Bill Landry
Kim White, president and CEO of River City Company, gives a presentation in this 2014 file photo.IF YOU GO
What: UTC Legends and Leaders Banquet. When: 6 p.m., Friday, May 1. Where: Chattanooga Golf and Country Club, 1511 Riverview Road. Tickets: $30; reservation deadline is Tuesday. Information: 423-425-4785
Bill Landry, host/narrator and co-producer of “The Heartland Series,” has been named the 2015 Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
He and Kim White, recipient of the UTC Outstanding Service Award, will be honored Friday, May 1, during the annual Legends and Leaders banquet at Chattanooga Golf and Country Club.
“The Heartland Series,” which airs on WBIR-TV in Knoxville, was originally intended to last three months but is now in its 30th year. The series was created to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Since the show began in 1984, more than 1,900 short features have been shot about the people and land of Southern Appalachia as well as 150 half-hour specials.
Landry, UTC class of 1972, has received two Emmy Awards for directing episodes of “The Heartland Series” and also the Education in Appalachia Award from Carson Newman College.