Survivor castaway’s best traits not shown to audiences, fellow river guides say

Kiley Russell

Thursday, Aug. 24, 2000 | 8:44 a.m.

KERNVILLE, Calif. - In Kelly country a chorus of boos and hisses followed by a shower of water bottles thrown at the television greeted the news that Richard Hatch, and not Kelly Wiglesworth would take home the title of "Survivor" champion.

Kelly, 23, made it to the final pairing in the hit television show and was pitted against Richard in the final moments.

"I'm so disappointed, but I'm proud of her at the same time," said Amanda Szecsei, 25, who works with Kelly as a river guide for White Water Voyages in Kernville, Calif.

Kelly would take home $100,000 for her second-place finish.

"I know she's going to buy a new kayak and new kayak paddle, things you can't afford on our small river guide salary," Szecsei said.

For the past two months Kelly was often described by the press as "wishy-washy," "easily manipulated," and "shaky," the professional whitewater rafting guide from Las Vegas is anything but, fellow river denizens insist.

"She goes for it. There's no hesitation and she's not afraid of anything," said Szecsei from the staff ranch house where about 40 staff and friends of Kelly gathered to watch the final show together at Wednesday night.

Szecsei, who accompanied Kelly on a 21-day Colorado River rafting expedition through the Grand Canyon last year, says Kelly's ability to inspire the best work from those around her is perhaps her strongest trait.

"People love her. Nobody has problem with Kelly," she said.

Kelly's co-workers watched the beginning of the season finale with rapt attention, eating pizza and drinking orange juice as one person threw a water bottle at the television when Richard Hatch appeared on screen.

Going into the final episode, Kelly was the only castaway who never had a vote cast against her.

The show's grand finale featured Kelly and the other three remaining castaways from the original 16: devious corporate trainer Richard, 39, of Newport, R.I.; grumpy Rudy Boesch, 72, the retired Navy SEAL from Virginia Beach, Va.; and rock-ribbed trucker Susan Hawk, 38, of Palmyra, Wis.

They were winnowed down to three, then to two - from whom Richard was selected by earlier castaways as the $1 million winner. All this happened months ago, of course. Remarkably, the outcome has remained secret.

Richard and Kelly hugged after he was chosen the winner.

Kelly, who never finished high school but was still able to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is certified in swift-water rescue, first aid and CPR. Since coming off the island, she has guided tourists on the twisting Kern River in the Sequoia National Forest.

She also has an outstanding warrant for her arrest in Greensboro, N.C. where she allegedly used a stolen credit card to pay for dinner at The Olive Garden restaurant, according to police. Greensboro police have said the crime was not serious enough to go to the expense of extraditing her.

It's her responsibilities as a river guide that most fortified Kelly for the challenges of life on the world's most Machiavellian island, says her boss, Bill McGinnis.

"I sense that Kelly's training and experience as a river guide was definitely related to the fact that she was the only one who has gotten no votes on the show," McGinnis said.

McGinnis says the show's producers deliberately tried to pick people who were incompatible, people who would push each others buttons.

"But Kelly's training has made her somewhat resilient to that," he said. "As a river guide, you learn to deal with all sorts of people and how to make a potentially dangerous situation very enjoyable."

Kelly's father said his daughter's experience would strengthen her.

"I can't help but think of the old adage 'What doesn't kill us can make us a better person,"' said Jim Wiglesworth from his home in Greensboro, N.C.