KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Friday is a special day here at WBIR Channel 10, because a man we deeply respect -- one of East Tennessee's most beloved journalists -- is turning 90 years young.
Happy birthday to our beloved Anchor Emeritus, Bill Williams! In his own words: "It took 90 years to be this good!"
To celebrate the big occasion, Mayor Indya Kincannon officially declared March 22, 2024, as "Bill Williams Day" here in Knoxville.
"As Bill Williams enters his ninth decade, we consider his remarkable legacy and how much he has given to Knoxville and East Tennessee -- Straight from the Heart -- and express our thanks and appreciation," the proclamation reads.
Oh, but there's more! Some fellow East Tennessee legends had birthday wishes for Bill, including Dolly Parton and former Governor Bill Haslam. Take a look:
As we celebrate the East Tennessee legend's birthday, we'd like to take a look back at his journey to become the anchor we all know and love.
Bill's Early Years
Before we got to know him here, Bill was a Midwestern boy with humble roots. Born in Missouri in 1934 to a dairy farmer and teacher, Bill learned hard work, discipline and to let faith help guide his life.
He attended college in Oklahoma, and while debating a career as a minister or a concert violinist, he made a fateful choice and followed his heart to a career that would flourish for decades.
"I told them, I'm a news man!" Bill said.
He started out working in radio and television news in Missouri, learning the business and honing his craft, becoming not just a journalist, but a storyteller.
On his second day on the job in TV news working out of Springfield, Missouri at KY3, he was sent to cover a story up at the Lake of the Ozarks. On his way back, he happened to spy something incredibly novel on the road: a camel.
"I said to the photographer, I said, 'Jimmy, now I'm brand new to television news, but that looks like a television news story to me! A camel here in the Ozarks! What in the world is he doing here?!?'"
Bill wore many hats at the time, covering news, weather and sports for the Springfield area.
"I was what they called the 'swing man.' You talk about getting good experience!" he said.
Bill even did commercials. As time went on, he decided he wanted to take his career to new heights. He wanted to be a news anchor in a larger market.
Then one phone call in 1977 changed the course of Bill's life and the face of East Tennessee television. It began a legacy in our area that's unmatched.
"I'd never been to Knoxville... never saw the station," he said.
Bill was offered a job at WBIR Channel 10 in Knoxville on the spot. He said he had no idea what he was walking into.
His Years at WBIR
"Accepted the job sight unseen. He'd (the news director) seen me, on tape. But I had never seen the station. No idea what I was walking into," Bill said.
Bill often tells the story of his first day at Channel 10, when a new co-worker who later became a good friend slapped a gun out on a newsroom desk to prove a point. He laughs that he turned his eyes to heaven and asked, "Oh Lord, please take me home."
Thankfully, he didn't.
The Midwestern boy would become an East Tennessean, and more -- the man that most everyone in Knoxville turned to, for his take on the news.
In those early days at Channel 10, Bill did it all.
You saw him at the anchor desk. But behind the scenes, he was directing the news coverage, writing stories, splicing film footage together and teaching other journalists.
He was the classic news man at the time -- pioneered on the national stage by the likes of Walter Cronkite, a man to whom many compared Bill.
With Bill at the helm, and with the help of another extremely popular local anchor and friend, the unforgettable Margie Ison, what was then called Newscenter 10 surged to the top of the local television ratings.
Now with his audience in place, Bill focused on telling the news his way: Get it right. Tell the truth. Don't sensationalize it.
Over the next two decades, he became the gold standard of journalism. The mark that everyone around him tried to live up to. He had a way of reporting that made complicated issues make sense.
He devoted endless hours to the task.
Bill was the first journalist in Knoxville to be live via satellite when he covered the 1983 Congressional hearings into the Butcher banking scandal.
"My what a wonderful, marvelous thing. Here I am in Washington, and people in Knoxville can see me, hear me," he said. "Of course, it's old hat now."
At the 1984 Democratic convention in San Francisco, he set a new precedent for political coverage in Knoxville.
"We worked ourselves to death. 16, 18 hours a day. We did three live shots a day, and this was back when live was something unique, and rather extraordinary," he remembered.
There were, of course, tragedies. Members of the community lost loved ones to accidents or crimes, natural disasters claimed lives and America was drawn into wars and conflicts around the globe.
Bill was there to guide East Tennessee through, to lean on, to trust, to care. He made sure the reports by WBIR didn't just scratch the surface of those horrors, but dug deeper, to find the people affected, to learn lessons so that others might be saved.
He spoke about the importance of journalism, before his retirement from on-air duties in 2000.
"We have to have people who still ask questions, still sort out the truth, write the truth, deliver the message. You have to have people who know the message is the most important thing. Not the messenger."
He reported countless hours of news --- important stories to East Tennessee and beyond.
He had a passion for it, but it was his compassion that really set him apart.
More Than a Job
"I got involved because I fit with the community and the community accepted me so wonderfully," he once said.
Because long after many of those news stories were forgotten, it was Bill's other work that really lives on. Because he was more than a journalist. He was a humanitarian.
In 1980, Monday's Child was born. It was an idea brought to Bill to feature special needs children who needed a forever home. Bill embraced it, and for 30 years, even 10 years after his retirement, Bill met with each child. He learned their stories, their hopes and dreams, and introduced them to East Tennessee.
During that time, close to 1,500 kids were profiled, with more than a thousand of them finding a family.
In the mid-90s, Bill found another way to change lives.
His reports on the pockets of poverty in the mountains of Appalachia, people who could be our friends and neighbors, inspired the Mission of Hope. A local woman saw those reports and decided to do something to help.
What began as an effort to bring Christmas to those struggling families has become a year-long campaign to help them live a better life, from bringing school supplies to improving their homes.
Bill worked with the Mission of Hope to show the need and more -- how to help make a difference in those lives.
It's a legacy that's seen in the joyous faces of each and every child when the Mission of Hope brings Christmas to their school.
In all the efforts he helped lead, Bill always knew he wasn't alone in that desire to help others. He knew he could count on the people of East Tennessee to back him up.
"The response to the needs in the community is so beautiful, and has constantly amazed me. Still does," Bill said in 2015.
Bill loves this community, and the people in it, as they love him.
"I was blessed to find a place in East Tennessee, I found acceptance here greater than I ever dreamed of," he said on his last official day on the anchor desk. "It's been an honor."
A Working Retirement
Bill retired from the anchor desk in 2000, but not from his mission to make the world, and our little piece of it, a better place.
He continued his work with Monday's Child, Mission of Hope, hosted telethons to help children and the Great Smoky Mountains, and anchored political programs. Those were his passion projects.
At 90, Bill still maintains his commitment to the community, sometimes accepting invitations to speak at events and fundraisers, lending his voice to causes that are important to him.
"Used to do at least 100 appearances a year, two or three a week. I don't do that anymore but I'm out there occasionally, Well, fairly often, actually," he laughed.
Bill loves combining a favorite hobby of his with helping others, hitting the water for the Bill Williams Fishing Tournament that raises money for a number of local charities. The tournament will take place again here soon on March 30. You can sign up on the Greater Knoxville Sertmoa Club's website.
"It doesn't matter whether you catch 'em or not, it's the fishin' that's important," he said.
A Friend and Mentor
Bill's impact on East Tennessee in his 90 years on this planet has been nothing short of immense.
For us here at WBIR, he is someone we continue to look up to and turn to. We all think of Bill as much more than a co-worker -- he's a mentor, a man always ready with advice and encouragement.
He's a man that generations of Knoxville journalists have learned from and tried to emulate. He's always ready with a smile, a joke, a hug, even a few shared tears.
We were so happy to have him back here at Channel 10 sitting at the anchor's desk again on Friday, even if it was for a brief time.
So to Bill -- straight from our hearts, we hope you have the happiest of birthdays!
