Bill Pickett has been an eyewitness to Vermilion County’s most important events in the last 50 years. To give a snapshot of his longevity, Pickett, who retired as News Director for WDAN-WDNL-WRHK Radio, has been covering the news during the terms of eight Danville mayors. And he has great stories to tell.
“When I started covering the news I was living in Westville, and each morning I would stop by the old Vermilion County Jail to gather information for stories,” he says. “One morning I was driving across Memorial Bridge and looked over toward the jail and saw a hole in the back wall with
sheets that had been tied together hanging out of the hole. When I got to the jail, they had just discovered there had been a jailbreak.”
He got his start at WITY Radio. “It was while answering the phones (at WITY) that I met Andy Demos, their night news guy,” he says. “Andy eventually took another job, and the general manager at WITY asked if I wanted to be the new night news guy. I had never even thought about being on the radio, but he convinced me to ‘just try it.’” He eventually went on to become News Director at WITY.
Most of Pickett’s career has been as news director for WDAN-WDNL- WRHK Radio. In his role, Pickett was responsible for gathering, writing and delivering the local and area news on all three radio stations, along with posting stories on VermilionCountyFirst.com. He was a familiar face from his daily rounds at the Public Safety Building, courts, city hall and other places to gather information.
“Most of the nearly 52 years of my career I was a ‘one-man band’ as far as the News Department was concerned,” he says. “In other words – I didn’t have anyone helping me most of those years. So it made for some very long days – getting up at four in the morning and working until two or so in the afternoon. And then on many of those days I would go cover night meetings that usually started at six. But I felt I had to cover the night stuff to help keep the public informed.”
He also worked as a stringer for WCIA TV for nearly 35 years, sending their news department stories on what was happening in Vermilion County.
“What I loved most, I guess, about covering the news is that each day was different,” he says. “You really never knew what might happen during the day (or night for that matter). And I really enjoyed telling positive news – especially if it was a story about kids.”
Pickett finds himself reflecting on Vermilion County. “I wonder what the county might have been like if we would have won the Honda plant or gotten the Middle Fork Reservoir,” he says. “But it has also surprised me the way an awful lot of people put Danville and Vermilion County down.”
Sadly, Pickett lost his wife Cheryl in February, despite what he describes as the valiant efforts of all of the doctors and nurses involved in her care. “I had planned on doing a little traveling with her this summer,” he says. “We would have celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary on June 6th.”
In his retirement, Bill will have more time to spend with his two sons, Bill and Bob, along with several grandchildren and great grandchildren.
“Although I am now retired – I have agreed to continue to work on a very part- time basis for Neuhoff writing feature stories,” he adds. “So, if you have any ideas for feature stories drop me a line to newsguy102@yahoo.com.”
Article Sourced from https://www.vermilionadvantage.com/
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