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Bill Lacy has been a part of morning radio in Buffalo for three decades and counting. His easy going, friendly style has made him a morning companion to thousands of listeners, first at WBEN 930 AM and then WHTT, 104.1 FM. Lacy arrived at WBEN in 1980, initially hosting the 10 a.m. to noon air shift.
When Jeff Kaye left as WBEN’s morning host in 1984, Lacy succeeded him. For the next 16 years, he continued the tradition started by Clint Buehlman of providing music, time, temperature, weather, school closings and traffic information. When WBEN ceased playing music in the mid 1990s, Lacy was joined by Kevin Keenan on the morning show, engaging in a friendly back-and-forth as they continued to provide listeners with the information they needed along with news interviews.
In August 2000, WBEN dropped the personality, parting company with Lacy, in favor of the current all news approach in the morning. In spring 2001, Lacy was hired as morning host at WHTT. He was happy to be back playing music. Bill Lacy and WHTT’s current Classic Hits format are a big hit with Buffalo radio listeners.
After completing a six month course at the Contemporary Institute of Broadcasting in 1970, Lacy landed his first job at WBUF, which was then part of the Empire State FM Network. He read hourly news summaries for Buffalo, as well as stations in Rochester and Syracuse. Ray Marks trained Lacy on the control board at WBUF’s Boston hills transmitter site.
In 1972, Lacy was hired at WBNY, 96.1 FM, covering the 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. shift. He also received his first taste of sales work under the tutelage of General Manager Dan McBride. Lacy later took over the morning shift at WBNY.
Lacy moved to the AM side of the band in March 1974, becoming the morning host at WESB Radio in Bradford, PA. While there, he wondered whether he wanted to continue in radio. So, Bill and his new wife, Pat, moved back to Buffalo. After a short stint doing weekends at WDOE in Dunkirk, Lacy was hired as morning host at WWSE- FM in Jamestown in addition to doing sales for WJTN-AM.
In 1975, Lacy moved to Erie for a morning slot at WWYN, followed by a brief stop at WHAM in Rochester, where he served as music director. Then, it was back to Erie in 1976 at WRIE, followed by a return to Rochester at WAXC. Finally, Lacy landed back at WRIE, where he was morning host until his hiring at WBEN.
Bill and Pat have two sons, James and Daniel, and four grandchildren. He has been involved with the Boy Scouts of America for 25 years.
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