On The Oprah Show's first National Thank You Day show 16 years ago, Oprah surprised the man who made her career possible with a personal thank-you. If it weren't for Dennis Swanson, the program director who hired her to host AM Chicago, there might never have been an Oprah Show.

Watch Oprah pay tribute to Dennis.

Today, Dennis is an executive at FOX Network. "Way to go, Dennaroo!" Oprah says. "Once again, I say thanks to you for taking a chance on a colored girl from Kosciusko."