Ligonier news anchor looks forward to retirement
Ligonier's Bill Brown, a fixture on the Channel 6 WJAC news team for the last 32 years, will be retiring from the station at the end of the month.
“The closer I get to the end, the stranger it seems,” said Brown, whose last day on air was Wednesday. “I've been doing this for over three decades and there are parts of the job I'm really going to miss.”
Born and raised in the Valley, Brown said he looks forward to his retirement in Ligonier and plans to stay involved in community activities.
“It's a real privilege for me to be involved with Ligonier's events,” said Brown, who was first asked to announce the Fort Ligonier Days parade about 30 years ago and has participated ever since.
“I love it,” he said. “Ligonier's parade is one of the best around and getting to see it every year, along with the bands and the special attractions, has been wonderful.”
More recently, Brownwas invited to emcee Ligonier's Ice Fest speed carving contest and the arrival of Santa during Light Up Night.
“Being involved with the community is something I really enjoy,” said Brown, who added that he will continue participating for as long as he is asked.
Brown said he may even become more involved in the community now that he will have the time to do so.
Brown earned his bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from Penn State University.
He said returning to Ligonier where he and wife Kathy raised their daughter, Abby, just seemed natural.
“Ligonier is my home,” he said. “I've always liked it here and it's where I wanted to be.”
Prior to his newscast career, Brown worked for the Latrobe Bulletin and the Greensburg Tribune Review, where his news writing skills were recognized with three statewide writing awards and a Keystone Press Award.
After a year in advertising at Kennametal, Brown auditioned for a job with WJAC, where he was hired as a reporter.
“In 1984 I moved into news, which I've done ever since,” said Brown, who served as both anchor for the morning news and writer and producer for the afternoon news.
Brown said he has seen many changes pertaining to WJAC's daily newscasts in his years with the station.
According to Brown, WJAC was only the second station in western Pennsylvania to offer an early morning news broadcast.
“We were strictly a Johnstown-based station that would send reporters to cover other local areas,” Brown recalled.
Today the station boasts a much large coverage area — nine counties, to be exact — and has representation in Altoona, State College and Clearfield.
“I've seen ‘News at Sunrise' grow from a 30-minute newscast to today's two-hour broadcast,” Brown said.
Brown's retirement plans include traveling with Kathy, who serves on the board of the Ligonier Chamber of Commerce, and working around his home.
“Eventually, I'll commit to something that will keep me busy three or four days a week but first I'm just going to take it easy for a little bit,” Brown said.
