Almost a year after he signed off the anchor desk and continued in a reduced role at WBZ-TV CBS 4 in Boston, Jack Williams is officially saying goodbye to the station he called home for 40 years.
“I’m just a kid from a small town out in the Rocky Mountains. I just pinch myself all the time. I lucked out in life with my profession,” said Williams to WBZ as he stood overlooking Boston’s vibrant Seaport District. “This is all I ever wanted to do.”
“Congratulations Jack. On four decades of serving the community through your outstanding broadcast excellence" said Mark Lund, President and General Manager of WBZ-TV and WSBK-TV in a statement. "You are truly a Hall of Fame broadcaster and you will forever be a part of WBZ-TV’s proud history."
A television journalist since 1968, Williams has been an anchor at WBZ-TV News since 1975. Williams received a 2014 Columbia duPont Award and a 2013 Peabody Award as part of WBZ-TV’s team coverage of the Boston Marathon Bombings. In 2012, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA). Williams was also inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and he was one of only five New England journalists to receive the prestigious 2012 Yankee Quill Award which is considered to be the highest individual honor awarded by fellow journalists in the region and is presented annually by the Academy of New England Journalists.
Last August, Williams announced that he was stepping down from the WBZ anchor desk after 39 years.
“After 39 wonderful years, I’ve decided to step away from the anchor desk, but I’m absolutely not leaving WBZ-TV News,” said Williams. “Even though I won’t be a nightly anchor, I am thrilled that I’ll be able to continue my ‘Wednesday’s Child’ reports, substitute anchor when need be, and still be a part of WBZ-TV’s signature events and specials. It’s great to have the opportunity to focus on ‘Wednesday’s Child’ and continue to be a member of the WBZ family.”
“Jack Williams is a true legend of broadcasting. We are grateful for all he has done and everything he will continue to do as a member of the WBZ-TV family and the New England community,” said Lund last year.
Since he stepped down, Williams has been traveling back and forth from Las Vegas to continue his 'Wednesday's Child' segment, and has even filled in on the anchor desk a few times.
Williams launched his “Wednesday’s Child” in 1981. Airing each Wednesday on WBZ-TV News at 6PM, “Wednesday’s Child” features a special needs child who is in search of a permanent home. Over the years, the segment has helped more than 800 special needs children find loving homes. Williams is responsible for raising more than $10 million for special needs adoption. In April 2000, Williams created the “Jack Williams Endowment for Wednesday’s Child,” a 501(C) (3) charity to ensure continued financial support for special needs adoption. Each year Jack and Marci give $430,000 in grants to agencies and group homes helping special needs children find adoptive homes.
The Wednesday's Child foundation that Williams and his wife Marci founded was left with a "healthy" endowment and Williams says it will continue to "help children for years and years to come.
Last year Williams insisted that this was not retirement. When he ended his last newscast he said "...you know what? The fun isn't over yet. I'm not dead yet!"
While his fun is still not over, his time at WBZ is. CBS Boston director of communications Kerri Landry tells New England One that June 25 is Williams last day at the station. Reflecting on how he would like to be remembered, he says “That I had a lot of curiosity, and I tried hard, and I tried to tell the truth.”
As his nearly 40 years on Boston television comes to a close, his new life with his wife, children and grandchildren starts a new chapter.
For all of his time at WBZ, sharing the stories that mattered and being someone that viewers considered a part of the family, he says he will leave WBZ with a smile on his face. After such a long career, he says that he "didn’t really expect I would become household word in New England, believe me. Except maybe a swear word!”
WBZ is celebrating Jack with a week long tribute that continues through his last broadcast. Jack will anchor one final time Thursday at 5pm.
On behalf of the people in Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and all of New England, we say... Thanks, Jack!
Updated to include statement from WBZ to New England One
Jack Williams Officially Retiring from WBZ - Updated
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