Profile: Ch. 5 News Anchor Bill Lunn
July 1st, 2008 by Jane Schneider
Have you ever met people you’d really like to know better? That’s what I’ve felt whenever I’ve crossed paths with Bill and Sheri Lunn. There’s a certain chemistry between us, perhaps because we share a mutual affinity for the outdoors, travel, kids, and current affairs.
If you watch the morning news on WMC-TV 5 (they’ve risen to No. 1 in the ratings since Bill joined the team two years ago), then you’ve seen him at work. Bill’s warm on-air delivery isn’t contrived. He’s just as congenial, fun, and very down-to-earth in person too. Born in Winnetaka, Illinois, (a suburb of Chicago), he’s been married for 15 years to Sheri, who grew up in Dyersburg, Tennessee. Together they’ve got three children: John (12), William (10), and Daniel (7). They came to Memphis after reporting gigs in Chicago and Duluth, Minnesota, where Bill learned to ice fish. Needless to say, their move to Memphis introduced them to more Southern ventures.
Chateau de Lunn.
A very pretty entry. Family photos grace one wall.
Before you go any further, this is Bella. She’s the Lunn’s sassy Jack Russell terrier. She gives everyone the once over. Needless to say, Bella’s a bundle of energy, and can manage the five-mile walks this family enjoys provided someone carries her piggyback the last half-mile.
I shouldn’t start with a woman at the stove (how cliche!) but it’s 6-ish when I arrive. As it turns out, it’s fitting, since Sheri and Bill love to cook. To be at their place during the supper hour is to hear Sheri cluck over homemade spaghetti, fretting it won’t come together quickly enough to quiet three hungry boys as everyone chats in the kitchen.
She arrived home late, she tells me, as she’s still adjusting to her new full-time job as the director of communications for Briarcrest Christian School. The staff knew her well, from her many volunteer hours as a parent.
Sheri returned to work after 13 years as a stay-at-home mom, which enabled Bill to further his career. But don’t be fooled. Sheri juggled three jobs to put herself through college, often doing homework at the laundromat she tended at night. She then worked as a reporter for a number of years before the boys arrived.
Food feeds heart and soul.
Work is redefining their roles, though. Sheri says it’s also been a shot in the arm for their marriage. “Now, he’s beginning to see me as the person I was before. Plus I’ve got skills I learned as a mom: organization, knowing how to delegate and get things done in a crunch.”
While the sauce simmers, Daniel grates cheese and John tells me they eat lots of foods, not just chicken nuggets. I love it when kids are adventurous eaters! That always begins at home. Both Bill and Sheri are half-Italian, this probably explains their food adventures.
• Their favorite family movie? Ratatouille, of course.
This is Thai basil. They grow herbs in their garden out back. I’d never heard of this variety before, but Bill uses it in his Thai beef recipe. He’s also very handy around the house and recently laid down flooring in the kids playroom.
Face time with the boys is important and includes coaching not one but two competitive baseball teams. “I love kids, not just mine but all of them. They’re fun to be with,” says Bill. “Baseball season is my favorite time of the year,”
Despite leaving for work at 2:30 a.m., Bill ultimately gets more time with his kids. “I worked nights at Channel 24, so I wasn’t here for their bedtimes for seven years. I felt guilty about that.” Now, he’s begins work at 3 a.m. preparing copy for the 5 a.m. newscast, wraps up at 7, returns home to help cook breakfast, then returns to the station to finish his shift by noon.
Being a dad has given him more compassion as a journalist, he says, and since Kim Clark and Ron Childers are also parents, they share lots of stories about life in the trenches. Bill worked in Duluth, Minnesota, as a reporter before coming to Memphis. They embraced the Northern lifestyle, adapting to six months of winter by learning to ice fish and ski.
This is the Lunn’s living room. Love the restful colors.
The importance of family is evidenced everywhere. Bill’s parents both died when he was still in his 20s, but Sheri’s family is local and they visit his three brothers and grandparents in places like Boston.
• Favorite family vacation spot? It’s a toss-up between Cape Cod andMontana.
Dinner is served. It’s delicious, btw.
Bill and Sheri met while cub reporters (both are Northwestern grads) at the City Bureau in Chicago, at that time the oldest newswire service in the country. Though they were involved with others initially, they became friends, sharing an interest in books and their Italian heritage.
It was in a basement tavern nicknamed “The Goat,” a popular hangout for reporters, that the couple later realized there was a spark between them. After sharing an impromptu evening together, Sheri finally got up to leave. As she climbed the stairs to the street, she found herself thinking, “If I go up these stairs and turn around to find him looking at me, my life will change.” She glanced over her shoulder and his gaze met hers.
“I [fell] madly in love with him… still am.”
“Bill is the anchor of our family — he pulls us all together.”
Each of the boys have their own interests.
William loves music. He takes guitar lessons with his dad and also plays piano.
Daniel is a builder, he makes cool stuff, like this recycled robot. He tells me how he likes to sit in the wings at Ch. 5 and watch his dad deliver the news. He’s also excited about his mom starting her new job because, “we might, we might,” he emphasizes, “get a pool!”
John is the sports guy. He even missed football practice to be home during my visit (thanks, John). He built this catapult as part of a science project. Hmm, makes me think he’s seen those early Monty Python movies!
Every night ends with storytime, because Sheri and Bill know education is the ticket to a brighter future. Tonight, it’s the final chapter of Tom Sawyer. The Lunns instill in their children the importance of sharing life and love with others. And despite being in the noisy world of media, they practice the art of listening. Because it is in the stillness of solitude that one can discern the true calling of the heart.