DECEMBER 17, 2009 ISSUE
Fish Out of Water
Local Radio, Television Celebrity Bill “Fish” Fisher Says Goodbye to High Country
Local radio and television celebrity Bill “Fish” Fisher is in the process of moving to Florida, where his wife Sheryl (pictured) lives and works. He is leaving behind a three decade-old legacy of voice work and entertainment in the High Country. Photo submitted
The High Country just lost its voice.
For almost 30 years, the voice of Bill “Fish” Fisher has echoed throughout the local hillsides. Whether you’ve heard Fish’s lighthearted banter on the radio driving to or from work, watched his bubbly personality recall the days events on the MTN news, listened to his band, Echo Park, wow audiences with their remake of The Who’s Tommy or felt the tingles ignite your spine at an ASU football home game while joining Fish in chanting, “And another Mountaineer first down!,” you’ll notice when the voice is gone. Fish and his voice have been an integral part of much of what makes the High Country great over the past three decades.
December 11 was Fish’s last day at MTN (Mountain Television Network) and, currently, Fish is in the process of moving to Gainesville, Fla., where his wife, Sheryl, has worked for four years for WellFlorida, a nonprofit umbrella for the Ryan White Foundation.
Fish is both excited and reminiscent about his transition. He is looking forward to spending more time with his wife and his daughter, Audrey, who is moving to Gainesville at the end of next year. Fish and Sheryl are the proud parents of three children—Amber, 19; April, 24, who joined the Air Force this month; and Audrey, 28, who is mother to Fish and Sheryl’s two grandchildren.
“I’m looking forward to some down time after working every day for 30 years, but it’s not like you’ll never see me again,” said Fish. “But I am excited to get someplace where no one knows who I am. I am grateful for everyone up here, but it’ll be nice to be a nobody.”
Fish has been far from a “nobody” in the High Country since the early 1980s.
Fish first came to Boone in 1976, enrolling at ASU as an undergrad, “but I spent too much time hiking,” he laughed, and was unable to finish his degree. The ensuing years found Fish working odd jobs around town, such as cooking at Pizza Hut and applying the first coat of paint to the Deck Hill Water Plant.
Those jobs, though, didn’t satisfy Fish’s greatest passion—radio—so he kept looking. In 1980, Fish applied for a job at a radio station in Newland, but was unsuccessful. Less than an hour down the road, however, Fish was offered a job at WKBC radio in North Wilkesboro and he accepted. For the next eight years, Fish’s voice was heard around Wilkesboro and the High Country.
“I’ve been here or within sight of here since 1980,” said Fish. “My voice has been up here everyday since that time.”
By 1988, Fish was determined to move closer to Boone so he could expound on his music career with his good friend and musician Rusty Blanton. Fish, Kyle Graham, Mark Williams and Blanton started the band Echo Park in Boone in 1979, and Fish had commuted from North Wilkesboro for rehearsals for eight years.
In addition to his local work in television and radio, Bill “Fish” Fisher is also a founding member of local rock band, Echo Park, which started in 1979 and brought The Who’s Tommy to life two performances in Boone.
“The main reason to get back up here was to play music with Rusty,” said Fish, who joined the band after cold calling Blanton, who had an ad in the paper looking for a bass player. “And we’ve been playing together ever since,” Fish added.
So, in 1988, Fish moved to Boone and, aside from playing music as much as possible, began looking for more voice work.
Soon, Fish was hired to do the Southeast Ski Area Association’s daily ski reports, which led him into jobs at many local radio stations, including WATA, WXIT and WECR. He mostly hosted morning radio shows and built up a fan base of locals who couldn’t imagine their mornings without Fish’s deep, baritone voice.
Fish was hired by ASU in 1994 as an announcer for all home games for men’s football and basketball—a position he held until the end of 2009’s regular football season.
In 2001, MTN hired Fish as an on-air host, which eventually led to a job as the sole news anchor and host of his own morning television show.
ASU invited Fish to become part of the university’s radio network for all football and basketball games in 2006. That same year, Fish introduced his most famous saying into the High Country vocabulary—“And another Mountaineer first down!”
Fish adopted the phrase after traveling with friends to a North Carolina State University home football game in fall 2006. During the game, the announcer prompted fans with a similar phrase—“And another Wolfpack first down!”—and Fish knew he had found a new tagline for the Mountaineers. One week later, at ASU’s first home game of the season, Fish let out the first “And another Mountaineer first down!” and the crowd “went nuts,” he said.
“They picked it up right away. The fan base had as much to do with it as I did,” credited Fish.
All in all, Fish stayed busy during his tenure in the High Country, evident in the many hats he has worn over the past three decades.
“[Radio and entertainment] is really all I know how to do,” said Fish. “I just do my job—I’m doing what I love to do. It’s nice that people appreciate it.
“It’s not a strain when it’s something you love,” said Fish. “I can sleep when I’m dead, but of course I take naps whenever possible,” he laughed.
High Country residents will most certainly miss Fish’s infectious humor and laughter and positive take on daily life, which was underscored this past month by an outpouring of accolades praising Fish and his local accomplishments. During the ASU versus Western Carolina University home football game on November 21, ASU staff surprised Fish with a film presentation on Kidd Brewer Stadium’s big screen that was a montage of memorable Fish moments from the past 15 years.
“I had no idea it was coming—it was quite a surprise. And because I was in the booth, I had no idea what David [Jackson] and Coach [Jerry Moore] were saying on the field. I’m sure it was nice,” Fish joked, obviously flattered.
After the film presentation, Fish was presented with an official ASU football that featured the inscription, “And another Mountaineer…”
During Echo Park’s December encore performance of Tommy, various members of the audience and band stepped forward and shared memories of Fish. Also this month, Boone Area Chamber of Commerce President Dan Meyer did his best to surprise and embarrass Fish during an MTN filming of Meyer’s show, “Chamber Voice.” Reeling Fish into the studio by saying his guest had yet to show up, Meyer opened the show with a reel of Fish bloopers from his days at MTN and then brought in a host of local politicians, business owners and work friends to celebrate Fish’s accomplishments on air.
In reflection, Fish knows he could never thank every person that helped him find his path in Boone, but he shared, “I want to thank the people who took a chance on me; the people who were nice to me, believed in me.
“I’m going to miss game day, but when I come back, I can’t wait to watch a game from the stands,” said Fish. “Now, I got the best seat in the house but I can’t enjoy the games like regular fans do.
“I will also miss the beauty of these mountains and driving down the Blue Ridge Parkway. I will miss the difference in how the same mountain range looks in various seasons of the year. You hear all this talk about fall colors, but no one talks about our spring colors,” shared Fish. “For someone born and raised in the flatlands, we see it a different way. I never get tired of looking at it.”
And now, as we say goodbye to Fish, we realize that a man from the flatlands helped us see our own High Country in a different way. And for that, we are thankful and humbled that you chose to share your life with us in this region. Thank you, Fish.
“Thanks for watching. Thanks for laughing,” added Fisher. “I’m eternally grateful that anybody enjoyed any minute of it.”
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