16 minute read
William Carter
William (Bill) E. Carter
Short bio: - born in Elizabethton - grades 1-12 in Elizabethton Schools - Drafted in U.S. Army 1966, Honorable Discharge from Active Duty 1969 - B.S. Degree from ETSU 1973, major microbiology - Laboratory Director/Microbiologist Laboratory Supervisor 19732003. - Medical Service Officer, U.S. Army Reserve 1976-2005. Retired rank of Lieutenant Colonel - Owned Eagle Stores Building and operated as Ladybug Cottage Antiques in Eagle Center 2003-2018. -Elected to City Council in 2010 and currently serves as Mayor Pro Tem -Son of Elmer (deceased) and Ruby Carter. Married to Ann Boatright. Daughter- Becki Carter James, (Stephen), Granddaughter Karrah Ann
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Son-Chad Carter (Renata), grandson Nykolas
Questions- Why I love Carter County: 1. What makes Carter County unique by comparison to other places?
I have traveled to several foreign countries as well as several states and have never found a place as unique in a positive way as Elizabethton, Tennessee. We are blessed by having natural resources as well as our TVA lake. We are extremely friendly and concerned about each other as well as always willing to offer a helping hand. I guess if I could sum up Carter County uniqueness to other places it’s THE GREAT PEOPLE living in Carter County. 2. Favorite place to visit in Carter County?
The Covered Bridge- Growing up in East Side (Lilly Addition) made it possible for me to pass through this bridge frequently on my way home. When I lived away, I would always make it a point to drive through the bridge, before they stopped vehicle traffic flow, when I would come home to visit as I thought it would bring me good luck(it did). The City Parks are great and gives me a place to take my grandchildren as well as the Watauga Lake in the county. The Veterans War Memorial and Walk of Honor are structures which show the feelings of our community toward our Veterans and the patriotism displayed by Carter County. 3. Living in Carter County change me in any way? Growing up and living in Carter County provided me with a base that allowed me to participate in the world if you will. At my age now and looking back at growing up in Carter County made me aware of the importance of the life values instilled in me by my parents, friends, neighbors, school mates, teachers and churches. Pretty much showed me everyone had the same chance as a whole. A really great place to live. 4. Favorite time of year? Carter County is unique in that you can usually experience all four different seasons. I love the spring because I realize warm weather is coming. Fall season is a beautiful time here with all the mountains and the changing color of the leaves. Nature at its best. 5. First time visitors recommendation not to miss. Be sure to visit our beautiful downtown main street area with our unique stores and shops. People are working together very hard to continue to develop our downtown and you must see it. At the end of downtown Elk Avenue, you can look over one block and see our city signature Covered Bridge. From April through October we have a big antique car show cruise-in each Saturday night. Take a nine mile linear pleasure drive and enjoy our entire City and share some time with “what makes us tick”. You also must see the Veterans War Memorial and the Walk of Honor saluting all our Carter County Veterans in the middle of downtown.
Why Do You Love Carter County?
Is it the wonderful natural resources? How about the historic downtown district? Perhaps it’s the people who make up our community? Whatever the reason, we want to know why you love it here. Tell us why you love Carter County and you could be featured in an upcoming edition of Carter County Living. Just send us a message telling us why you love Carter County. You can reach us by email at news@elizabethton.com or you can mail it to 300 N. Sycamore St., Elizabethton, TN 37643.
A voice of distinction...
Tom Taylor started broadcasting Cyclone baseball three years ago and since then has expanded to broadcasting basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, and some T.A. Dugger athletics as well.
* Story by Ivan Sanders & Photos Contributed & Ivan Sanders * Taylor’s God-given voice paints the world of sports for his listeners
Over the last three years, many fans that attend Elizabethton sporting events have seen a tall man with long, silver hair flowing from under a unique, distinctive hat take his place either in the press box or courtside as he goes to work setting up his computer and connections in preparation of broadcasting the contest out to Cyclone Nation.
It isn’t the cowboy boots he wears or the long, black coat that almost brings a unique Old West feel to his presence that sets him apart.
What sets this man, Tom Taylor, apart is a deep voice that demands attention as he begins to paint a picture of the contest that unfolds before him so his listeners can place themselves almost present for the live game that is being played.
Taylor has been heard throughout many places whether via radio or now currently through the internet that allows him to bring Cyclone athletics to people not only in the Tri-Cities but throughout the world. His journey began during his college days. “I graduated high school in West Virginia and went to Marshall
University where I majored in Broadcasting and minored in Public
Relations. I didn’t play football in school because I was too small. I was a little fellow,” said Taylor. “I did sports broadcasting for several high schools around Huntington. I also did Marshall while I was there. A classmate who had graduated ahead of me had a radio station down in Ocala, Florida that wanted me to come and work for him so I did.” While working at the radio station in Florida, Taylor realized that what he wanted to do was to broadcast collegiate sports. It wasn’t until
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one day that he began working a list of colleges to contact that his path took a turn that lead him to the Johnson City area.
“It’s kind of a crazy story and kind of cool because I always wanted to do college sports broadcasting,” Taylor said. “I sat down and made a list of 50 colleges that I wanted to work for. I started alphabetically going down the list and got no, no, no until I got to East Tennessee State and they were looking for somebody.
One thing many people don’t know about Taylor is he is blessed to be alive as while working for ETSU he was part of the infamous ETSU plane crash which Taylor said was a life-changer.
The twin-engine plane carrying the East Tennessee State University basketball team crash-landed and burned at a Jasper airport injuring nine players.
The Convair 440 which was operated by Tennessee Airlines, notified air traffic controllers in Birmingham about 12:30 p.m. that its right engine was on fire and that it was going to have to make a crash landing at Bevill Field in Jasper.
The plane, carrying about 33 players, coaches, reporters, and alumni, made two passes over the airport and then landed. The airport manager at the time, Bill Starnes, said the tires blew out when the plane touched down and it skidded off the runway.
The passengers broke windows out of the plane and escaped minutes before it was gutted by fire.
After the fateful crash, Taylor spent a little more time in the Tri-Cities before ending up in Charleston, S.C.
“I stuck around here after that and started doing Dobyns-Bennett sports and then I left and got a job down at The Citadel in Charleston in 1990,” Taylor said. “I left and went down there and two weeks after I got there Hurricane Hugo hit and that kind of soured me a little. I didn’t have no power or no water for four weeks so when it cleared up and it did, I shagged on back up here.
Taylor not only has been involved in sports broadcasting, but he has done everything from A to Z in the radio business.
“I have done mornings, I have done overnights, I did Love Notes on WTFM, I have done morning shows on the radio, middays, afternoon drives — I have done it all on the radio,” Taylor stated.
Another chance encounter while Taylor worked at a radio station in Kingsport opened up another door for Taylor.
For those that have ever been to a NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway over the last 19 years, the voice of Taylor has been a staple as he has worked as the track announcer during racing events interviewing drivers, talking to winners in Victory Lane, and providing information for the thousands who have flocked to the World’s Fastest Halfmile.
“It’s a great story. I was doing mornings in Kingsport and the late Jeff Byrd listened to the show and he called me one morning and asked me if I would be interested in auditioning to be the track announcer at the speedway. Of course, needless to say, it was a big thrill and I went up there and obviously I made it,” Taylor shared about the opportunity.
Tom Taylor provides play-by-play of a sectional girls basketball game for Elizabethton.
Tom Taylor has become a popular figure in Elizabethton where many follow his broadcast of Cyclone sports. Taylor assists one of his many followers, Betty Lacy, with her groceries.
“This will be my 20th year and I owe it all to the late Jeff Byrd, who was just a phenomenal human being.” And while many think that the drivers have big egos, Taylor was quick to paint an entirely different picture of those who climb behind the wheels of the cars that circle the track looking for victory. “Those guys are so down to earth - just like you and me,” Taylor added. “They really are. I have had the privilege of talking to the oldtimers like Richard Petty, Bill Elliott, the late David Pearson, and some of those guys and some of the modern guys as well - Terry Labonte, Kyle
Busch, Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, and all the guys that come to Bristol
I have had the opportunity to mingle with a little bit. “I can’t emphasize enough that they are just like us. They talk anything but NASCAR. They kind of want to get away and talk about anything sports. They are interested in other things besides NASCAR.” And while the story of how Taylor became the BMS track announcer was unusual, the way that Taylor became a household name in Elizabethton is just as unusual and even comical in a way to hear Taylor share the story. “That’s another great story and let me just say that the Voice of the
Cyclones is the late John Holsclaw. He is the Voice of the Cyclones, I am just an old boy that came along at the right time,” Taylor made sure to emphasize. “I was eating in Johnson City and an old boy walks up to me and I didn’t know him from Adam’s house cat — I didn’t know who it was and he came up real close to me as I was getting a tea refill and I was like who is this guy, who is this knucklehead. “He said, ‘Hey, my name is Ryan Presnell and I am the baseball coach at Elizabethton,’ and I said OK it’s Sunday afternoon and what’s this got to do with anything. He asked me if I would be interested in broadcasting their baseball games and I said sure I think. At first, I thought it was a prank or joke so I said here’s my number and he said that he would call me.” And even though Taylor didn’t hear from Presnell for a couple of days, he would find out later that it was the real thing and for the last three years Taylor has manned the mike for Cyclone baseball. That initial invitation eventually led to a spawning to other sports at Elizabethton that Taylor now broadcasts to listeners throughout the world including football, basketball, volleyball, and soccer. Taylor also has even broadcast some of the T.A. Dugger games as well. Taylor admits that putting on the headsets and calling all the sports is a true honor to him. “I love the Elizabethton community — they are awesome,” stated
Taylor. “They have embraced me beyond words and I can’t put into words how special the Cyclone community is to me. It’s a great community, great people, and they support their teams and programs and it’s just an honor.” It only took one thing to seal the deal for Taylor when he was considering coming to do Cyclone baseball and that event took place on the football field during pregame activities before his chance meeting with
Presnell. “I was coming to the football games anyway and Shawn had been on my sports show before I even started calling the football games and he called me and said why didn’t I come and stand on the sidelines and watch them play and I said OK I will do that,” Taylor recollects. “And what sold me about Elizabethton and I will never forget this,
I was standing on the sidelines with Doug Fritz just shooting the bull
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Tom Taylor speaks with Elizabethton soccer head coach Bill McClay during the EHS Coaches Show that Taylor does each week at the school.
with him during the pregame and I hear the ensemble out on the field singing ‘Mansion Over the Hilltop’ and I thought that’s a Cathedral’s song — a Southern Gospel song, and they are singing that at a public high school.
Anyone that has ever been around Taylor will instantly pick up on the fact that Taylor isn’t ashamed to speak of his faith and close relationship with Christ.
If there is a free opportunity to give a shout out to his Lord, one can be assured that Taylor will definitely take advantage of it.
“I spent many years as Frank Sinatra sang ‘I Did It My Way’ and it didn’t work so I turned my heart over to the Lord and gave it to Him and told Him that He runs the show,” stated Taylor.
“I keep my fingers hooked in His belt loop and He takes me where He wants me to go. I am just a servant of His, a servant of the Lord Jesus, and He has given me the ability to talk on the radio, to call ball games and I give Him credit every juncture I can. He is all I have and He is all I need quite frankly.
“All He wants us to do is tell people what He has done in our lives. We are just passing through and I want to give Him all the glory because
He went upon the cross to die for us. One of the coolest things about
Elizabethton is that we still pray before the games. That is the coolest thing. It’s student-led but we still pray at Elizabethton and I think that is awesome.” As the internet developed over the years, Taylor has found that what once was a short-distance airwave has turned into an opportunity to reach people globally through his broadcast. It still amazes him that almost every broadcast he does that he receives notes from people all over thanking him for bringing a piece of home to them even though they may be hundreds or even thousands of miles away. “I get that all the time from people. People always send me notes telling me that they are in Texas or Nashville or California. At the state championship football game we had somebody that was on the Air Force base in Japan and for me to be able to take the games to the Cyclone fans all over the country and sometimes all over the world is phenomenal,” Taylor said. “What is really cool to me is that I have people that have told me, for example, I have a guy up in Cincinnati that hasn’t even been to Tennessee who listens to the Cyclone games now because of the broadcast, which I think is really cool.
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“He told me that he had never even been to Tennessee, he didn’t know anything about Elizabethton, but the broadcast is so cool and he just likes listening to them and has become a fan of Elizabethton High School. For me it’s an honor to send these games out to people that are shut-ins or particularly on a cold night of football or can’t travel to somewhere like William Blount, it is awesome just to send the games back to Cyclone Nation and they are all over the country.”
Just to show the magnitude of Taylor’s Cyclone listening audience, the broadcaster received a message from Facebook following the week-long state football championship that Taylor covered from beginning to end.
The message informed Taylor that for the week, there were 45,613 people reached that listened to his broadcast. Taylor said that number was a huge tribute to Elizabethton High School and to its fans.
Taylor added that this message was definitely gratifying.
Also, Taylor wanted to acknowledge the team that helped him throughout the football season including his color men — Coach Ryan Presnell and Richard VanHuss. He also said that Kevin Harmon was integral in keeping up with all the stats which made for a great team.
The future looks bright for Taylor and for Cyclone athletics thanks in part to the efforts of the administration and all the coaches.
Tom Taylor became associated with Cyclone athletics three years ago when Elizabethton head baseball coach Ryan Presnell invited Taylor to broadcast the Cyclone baseball games.
The entire Elizabethton Lady Cyclone team joined Tom Taylor after winning the Region 1 Class AA title. Tom Taylor has been called upon to MC many special events throughout the Tri-Cities. Here he is pictured with Mr. Sun from the Kingsport Fun Fest.
