WHEREAS, Harry William Porterfield, veteran reporter, news anchor and one of the best loved television personalities at CBS affiliate WBBM Channel 2, is retiring after fifty-one years; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of his retirement by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and
WHEREAS, Born in Saginaw, Michigan, Harry William Porterfield graduated from the University of Eastern Michigan at Ypsilante with a B.S. degree in Chemistry in 1954 and served his country in Germany as a member of the U.S. Army, earning the rank of sergeant; and
WHEREAS, Harry William Porterfield began his broadcast career in 1955 as a disc jockey for jazz and gospel radio station WKNX in Saginaw, where he was a cameraman, a stagehand for the children's program "Romper Room," and continuity editor; and
WHEREAS, In 1964 Harry William Porterfield joined the staff of WBBM-TV as a news writer and worked his way up to reporter, weekend news anchor, co-anchor of the evening news; and
WHEREAS, While co-anchor, Harry William Porterfield created two Emmy Award-winning shows, Channel Two: The People and Two on Two and his most popular series Someone You Should Know which aired for the first time in 1977; and
WHEREAS, Since 1977 Harry William Porterfield has produced and aired more than 2,000 Someone You Should Know features; and
WHEREAS, In 1985 Harry William Porterfield left WBBM to join the on-air staff of WLS-TV as a feature news writer and substitute anchor; and
WHEREAS, In August 2009, after an absence of twenty-four years, Harry William Porterfield returned to WBBM-TV to co-anchor the morning news program; and
WHEREAS, Harry William Porterfield is an accomplished violinist and a member of the Chicago Federation of Musicians who has performed with small groups and symphony orchestras; and
WHEREAS, Harry William Porterfield has received numerous awards and accolades for broadcast excellence, including The Distinguished Journalism Award from the Coalition for United Community Action; th...
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