Willie Gathrel Hefner (April 11, 1930 – September 2, 2009), was a

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

U.S. Congressman from North Carolina, serving between 1975 and 1999.

Life and career

Born in

Elora, Tennessee Elora is an unincorporated community in Lincoln County, Tennessee, United States. It lies approximately southeast of Fayetteville and north of the Alabama state line. It has a post office with zip code 37328. Elora is concentrated around the ...

, Hefner graduated from high school in

Sardis, Alabama Sardis, also known as Berlin, is an unincorporated community in Dallas County, Alabama. History A post office called Sardis was established in 1856. The community was named after the biblical city of Sardis. Sardis has one site included on the N ...

. He attended the University of Alabama, and he became the president and owner of radio station

WRKB WRKB (1460 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Southern Gospel format. Licensed to Kannapolis, North Carolina, United States, it serves the Rowan and Cabarrus county areas. The station is owned by Ford Broadcasting. History Carl L Ford' ...

in Kannapolis, North Carolina. He was a member of the Harvesters Quartet, a group of

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

singers based in North Carolina, from 1954 to 1967, and was a television performer on numerous North Carolina TV channels. In 1974, he was elected as a Democrat to the 94th United States Congress; he served a total of 12 terms, from January 3, 1975 until January 3, 1999, when he retired from Congress. Hefner built a reputation as an advocate for veterans, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in

Salisbury, North Carolina Salisbury is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. Located northeast of Charlotte and within its metropolita ...

, was renamed in his honor on April 16, 1999. After retiring from Congress, Hefner moved with his wife, Nancy, to Alabama. He served from October 2001 until November 2002 as the District One commissioner for Marshall County, Alabama. He died in Huntsville, Alabama on September 2, 2009 after suffering a brain aneurysm.

References

There is an elementary school named after Bill Hefener in Fayetteville, NC. The school is in the city limits but sits on the edge of Ft. Bragg. The schools serves students in prek-5th grade. Currently, as of 2022 the school is ran by Dr. Donald Cahill and Jessica Cashwell.

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hefner, Bill 1930 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American singers American gospel singers American entertainers Deaths from intracranial aneurysm Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina People from Lincoln County, Tennessee Southern gospel performers University of Alabama alumni