announcing songs and performing live advertisements for KOY. A couple months after starting, the station replaced him with a British actor. When the actor moved away from Phoenix several weeks later, Williams was rehired. By 1931 he had added news announcer to his list of duties with Williams rewriting stories from the Los Angeles Examiner or radio news services for the local audience. With the election of 1932 approaching, Williams created a news program titled I Vote For in which he asked people from around the state who they intended to vote for and later played the recorded answers. This program was the first time either of Phoenix's two radio stations (KTAR being the second) left their studios to interact with the public. In 1936, KOY underwent a change of ownership. With the new management, Williams received a promotion to program director, a job title he would hold for the next 30 years. In his role at KOY, he would go on to host the commentary show Yours Sincerely. Williams opened each show with his signature line, "It's a beautiful day in Arizona. Leave us all enjoy it!". On June 5, 1942, Williams married Vera May. The union produced three children: John Richard Jr., Micheal M., and Nikki. City politics A member of the Phoenix Union High School Board of Education approached Williams in 1942, asking him to run for a seat on the Phoenix Elementary School District No. 1 board. Williams was initially reluctant but eventually agree to run, only to lose. The next year one of the three members of the Elementary School board was removed from office and Williams was appointed to fill the empty seat. Shortly after taking office he was made board president, a position he would retain until 1952. In addition to his seat on the school board, Williams became active in other civic and governmental activities. In 1946 he became president of Phoenix Junior Chamber of Commerce while he was vice president of the Phoenix Housing Authority from 1944 to 1947. The Phoenix Advertising Club named Williams Man of the Year in 1953. Williams' biggest impact on the school board came in 1951 following passage of a law by the state legislature allowing districts to voluntarily desegregate. He joined with another board member to pass a measure, 2–1, that desegregated Phoenix elementary schools. To deal with concerns from the minority community that minority