Longtime WCBI news anchor Bill Gamel will be on air for the last time Dec. 18 before retiring after over 30 years.
The Birmingham native began his career in 1973 as a disc jokey for WAMA in Selma, Alabama.
"Growing up, I always wanted to be a disc jockey," Gamel said. "I thought it would be so fun to get paid to listen to music all day. But I didn't want to be a 50-year-old rock'n'roll disc jockey, so I got into TV as well."
In 1974, Gamel moved to television in a behind-the-scenes production position at WSLA in Selma. He was also briefly on-air as a sports reporter in Selma. In 1980, Gamel moved to Columbus and worked behind-the-scenes in production at WCBI. In June 1986, Gamel began working on-air full time on WCBI Midday with Jeffrey Rupp, and Sunrise in 1995 with the original anchor Charla Seagall.
"It sounds cliche to say 'if you made someone smile, it was worth it', but it's cliche because it's true," Gamel said. "The biggest thing to me is when people come up to me in public and say something I said on-air made them smile."
After retiring, Gamel said he plans to stay in Starkville with his wife and enjoy traveling.