"We're very active in our church, Central Baptist Fountain City.

Still, he and his wife Wanda have more hours for their favorite activity - spending time with their three grandchildren. In the past, Bill has also been known as Bill G Williams. Williams also works with Mission of Hope a outreach program for aid to the people in rural Appalachia. That's what we do as news people who report on conflict and change in our community and world. I just started doing it about a year. Author: WBIR Published: 11:35 AM EST December 14, 2015 Report this profile; Activity. He wants to answer YOUR questions! Learn how and when to remove this template message, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, "WBIR reunites Bill Williams, Edye Ellis and Bob Kesling for 'retro' newscast", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_Williams_(journalist)&oldid=965593270, BLP articles lacking sources from February 2014, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, news anchor on WBIR (1977–2000, 2006) and anchor emeritus (2000–2006, 2007–present), This page was last edited on 2 July 2020, at 07:41. © 2020 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC.

There were so many memories there. # 10Chat: Bill Williams! His mother wanted him to take one of two paths in life-- as a concert violinsit or a minister.

Life has hardly slowed down for Bill since he retired from the news desk for a second time in 2006. "Not many days go by I don't play the piano," said Bill.Instead of writing and proofing news scripts, Bill  puts his passion into playing. 3:53. In the past few weeks, construction across the street from the station displaced the street sign bearing his name. "I'm having a little bit of success with it.". Plenty of people have come and gone, but he says one thing remains the same. Bill made a difference in the lives of hundreds of young people through the Monday's Child adoption program. On a recent visit to the station, Bill walked into what is now a storage room. These days, he's still on the move, exercising at least three times a week. And the station itself is located on Bill Williams Avenue, a source of surprise, a little pride, and recently, some humor for Bill. He has worked for WBIR since 1977.[1]. He is now anchor emeritus, he occasionally does some reporting, He currently Co-hosts Friends Across the Mountains Telethon and the Children's Miracle Network telethon on WBIR. Luckily for East Tennessee, Bill chose a different path, that landed him behind the Channel 10 anchors desk for more than three decades. We're wishing WBIR anchor emeritus Bill Williams a very happy 85th birthday! That's where my career with Channel 10 started," he said. He was called back to the anchor desk for most of 2006 when his former replacement, Ted Hall, left Channel 10. In the coming weeks, we'll check in with recently retired Moira Kaye, longtime anchor Carl Williams (no relation to "Brother Bill", despite the nicknames the two men have for each other), and Heartland Series host Bill Landry. Williams began working for WBIR in 1977. A lot has changed since Bill left officially left WBIR. Faith remains his focus. The "Mission of Hope" began in 1996, in response to reports Bill had broadcast on the plight of the poor in the mountains. Bill Hagerty & Marquita Bradshaw face off in Tennessee's U.S. Senate race DETAILS: Voters with COVID-19 symptoms will have designated voting locations in East Tennessee He returned to the anchor desk for much of 2006 when his replacement left the station, and re-retired at the end of 2006.

Summary: Bill Williams is 86 years old today because Bill's birthday is on 03/01/1934. We follow them around. Of the many awards Bill has received from the broadcast industry and the community at large, among the most prized are the "Silver Circle Award" from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree conferred on him by Carson Newman College. http://bit.ly/2QmNOKT WBIR Channel 10 952 views. Williams has worked with Mission of Hope since its founding in 1996, Mission of Hope is an outreach program, to help the people and children of rural Appalachia. WBIR anchor emeritus Bill Williams shares a word of encouragement amid concerns about COVID-19. Semi-retirement for Bill will continue to be far from "retiring." I don't do that any more but I'm out there occasionally, Well, fairly often, actually," he laugned.Just because he's retired doesn't mean Bill is a stranger at Channel 10. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. He joins WBIR Robin Wilhoit for a chat about his life and career. Bill, showing off the sense of humor his friends, family, and co-workers know so well, jokingly posed for a picture next it and posted it on social media. WBIR anchor emeritus Bill Williams during an interview on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. It used to be the newsroom. We start with longtime, legendary anchor emeritus Bill Williams. Williams returned the anchor desk again in February 2013 to anchor a "Retro Newscast" on WBIR with former WBIR anchor Edye Ellis, former WBIR sports director Bob Kesling and now former WBIR anchor Moira Kaye who was a weather forecaster in the 1980s for WBIR [2] to celebrate 30 years of their slogan Straight from the Heart (of East Tennessee). He co-hosts the Children's Miracle Network Telethon every year, and is continuing his work with "Mission of Hope," an outreach program to aid the people trapped in the pockets of poverty in the mountains of rural Appalachia. [3] He has also done a lot of charitable work. "I laid the violin down and it's hard to pick it back up, but I picked it back up," he said.

They reside in East Tennessee.

That's it. He has worked for WBIR since 1977. The way of presenting it has changed," he said. Bill has left a lasting legacy at WBIR, where generations of journalists still learn from his example. In addition to his continuing projects at Channel 10 he appears frequently before community and church groups. https://www.facebook.com/WBIRChannel10/videos/1597613427052358 Join to Connect. Bill and Barbara did appear together in the films Buckskin (1968) and The Giant Spider Invasion (1975), as well as occasionally on TV. Local celebrities, politicians and former co-workers including Knoxville mayor Madeline Rogero, radio host Phil Williams, former WBIR general manager Jim Hart, former WBIR co-anchor Margie Ison, Emmett Thompson from Mission of Hope, Suzanne Lindsey from Buddy's Bar-B-Q Restaurants and Catering, Knox County mayor Tim Burchett and current WBIR anchor Russell Biven who was on vacation, wished him a Happy 80th Birthday. Bill Williams (born, March 22, 1934) is an American television journalist, currently working for WBIR-TV as Anchor Emeritus and special reporter. "So much of our lives is tied up in the grandkids.

[4], Williams is a past recipient of the "Silver Circle Award" of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Bill started the series back in 1980. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Wanda Williams, wife of WBIR Anchor Emeritus Bill Williams passed away October 26, 2019 after a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer. "I treasure these moments. Bill has left a lasting legacy at WBIR, where generations of journalists still learn from his example. Bill has left a lasting legacy at WBIR, where generations of journalists still learn from his example. Carson-Newman College (now Carson-Newman University) awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.

Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Of course, I sing in the choir and play the piano," said Bill. WBIR anchor emeritus Bill Williams during an interview on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. Bill Williams (born, March 22, 1934) is an American television journalist, currently working for WBIR-TV as Anchor Emeritus and special reporter. WBIR anchor emeritus Bill Williams spent decades telling the stories of East Tennessee. If they are performing or playing in sports or whatever, we're there," said Bill.And then there are the many, many talks and events where Bill  is front and center. I struggle to keep up with him," said Blum. He retired from WBIR in December 2000. Their middle child, son William Katt , a blond stunner who went on to fame in the movie Carrie (1976) and the weekly series spoof The Greatest American Hero (1981), obviously got his incredibly good looks from his dad. ... Bill Williams remembers John Ward - Duration: 3:53. WBIR TV. The news is the same. Bill  blends his voice now with others that includes his daughter, and that's been the constant in his life--- family. News Anchor at WBIR-TV/Gannett is presently Bill's occupation. [1] In December 2010 the City of Knoxville changed the name of Hutchinson Avenue, the location of WBIR's studios, to "Bill Williams Avenue" in his honor.[5]. Phillips University. Bill Williams Anchor Emeritus at WBIR TV Knoxville, Tennessee Area 199 connections.

All this month we're checking in on former news anchors to see how they're enjoying retirement. The next day, city crews were there to repair the damaged sign.

"Used to do at least one hundred appearances a year, two or three a week. On Thursday March 20, 2014, WBIR-TV staff and anchors, Beth Haynes, Stoney Sharp, Robin Wilhoit and John Becker surprised Bill with a special gift and cake (Two days early, his birthday is March 22, 1934). East Tennesseans find creative ways to relieve stress for National Stress Awareness Day, 'There's no way we could have planned this | Twin sisters give birth to baby girls on their birthday, Buildings submerged by roof-high floodwaters, Foggy sunrise reflects off the water in New York, Multiple East Tennessee athletes named Mr. Football semifinalists, Thompson-Boling to operate at 18% capacity for Vols basketball season, Biden nears 270 as battleground states continue counting ballots. Drop your questions for Bill in the comments below. He returns for telethons and special events. "I like to think, well I know, that I was destined for a different kind of ministry and it worked out that way," Bill said. "It makes me feel better, keeps the weight off, and I get to talk to my good friend Howard Blum who I meet here regularly," said Bill. More than a thousand of the special needs children he introduced on the program have found permanent homes and loving families. Williams is married to his wife Wanda of 31 years. Bill Williams, former co-anchor of 10 News, retired in December 2000 as one of East Tennessee's most highly respected broadcast journalists. "It was almost for me, it was almost like a sacred place. "The news, I believe, is a chronicle of conflict and change. For a man who thought he was destined to be  a minister, the desire and dedication to inform, educate and  entertain  proved to be his calling.