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Bill Powell

1933-2000

Bill Powell grew up in Miami. He attended a technical high school and chose radio as a field of study because his step father was a radioman in the navy. He obtained his first class radio telephone operators license, and worked at the school FM station as an engineer until one day in 1949 when the announcer failed to show up for his shift. There as no one else to go on the air; so began Bills 49 year radio career. After graduating he found part time work in Miami at WMIE and WINZ. He left Miami to go to WVOP in Vidalia as a combo man, doing engineering and announcing. After a brief stop in Dawson, he moved to Winder in 1952 to assist in building WIMO. He then went to WCEH in Hawkinsville.

In 1958, Bill moved to WMAZ in Macon as an announcer, doing station breaks during network programs as well as newscasts in the morning and at noon. Bill’s shift was over at 1PM and out of boredom he set up an index system of the WMAZ music library. AT the same time he and Jimmy Vinson, the morning man began to kid around after Powell finished his newscast. At first, the WMAZ management discouraged this banter and the two stopped the routine. A few months later they began to do it again and this time management encouraged them to continue. He was on WMAZ until 1982 when he was offered the opportunity to move over to WMAZ TV as a weatherman, a position he held until his retirement in 1998.

Bill was active in the community and his church and was a mentor to many aspiring middle Georgia radio people.