Spencer Christian

1999 Honoree

For 12 years, millions of people woke up each weekday morning to the sound of his familiar voice. As the charismatic, friendly weather forecaster on ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” Spencer Christian provided up-to-date information about the weather throughout the country. In January 1999, he left “Good Morning America” for a new and exciting opportunity: as the weather anchor for KGO-TV in San Francisco, California.

The Charles City, Virginia, native and Hampton University graduate taught English at the Stony Brook School on Long Island, New York, for a year before launching his television career. He began his broadcast career in 1971 as a reporter with WWBT-TV in Richmond, Virginia, where he covered local politics, school board activities, and landmark cases in the U.S. Circuit Court.  

Following his stint in Richmond, Mr. Christian served as the weathercaster with WBAL-TV in Baltimore, Maryland, from 1975 until 1977, where he also hosted “Spencer’s World,” a weekly, half-hour talk show. From there, he moved to WABC-TV, an ABC-owned station in New York, where he worked for nine years. He became one of America’s favorite weather forecasters in 1986, when he joined “Good Morning America.”

Mr. Christian is the author of Spencer Christian’s Weather Book, Spencer Christian ‘s Geography Book, and most recently, Electing Our Government, a light and lively refresher course on how the electoral procedure works. He has worked on behalf of numerous charities, including the American Cancer Society, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Girl Scouts of America, Make-a-Wish Foundation, March of Dimes, Special Olympics, and United Negro College Fund.

In July 1993, Mr. Christian was named Virginian of the Year by the Virginia Press Association and received the 1991 Whitney M.Young, Jr. Service Award from the Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America for presenting a positive image for today’s youngsters.

The father of two shares with America’s youth the same advice he gives to his own children: “Don’t let go of your dreams. It is so important to envision yourself doing the impossible, reaching the unreachable, attaining the unattainable. All of mankind’s greatest achievement originated as dreams.”