The information below is the actual nomination language used by the person who submitted the nomination. All submissions had to answer three questions: one about the nominee's career, one about their contribution to the communist they served, and finally, about their contribution to the broadcasting industry in Arkansas.

Career and accomplishments as an Arkansas Broadcaster

BJ Sams has over 55 years broadcasting experience in radio and television.11 years in radio, 45 years in Television. He started his career in radio in Knoxville, Tennessee. His first radio gig, while in high school, was that of a janitor making 75 cents an hour. Then within a few weeks, became a DJ, making 75 cents an hour. At that time, he was known as BJ the DJ. In 1958, B.J. was drafted into the U.S. Army where he worked as a broadcast specialist recording military newscasts. Then, B.J. worked for 15 months on his first TV gig in Louisiana before moving to KATV news in Little Rock, AR where he anchored for 7 years. B.J. then moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he worked for the NBC affiliate KHON-TV for 9 years. In 1982, B.J. returned to Little Rock, Arkansas as an evening news anchor and later worked on the morning show with Robyn Richardson and Tom Brannon where they enjoyed a successful run as the number 1 rated morning newscast for over 10 years. In all, B.J. spent 27 years on the anchor desk at THV11 before retiring in 2009, making him one of the longest tenured news anchors in Arkansas broadcasting. Over his 55 years in broadcasting, B.J. has received many awards including the Gold Circle of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. In the year 2000, he was awarded Broadcaster of the year by the Associated Press and United Press International. He was inducted into the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Arkansas Walk of Fame in 2012.

Contributions to their community during their time as an Arkansas Broadcaster

Going back to his time in the military, B.J. served his country in the U.S. Army. B.J. volunteered for years at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. He would work his shift on the morning show and then would go to the hospital and rock babies. He volunteered for many years at Children’s until retiring in 2009. B.J. was very active within his church community… spending many years singing in his church choir and volunteering with outreach activities at Immanuel Baptist Church. Although these things improve the community, the most admirable thing he has accomplished to help others, is speaking to civic groups about overcoming obstacles. He shares the story about how his only child, his son, died in his arms during a plane crash in Hawaii. His story provides people with hope and courage to carry on. There are hundreds of people in Arkansas who have been encouraged by BJ’s willingness to share his experience and how he kept going and did not give up. Despite the tragedy, BJ was able to have a successful career and find happiness.

Contributions to our industry

BJ is widely regarded as one of the most well-respected journalists and news anchors in the Little Rock television market. Over the years, BJ mentored several generations of young reporters and up-and-coming news anchors providing leadership, guidance, friendship and most importantly, love and support. Ask anyone that has ever worked with BJ, and they’ll tell you just how influential he was in their careers. BJ always treat co-workers as equals, never being degrading or derogatory in his communication. He always wanted the individual to be the best journalist they could possibly be. He was so well loved and respected at THV11 and within Tegna, that in 2003 the THV11 Studio was renamed the BJ Sams Studio in his honor. In his time as a reporter and news anchor, BJ was a man of hard work and integrity, never letting personal feelings influence the story he was telling. He truly is a broadcast legend, and is iconic for being an even greater human being.