work, humility, faithfulness,” characteristics that she has carried with her throughout her career.

“I have tried very hard over my life to carry on those those principles as I pursued my career in television journalism over the years [and] become a wife and a mother,” she said. “And no matter how much I have gained, how much I have soared, or how much I’ve accomplished, I’m still that little girl from Perry, Georgia who’s just trying to keep it real. This special acknowledgement is so meaningful to both of us, but particularly to me, it is because it is testimony to the life lessons imparted by my parents, Ben and Ruth Roberts. And tonight I hope they are so proud.”

For New York native Roker, the evening was a full circle moment. “I am proud to be here to be on the stage of the Apollo, accepting this great award,” he said, before joking, “the only reason I got this award is because you really wanted her.”

As enthusiastic as they were about the big event, the couple is much more excited about their first Christmas with their 5-month-old granddaughter.

“You know, there’s a new grandbaby. So that’s kind of exciting,” Roker told PEOPLE. “It’s gonna be a different kind of Christmas. So, very excited.”

Any grandparent will tell you that it’s their job to spoil their grandbabies during the holidays. After battling health issues the last couple years, I imagine Roker is going extra big this Christmas. She may only be 5 months old, but she’ll probably have enough presents to fill her own toy store.