- People's Defender Newspaper, Adams County, Ohio (US)"Hard Work brings Success to Woman with County Ties"October 30, 2013 · pg. 1 · by: Carleta Weyrich
- 10/30/2013 11:15:00 AM Email this article . Print this article Alena Mekelburg poses with the Daytime Emmy she earned in 2002 as one of the producers of an Outstanding Service Show, "Wolfgang Puck." Hard work brings success to woman with county ties Alena Mekelburg co-stars in film Carleta Weyrich Staff Writer The daughter of a Winchester couple has accomplished her dream of becoming an actress - and beyond, with a Daytime Emmy under her belt as a producer. Alena Mekelburg, daughter of Robert and Linda Downs, co-stars in the just released Christian themed film, "Final: The Rapture." "I'm very proud of this movie," said Mekelburg. "I play Joyce Witherspoon. She is a Christian and is trying to help a man that has lost his faith... The movie is all about the Rapture." "Final: The Rapture," produced by RiverRain Studios and rated PG-13, opened on Oct. 13 in Houston, Texas, and will open in Ohio sometime in the next few months. "It was the number one movie in Houston for two weekends in a row," Mekelburg said. Aleana Downs was born in the Adams County Hospital. She later changed Aleana to Alena for pronunciation purposes. Her maternal grandparents were Orville and Edith Freeman of West Union. Her paternal grandparents were Arthur and Lena Bell Downs, third generation farmers in Winchester. When she was two, her parents moved to Dayton. The Downs raised four daughters, Alena being the oldest. "They loved TV shows and got hooked on singing and dancing," said Linda Downs. The Downs had a patio, and the girls would go out there and give performances. They regularly entertained an older couple who lived nearby. The girls grew up with singing, dancing and ballet, and one of the sisters also was in gymnastics. By the time Alena was a sophomore in high school, the family had moved to Lewisburg, and Alena had taken up track. "She went to Twin Valley North High School and was the fastest runner they had," Linda recalled. "The school was disappointed when she decided to go to the vocational school in 11th and 12th grades. She took retail marketing and fashion." While going through school, Elena worked five years for the Dayton Daily News as a paper carrier and also stuffing advertising inserts into the Sunday papers. While studying at the vocational school, she went to work at the Salem Mall in Dayton. After graduation she worked for a year at the upscale Rike's Department Store in the children's department and became a manager at age 19. "She was a hard worker," said her mother. "The girls were all go-getters. Since third grade, Alena was serious about what she wanted to do - number one, be an actress; number two, if that didn't work out, be a model." Her parents would find Alena after school, work and homework in her room exercising late at night. "We would ask her, 'Honey, can't that wait until tomorrow?' and the answer was always 'no,' " Linda said. "She was a disciplined, good child. She still exercises and really expects a lot out of herself." Though she grew up in Dayton, Alena recalled spending many weekends in Adams County visiting family. "I would always put on plays for our family every chance I got," Alena wrote. "I started acting at the Dayton Playhouse when I was 13. After I graduated from high school, I had an opportunity to move to Los Angeles and I took it. I got my start as a model and did various print ads for magazines." She entered the Miss Los Angeles USA beauty pageant to make contacts and won. She placed fifth in the Miss California USA pageant. She did make a contact, a producer from the soap opera "Days of Our Lives." She was cast as the cocktail waitress in Shenanigans. The role lasted for five years, and she later repeated her character in four additional episodes. Aside from "Days of Our Lives," Alena has acted in commercials and various TV and Web series, including "Have I Got a Deal For You," "Sister Dirty," "Funny or Die," and played the palace chef on "Will and Kate Happily Ever After." Along the way she got to work with some well known celebrities such as Kirsty Alley, Linda Day George, Christopher Lloyd and Hilary Duff. There were parts in movies such as a college girl in the 1984 film, "Thief of Hearts," and as co-star with Tim Quill in the TV movie, "Post Modern Romance." She played nurse Betty in a faith based short film called "The Day Shay got to Play," about a boy with leukemia. "I also enjoy producing and have produced 10 various TV shows," wrote Alena. "I was fortunate to win a Daytime Emmy in 2002 for producing a documentary on the famous chef, 'Wolfgang Puck.'" The "Wolfgang Puck" documentary won the Emmy as an Outstanding Service Show with Robb Weller (executive producer), Gary H. Grossman (executive producer), Steve Lange (executive producer), Diane DeMartino (supervising producer), Gordon Recht (producer), Charlie Ryan (producer), Alena Mekelburg (producer). (US)"Hard Work brings Success to Woman with County ties"October 30, 2013 · pg. 1 · by: Carleta Weyrich
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