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Let me start by saying, I am excited to be home, here in the Tennessee Valley. A native of Decatur, I graduated from Austin High School before going off to Auburn University to major in Radio, Television and Film.
Fresh out of school, I made the mistake of thinking I wanted to be a sports broadcaster. After a sports internship at WSFA in Montgomery, I quickly realized that wasn't going to work. Fortunately, I figured out, I could write and edit. Those skills helped me pay the bills-- or at least some of them.
I was hired on as the overnight Associate Producer/Editor at WSFA. After a couple of years in that position and Producer of the morning news, I finally got my life back when I took over producing the 5:00pm news. Seven years of producing newscasts paid off, when I was promoted to the Executive Producer role at WSFA. (That's where I met Denise Vickers-- more on that later.)
On September 20, 2004, just days after continuous coverage of Hurricane Ivan's destruction on south Alabama, I went for a job interview at KPLC in Lake Charles, Louisiana. During my interview for the News Director position, I asked the General Manager, "When was the last time a hurricane hit this area?" He told me, it had been almost 50 years. So I took the job leading the newsroom.
Less than one year later, on September 24, 2005, Hurricane Rita took direct aim on SW Louisiana. That portion of the state was devastated. Only no one outside of Cameron, Calcasieu and other southwest Louisiana Parishes remember it because of a storm called Katrina. Needless to say, I'd had enough of hurricanes after that.
In August of 2006, I jumped all over the opportunity to come back home. My former News Director, Denise Vickers (there's that name again) took the News Director job at WHNT. Also open, was the #2 job in the newsroom. I applied, and thankfully got the job.
Now, I'm living here in Huntsville with my wife Marcie and daughter Libby. Thankfully, they are willing to put up with the long hours that go along with TV jobs so I can do what I love.
I am interested in hearing from you. Do you have a story idea you think we should look into? Do you have any suggestions or comments you would like us to hear? Just send me an email at david.williams@whnt.com and I'll be happy to get back in touch with you.
