Each year, the Rotary Club of Henderson awards its Hometown Hero award to a Hendersonian whose outstanding service and commitment to the Community elevate them from citizen to “hero.” This award is usually awarded at the Annual State of the City Luncheon but due to the pandemic the luncheon has been canceled, but the award has not. Consequently, the Rotary Award Committee found the perfect public forum for this year’s presentation, the recipient’s place of work which just happens to be a radio station. On Friday morning, Rotary President Dawn Kelsey and Past President Mark Chumbler were scheduled to be guests on WSON Radio Show – Speak Up hosted by Bill Stephens. The unsuspecting Stephens begins the show as he normally does, but after the introductions of the guests, the guests turn the tables on Stephens, by making the awards presentation naming Bill Starks (whose on-air name is Bill Stephens) as this year’s 2020 Rotary Hometown Hero.
For over 30 years, Stephens has worked as the news director of WSON presenting the daily Henderson Report and his community topics show Speak Up. “Bill is probably responsible for raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for our community’s non-profits and agencies through his promotion and support of fundraisers through his daily community affairs program – Speak Up. Henderson has come to rely on Bill as the Voice of Henderson. He is truly deserving of being named Rotary’s Hometown Hero,” according to Dawn Kelsey, Rotary President.
The text of the presentation is below:
For many people, it’s difficult to appreciate how important sounds are in the fabric of our daily lives until they’re not there.
Sounds such as the ticking of a clock or a freight train wailing in the night.
Sounds such as the laughter of children on a playground or a song that sends you mentally back to a specific time and place.
Sounds can be predictable and they can be comforting.
They can be informative and they can be entertaining.
Through sound, our hero has likely touched the life of every person in Henderson and the immediate surrounding area at one time or another.
And if, for some reason, he isn’t speaking, things seem a little “off.”
Our hero, though not a Henderson native, likely has more institutional knowledge of this community than most people born and raised here.
Ever since he moved here nearly 36 years ago in September 1984 to take a job, our hero has dug deep into the community’s public affairs, analyzed them and told others about them.
Through sound, he’s delivered good news, bad news, sad news and news of public importance.
He has used his distinct voice to emcee countless community events, moderate candidate debates during election seasons and spin yarns for The Depot Community Room’s events.
Our hero also knows how to make others sound good, whether he’s patiently producing recorded “spots” for a syndicated show about wedding planning or artfully drawing out a first-time guest frozen behind a microphone.
Our hero has been type-cast as an actor in several Henderson Community Theatre productions, including “Frankenstein The Radio Show,” “The Games Afoot” and “Fox on the Fairway” and has used his sound manipulation skills in other productions, including “Postmortem,” “A Tale of Two Cities” and “Picasso at the Lapin Agile.”
Our hero has a special appreciation for the iconic sound of Darth Vader. Character-costuming in a “Star Wars” theme has been a hobby for him in participating at public library activities, Halloween and on May the 4th. Our hero loves pop culture and learning how to make costume props with a 3-D printer.
As a member of Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church as well as the Holy Name Men’s Club, our hero has been known to help create spooky sounds for haunted houses at the Annual Fall Festival.
He has been a troop leader for noisy groups of Boy Scouts, yelled from the sidelines as a youth soccer coach and voiced his views on the Henderson Parks and Recreation Board. He and his wife Kim have two grown sons, Jordan and Matthew.
In addition to his main profession, he works for Henderson Area Arts Alliance, and has previously served as a board member of that organization as well as an emcee for performing arts events.
In his main profession he has received
- Many Associated Press Broadcasters Association Awards for News Coverage
- The Kentucky National Guard Media Relations Office Award
- The Citizenship Award from the Henderson Elks Lodge #206
- Henderson-Henderson County Chamber of Commerce Small Business Advocate Award.
And now he’s become the latest Hometown Hero for the Henderson Rotary Club, because we recognize that the sound of Henderson would be a lot different and quite a bit “off” without the voice of WSON Radio’s Bill Stephens.
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