Bill Campbell, ABC 7 Emmy Award-Winning Newsman Was One of My Hero's

 CELEBRATING Another one of my HERO's RIP Bill Campbell...An *CPE (Community Passion Evangelist) for people in the city of Chicago...

This week I'll be Honoring the BEAUTIFUL LIFE of my dear friend...mentor and brother in the spirit of LOVE...Emmy Award-Winning broadcaster Bill Campbell...a longtime Chicago ABC 7...director of editorials and community services for over 32 years.

He was such a BEAUTIFUL brother...Always Inspiring HOPE...PEACE and LOVE.

Bill was one of the Highlights of my college days when every thing that could go right for me was going right.

I met Bill through a well known Black artist I was Serving at the time who went by the name of William Carter. Out of great respect I used to call him Mr. Carter...

Mr. Carter...was in a Senior Citizen Home on the Near North side of Chicago when I used to come over and help from time to time...primarily going shopping for him and moving or arranging his art work in his apartment.

One day when I came over to spend time with him...Mr. Carter and I were supposed to go to a major art show which included the most well known Black Artist in Chicago and a lot of well known Black socialites from the community. I was Geeked...Inspired about taking the 40 minute trip across Chicago to get there.

When I got to Mr. Carters apartment...he wasn't feeling up to going to the show...so he sent me alone and had already made arrangements for me to get in.

I had never heard my Art History Professor ever speak of the works by these Black Artist in my Art History classes in college. But that didn't matter to me as the works I found there were very well executed drawings...paintings and sculptures.

It was like I was exposed to a Secret Society of Underground Artist whose works were being bought up by very wealthy Blacks in the Chicago Art Scene. You don't hear about this kind of stuff in your all white art classrooms...you have to have inside connections to even know this kind of stuff even exist. I counted myself fortunate to be able to go...even if I did have to go alone.

As I walked around the Art Show with my Portfolio of my own work in hand...I bumped into a very nice gentleman who asked if any of my work was in the exhibit when I told him no. That I was sent over here by the artist William Carter. This gentleman introduced himself as Bill Campbell.

He then asked me if he could see some of my art work. I shared with him several peeps of some highly intricate pen and ink drawings I was working on. He took a liking to one I had did of a flute player and asked me if I could do one similar to that for him because he LOVED music and often played the flute and other wind instruments with a Jazz band he played with outside of his primary work. We exchanged numbers and I contacted him to negotiate a price for my work.

It was this first meeting with Bill that turned into a life time of phone calls...lunches at primer restaurants downtown...and dinners...photo shoots...a potential book deal and several times when I met Bill at his home and at the offices of ABC7. Most of this happened while I was still in college and shortly after I graduated.

Bill was a genuine human being who LOVED helping young people like me make a Big Splash in the real world. I count myself BLESSED to have known him...and to have been Inspired by his LOVE for other human beings.

He was always enCouraging me along during some of the more challenging moments of my LIFE...Like when I was spending a lot of time looking for work after college.

Bill...always Inspired me to FOCUS on the POSITIVE and IGNORE the NEGATIVE. And what I Learned from his mentoring became some of the very same things I've shared with all of the young people I've taught.

He poured his HEART and SOUL into the people he Cared about...and it almost seemed as if Bill had a Super Human Ability for Caring about Everyone.

Just wanted to share a part of him with you...May he Rest In Peace and may all the fruit of his labor continue to bring a BEAUTIFUL HARVEST of ABUNDANCE...Celebrate with me the LIFE of Bill Campbell...by Deremiah *CPE