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Veteran ANS correspondent Bill Ellis, and his wife Kitty, honored by national radio/television broadcasters |
 Kitty and Bill Ellis with their NRB award
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NASHVILLE, TN (ANS) -- Bill and Kitty Ellis were honored recently by National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) at their annual convention in Nashville, Tennessee, for their 30 years of service as convention volunteer staff members. Bill’s first time to attend the annual convention was in Washington, D. C., in 1960.
During the years of their volunteer service they have served in just about every capacity for the convention. That includes work in the convention office, serving as a host for various functions, meeting and assisting official guests, serving as program and platform coordinators and in recent years at the NRB Concierge Desk. Over the years Bill also served as manager of the Press Room, directed press conferences, helped plan plenary sessions and served as a spokesman for the convention in media relations.
Bill Ellis, a veteran ANS correspondent, and Kitty, who inputs his story for us, were often hosts for leaders who would sit on the platform with Presidents and Vice Presidents who would speak to the convention. This meant they always worked with Secret Service and those in White House communications for these high profile events.
They easily recall the visits of such presidents as Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush as well as many vice presidents and leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives. They have also met numerous nationally known news people in network news, musicians, preachers, educators, television and radio personalities, authors, teachers and hundreds of owners of radio and television stations.
After the words of commendation, spoken by Bill Skelton, Chairman of the Executive Committee of National Religious Broadcasters, a beautiful plaque was present to Bill and Kitty in recognition of their 30 years of service as convention volunteers. Not many are active in broadcasting today who were involved when Ellis started his long career in broadcasting in 1950 and his association with NRB in 1960.
Bill says, “This association with NRB has been one of most enjoyable experiences of my life. I would like to do it all over again and, of course, am still available for anything I can ever do with NRB to keep the airwaves open for the broadcasting of the Word of God.”
They have been associated with all the NRB Presidents & CEOs such as Dr. Ben Armstrong, Dr. Brandt Gustavson, Wayne A. Pederson and Dr. Frank Wright, the present president. Bill and Kitty hold all these leaders in the highest esteem and value their personal friendship and treasure the memories of their working relationships.
Engraved on the beautiful plaque, presented during the annual business meeting for 2009, were these words: “SERVICE -- The Foundation of Any Great Organization is Rooted in Service. It is the Nurturing Force Which Fuels All Growth. Bill & Kitty Faithful Volunteers to NRB Convention & Exposition -- 1978 to 2008.”
After Chairman Skelton made the presentation, Bill was asked to speak to those assembled for the annual business meeting and he did for about four minutes. In this brief time he expressed again the pleasure he and Kitty have had in their long association with National Religious Broadcasters and for NRB’s tremendous work to improve the quality and effectiveness of religious broadcasting to the ends of the earth with the saving, transforming and redeeming message of Jesus Christ. They will continue to support NRB in every way possible and encourage others to become active participants.
Some of their special friends who were active in religious broadcasting have gone on to Heaven, such as Bill Bright, Jerry Falwell, Stephen Olford, Oswald C. J. Hoffman, D. James Kennedy, W. Dale Oldham, R. Eugene Sterner, Tom Zimmerman, Rudy Bertermann, Paul Stevens, Rex Humbard, C. M. Ward and many others.
Many leaders for NRB have been long-time Ellis friends such as Billy Graham, Dick Bott, Ron Cline, Pat Robertson, B. Sam Hart, June Hunt, Jack Hayford, Erwin Lutzer, David Olford, Bill Skelton, Charles Stranley, James Earl Massey, Joni Eareckson-Tada, Rich Bott, Franklin Graham, Peggy Campbell, Tom McCabe, David Clark, Stuart Epperson, Howard Jones, Luis Palau, Sam Moore, Tom Rogeberg, James Dobson, Jerry Rose, Paul Sheppard, Kay Arthur, John Ankerberg, Richard Lee, Jonathan Falwell, Chuck and Cynthia Swindoll, Mark DeMoss, Gilbert Stafford and many, many others.
Bill and Kitty told ANS, “Our lives have been incomparably enriched by our association with National Religious Broadcasters. We have met thousands of significant leaders from every walk of life through NRB. I would encourage anyone who is interested in keeping Christian broadcasting going out over the air waves by radio and television to get in touch with NRB and ask what they can do to help protect this indispensable God-given freedom and priceless gift.”
The National Religious Broadcasters Convention for 2009, the 66th Annual Convention, was held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, Nashville, TN. In recent years more than 5,000 have attended each convention.
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