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11-year-old broadcaster 'a natural' in studio
By LOGAN NEILL Around Brooksville Elementary, the kids all know who Roger Williams is. He's the handsome, always-smiling 11-year-old who appears every morning on the TV in their classroom. The kids have come to know Roger very well because, well, he's been on the WBES Morning Show for longer than anyone can remember, becoming, as the school's technical coordinator is fond of saying, a "fixture in our studio." In fact, says Michael Sawyer, no one he's found in the school seems to know his way around or in front of a microphone or video camera better than Roger. "He's what you'd call a natural," says Sawyer. "There've been times when he's been the only one here who could make everything work so we could even have a show. There just are not that many people his age who can handle that kind of responsibility." A straight-A student who is secretary of the Beta Club and a member of the school safety patrol, Roger admits that though he had never worked with broadcasting equipment before, he was something of an electronics buff when he first joined the WBES broadcast team in November. "It seemed a lot like computers, which I'm pretty good at," said Roger. "I just started looking at what all the knobs and dials did, and just sort of figured it out." Normally, members of the broadcast crews rotate through stints about once a month, but when Sawyer was called away from the school for several days, he turned to his young apprentice for help in keeping things running in his absence. "The thing about Roger is that he stays on task and takes responsibility seriously," said Sawyer. "Not every kid can do something like this without adult supervision. Roger's earned the trust of every adult at this school." Roger also writes scripts and arranges news items for the morning broadcast. And yes, he's the perfect host, too, says Sawyer, who finds Roger's skit-writing to be imaginative and funny. As he prepares to begin middle school at D.S. Parrott Middle next fall, Roger hopes to eventually make his way onto the school's morning announcement show. "I love being on TV," he says with a winning smile. "But I'd really be happy doing anything. That's how much fun I have doing it." About RogerROGER WILLIAMS, 11, lives in Brooksville Parents: Tom and Lia Williams Siblings: Rory and Jillian Favorite subject: math Hobbies: sports, computers
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From today's Hernando Times Editorial Letters |
