BILL PHILLIPS - The Voice
Born and raised in
Vernon,
Bill was given his first radio job by Jack Pollard at CJIB,
Vernon in 1956, working under Pollard and Gil
Seabrook until 1958, when Tom Robinson took him on as a radio-TV staff
announcer at CBC Vancouver. Moving to
Vancouver's first private
television station in 1960, Bill was the first to be heard (voice-over) on
CHAN-TV saying, "Ladies and gentlemen - Art Jones!"
In 1963 he moved back to full-time radio, joining CHQM-AM/FM
as a DJ and features producer. In 1978 he went to work as a news editor under
Roy Jacques at CKWX and the following year reverted to DJ duties on the new
CJAZ-FM.
Returning the CHQM in 1982 as commercial announcer and news
editor, Bill remained with "the Big Purple Q" till 1993 when the
station was sold and reformatted. Returning to the Okanagan in 1994 he chose to
live not in
Vernon but in the
Penticton area because of its earlier spring,
later winter and friendly people. Although he occasionally voices a television
commercial (e.g. the much-seen InfoTel spots on
CHBC-TV) Bill now admits to being retired.