It has been said that KLRU was what put Austin on the map for the rest of the world, with no small amount of help from Willie Nelson and Austin City Limits. Our local PBS station has continued to grow, change, and innovate right along with this great City we live in. Come and hear about the big changes past, present, and what’s in store for the future-you may be surprised at what you hear.
About our speaker:
Bill Stotesbery has been CEO and General Manager of KLRU‐TV, the PBS station serving Austin and Central Texas, since 2004.
KLRU has long been associated with its award‐winning music concert series, Austin City Limits, the longest running music program in television history, and recipient of the National Medal of the Arts and a Peabody Award, among other recognition. KLRU has also become known as one of the leading producing and presenting stations in the PBS system with over a dozen local and regional series and documentaries currently in development or production and more than 100 Lone Star Emmy nominations and 20 Lone Star Emmys during Bill’s tenure.
Before joining KLRU, Bill had a 25‐year career in marketing, sales, public relations, and public affairs, primarily for technology companies. He was the first local employee of the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) in 1983, and, along with two co‐founders, launched and later sold GTT Communications, one of the region’s first public relations firms focusing on Austin’s technology industry. He has served on numerous civic and professional boards and has been recognized by organizations including UT Austin’s Moody College of Communications, Leadership Austin, First Tee, and the Austin Chamber of Commerce.
Bill is a graduate of the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, receiving a Masters in Public Affairs in 1977. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Texas Christian University in 1975.
Meals provided by Manny Sifuentes, manager at Cafe del Rio, a business staffed by the Texas Commission for the Blind.