Rest in Peace, Bill

The North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina community lost a friend this weekend. Longtime radio host and all-around good guy and community advocate Bill Norman passed away.

Bill ran WNMB radio, a local news and oldies station that kept its own unique identity in an ever-changing industry.

As one of his area radio colleagues put it, “Bill was one of those guys who don’t exist anymore. He was Mr. Local Radio.”

I had the opportunity to work with Bill numerous times in 2006 and 2007 while serving as Public Information Officer for the City of North Myrtle Beach. He would frequently interview me on current events and upcoming topics and was always happy to help us spread the word about our festivals and community events.

Visiting his radio station was always a treat. Bill was very friendly and welcoming. Our conversations were always enjoyable. He asked the questions that needed to be asked as a reporter, but never did so in an adversarial way or in a way that made you feel uncomfortable. We’d talk about all kinds of things during the interview segments. I remember always enjoying those visits to his station before heading into work.

I’d like to pass along condolences to Bill’s family, to the WNMB family, and to the North Myrtle Beach community as a whole.

Bill, you will certainly be missed. Thank you for being a true ray of sunshine for the people of North Myrtle Beach and the entire Grand Strand. No doubt you’re wearing those headphones and entertaining everyone with some great tunes and conversation up in Heaven right now. Rest well, my friend.