Bill Williams (born March 22, 1934) is an American television journalist, currently working for

WBIR-TV WBIR-TV (channel 10) is a television station in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with NBC. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on Bill Williams Avenue in Knoxville's Belle Morris section, and its transmitter is lo ...

as Anchor Emeritus and special reporter. He has worked for WBIR since 1977.

Career

Williams began working for WBIR in 1977. He retired from WBIR in December 2000. He returned to the anchor desk for much of 2006 when his replacement left the station, and re-retired at the end of 2006. 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 Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals) (French: (RES)) is a nonprofit organization that raises funds for children's hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. Donations support the health of more than 10 million children each year. Donat ...

telethon on WBIR. Williams also works with ''Mission of Hope'' a outreach program for aid to the people in rural

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

. 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 weekend weather forecaster and morning anchor in the 1980s and early 1990s for WBIR to celebrate 30 years of their slogan ''Straight from the Heart (of East Tennessee)''.

Other work

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

. He has also done a lot of charitable work.

Honors and awards

Williams is a past recipient of the "Silver Circle Award" of the

National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), also known as the National Television Academy until 2007, is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of televisio ...

. Carson-Newman College (now Carson-Newman University) awarded him an

honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

Doctor of Divinity degree. In December 2010 the City of

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

changed the name of Hutchinson Avenue, the location of WBIR's studios, to "Bill Williams Avenue" in his honor.

80th birthday

On March 20, 2014,

staff and anchors, Beth Haynes, Stoney Sharp, Robin Wilhoit and John Becker surprised Bill with a special gift and cake (his birthday is March 22). Local celebrities, politicians and former co-workers including Knoxville mayor

Madeline Rogero Madeline Anne Rogero () (born July 26, 1952) is an American politician who served as the 68th mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee, elected in 2011. She was the first woman to hold the office. Before entering politics, Rogero worked as a community devel ...

, 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 Timothy Floyd Burchett ( ; born August 25, 1964) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for , based in Knoxville, serving since 2019. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, Burchett was formerly County executive, mayor ...

and current WBIR anchor Russell Biven who was on vacation, wished him a happy 80th birthday.

Personal life

Williams is a widower. He was married to his wife Wanda for 31 years. Williams continues to reside in East Tennessee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Bill Living people Mass media people from Knoxville, Tennessee 1934 births American television news anchors American male journalists