Cassady Lance Willard Class of 2003

Gordon Hunter

Cassady is an evening anchor at WJCL 22-ABC News here in Savannah. Tune into WJCL on any given weeknight at 5pm or 7pm, and chances are you will see the Calvary graduate reporting in her hometown.

Being born and raised a Savannahian, Cassady enrolled at Calvary in 1990 as a kindergartner. “My parents wanted a family environment for me at school, and that’s exactly what Calvary provided,” Cassady told me. “Calvary is a tight-knit community from the parents to the teachers and of course the students. Being brought up in a Christian school, surrounded by those principles and teachings was also really important to them,” she explained.

While at Calvary Day School, Cassady was involved in many aspects of student life. “I think I tried just about everything at Calvary,” she exclaimed. “I was in all kinds of clubs, served on Student Council, was a member of the Honor Society, and I was a cheerleader from 6th grade through my senior year.” She was also on the track team her final three years as a Cavalier. “Because I was involved in so many extra-curricular activities and clubs, in addition to focusing on academics, I really learned how to handle a lot of things at once,” Cassady told me. “That skill really helped me in college and certainly in the news business.”

When I asked Cassady about her favorite experience at Calvary, she told stories about the friendships she made. At football games, pep rallies, and class games she said “there was always a special energy around the school that time of year. Overall, the memories I made with my friends is what I’ll never forget. Some of my best friends today are people I met while going to school at Calvary.”

After attending the University of Georgia from 2003-2005, Cassady received her B.F.A. in Media and Performing Arts from SCAD in 2008 graduating Cum Laude.  In 2011 she received a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Houston also graduating Cum Laude. In 2010 she also had the unique opportunity to represent the state as Miss Georgia USA in the 2010 Miss USA Pageant.

Cassady spent time in the newsroom of KPRC-TV in Houston, Texas and also worked for the Houston PBS station. Cassady joined the WJCL Team February 2012, honing her skills as a producer, reporter, anchor, and weekend weather forecaster.

The life of this local celebrity hasn’t slowed down since moving back to Savannah. She married Daniel Willard, Calvary graduate c/o 2002 in June of 2011, and they have two beautiful daughters, Harper who is almost three and Blair who is eighteen months old.

I asked Cassady about her biggest influence at Calvary and she said, “I had so many, it’s hard to single out just one person. Mrs. Johnson, Coach Hensley, and Mr. Poole are just a few of the people who had pretty big impacts on me. In fact, Mr. Poole even performed the wedding ceremony for my husband Daniel and me. That was pretty cool!”

When I asked Cassady about giving some advice to current Calvary students, she said, “Just enjoy your time. It’s so easy to just want to grow up and get out of high school. There is something really special about that time. It’s so much simpler, and for me, it was just a lot of fun. Cherish it and keep in touch with the special people you meet along the way. Don’t stress about what you’re going to do with your life; you’ll figure it out. Things have a way of working out how they're supposed to.”

 
Back