SILVER CIRCLE

The Silver Circle honors media professionals who began their careers in television at least 25 years ago, either in a performing, creative, technical or administrative role within the industry or in an area related to television such as TV journalism education, advertising, promotion, and public relations.

Over the course of their 25-year career, they must also have made a significant contribution to the Midsouth Chapter.

The Midsouth Chapter of NATAS has been honoring and celebrating our Silver Circle members since 1994.

Silver Circle Honorees

Silver Circle Honoree

Nancy Amons

Nancy got the broadcasting bug at about age 12, listening to an AM transistor radio under her pillow until well past curfew. She became a late-night rock DJ at a Worcester, Massachusetts college radio station at 16, then pursued a broadcast degree first at UMass Amherst, then at the University of Southern California. She got hooked on journalism at USC and graduated Magna Cum Laude. After a brief stint as a producer in Tampa, Nancy moved to Savannah, GA, and spent eight years learning the ropes of beat reporting and investigative reporting. In 1988, Nancy found her broadcast “home” at WSMV in Nashville, where she spent the next 32 years. She earned a number of Emmy^® awards, a national Edward R. Murrow Award, a Mothers Against Drunk Driving national award, and her proudest accolade, a national award from Investigative Reporters and Editors for an extensive investigation into then General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland. Nancy’s investigative findings were quoted by prosecutors as Moreland was sent to federal prison for corruption.

Nancy’s investigation into the former Rutherford County Sheriff also sent him to prison. The only evidence prosecutors entered at his sentencing hearing was the sheriff’s raw interview with Nancy. He lied, but she had all the documents. Nancy stood up to bullies. Her one-on-one interview with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made world headlines, as he stumbled to avoid her persistent questions.

One coworker once compared Nancy’s relentless reporting to a bulldog who would not let go of your pants leg.

While Nancy made a career exposing corruption, she delighted in fighting for ordinary people — restoring lost medical benefits or cutting through government red tape.

After 40-plus years in broadcasting, Nancy retired in 2020 and enjoys dancing, crafting, the outdoors, and time with family.

Silver Circle Honoree

Larry Audas

Larry Audas served as President and General Manager of WFMY, the TEGNA CBS affiliate in Greensboro, NC from 2011 to 2024. TEGNA appointed Audas as President and GM of WZDX, the TEGNA FOX affiliate in Huntsville, Alabama in 2020.

During his tenure at WFMY News 2, he engaged staff to renovate and revive the historic North Carolina station. Along with larger market rivals, WFMY was recognized with multiple Midsouth Emmy^® News Excellence and Best Newscast nominations. The North Carolina Association of Broadcasters honored WFMY in 2018 for Best Breaking News and Outstanding Newscast and Community Involvement in 2021.

WFMY won a Community Service Regional Emmy^® in 2014, the Gannett Best Client Solution Award in 2013, and was a Gannett Greater Good finalist in 2012. Audas developed non-traditional news content, securing multi-platform/social audiences and clientele. The Emmy^®-winning Read 2 Succeed program reached 100,000+ urban elementary students with a compelling literacy message. WFMY News 2 first launched market-wide interactive coverage featuring dozens of Skype-ready Weather Watchers who appear online, on social, and on TV with severe weather reports. Aviation Triad connected business and civic interests with WFMY’s sales marketing support of the region’s promising aerospace sector.

Audas was President and GM of TEGNA’s (then Gannett) KTHV (CBS) Little Rock from 2002 until his WFMY appointment. Audas was a 2008 Gannett Manager of the Year finalist. KTHV won a National Edward R. Murrow Award for its documentary on the 1957 desegregation of Little Rock Central High. Previously, Audas served as News Director at WLTX (CBS) in Columbia. The station overhauled its entire news operation and was recognized with a Most Outstanding Newscast Emmy^®, a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award, and as the SC Broadcasters’ TV Station of the Year (2001 & 2002). Prior to WLTX, Audas was weekday anchor for KTHV, which delivered its first AP Best Newscast, first Emmy^®-winning Best Newscast and Live Special Event, as well as a first Regional Murrow Best Newscast.

Before employment with Gannett/TEGNA, Audas worked as an anchor/reporter for KPRC (NBC) in Houston. He reported on everything from hurricanes and earthquakes to Texas politics and pro sports. The Texas AP recognized him with a 1989 Best Reporter award. His previous anchor/reporter positions were at KFOR (NBC) in Oklahoma City and KSWO (ABC) in Lawton, Oklahoma. Audas began his career as an announcer with KQCV radio in Oklahoma City after earning a B.A. in Radio/TV Production at Bob Jones University. He participated in the Gannett Management Program, NAB Management Development Seminar at Northwestern University, Center for Creative Leadership, and other TEGNA training programs.

Audas served on the Greensboro Sports Council, Greensboro Chamber Grow Campaign, NC Broadcasters Association, and other community endeavors. He and his wife Joanne have two adult children. Kara is a doctor in Charlotte. Maria is a head basketball coach in South Carolina. The family enjoys their grandchildren, sports, competition, and travel, as well as involvement in church and service opportunities.

Silver Circle Honoree

Tuwanda Coleman

Over the course of her 41-year career at NewsChannel 5, you might say Tuwanda Coleman has seen and done a little of it all.

A native of Cadiz, Kentucky, Tuwanda says she knew she wanted to work in television the first time she saw Oprah Winfrey anchor the news on Channel 5.

Tuwanda graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1981 with a degree in Broadcasting. Two weeks after graduation, she landed her first job at Channel 5 as a studio camera operator.

For ten years, Tuwanda perfected her skills working behind the camera. In addition to her camera operator duties, she was given the opportunity to co-produce and produce station projects, including the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon and the Children's Miracle Network Telethon benefiting the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

The more opportunities Tuwanda was given to produce, the more she dreamed of becoming a producer full-time. Her dream was realized in 1992 when she was asked to join the staff of Talk of the Town as an assistant producer. Just a few months later, she was promoted to full-time producer with the show, and in 2003, Tuwanda moved from behind the camera to in front of it, becoming a field reporter for Talk of the Town. In addition to her duties with Talk of the Town, Tuwanda also hosted the public service show The Plus Side of Nashville and the Talk of the Town spin-off show Taste of the Town for NewsChannel 5+.

Tuwanda has received numerous awards and accolades over the course of her career at NewsChannel 5, including two Mid-South Regional Emmy^® Award nominations. She was named the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals “Television Media Person of the Year,” honored as one of Tennessee State University’s Women of Legend and Merit, received the Nashville Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists’ Media Excellence Award, and more.

Tuwanda is actively involved in the Nashville community, lending her support to numerous boards and organizations including the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences, the National Association of Black Journalists, Oasis Center, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt Advisory Board, Nashville Film Festival, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

Tuwanda retired from NewsChannel 5 in January 2024. She now spends her time redecorating and organizing her home, gardening, reading, and spending quality time with her husband Charles, stepdaughter Yolanda, and her furry-son Ollie.

Silver Circle Honoree

Rick Gall

Rick Gall has been in broadcast news for more than 35 years. After graduating from Marquette and earning a master’s in broadcast journalism from American University, Rick got his first reporter job at WIFR in Rockford, Illinois, where he met his wife Pam. He spent four years reporting at WNEP in Wilkes-Barre, PA, before heading south to North Carolina, where he joined WLOS as a reporter. In 1995, Rick joined WRAL as a bureau reporter covering Fayetteville. He later transitioned to roles behind the scenes including assignment editor, assignment manager, managing editor, and assistant news director. In 2005, he became news director and has led a team of 150+ employees through every news and weather event impacting NC. During Gall's 19 years as News Director, WRAL News won 25 regional and national awards for overall excellence, and, in May 2023, the Nielsen ratings showed WRAL was the choice of 65% of news viewers in the market.

Along with numerous awards for his leadership as news director at WRAL, Rick has also been responsible for helping oversee the evolution of broadcast news over the past 25 years at one of the most innovative stations in the country. From the evolution to HD video, including live remotes, in-studio and eventually news gathering in the field, to the multi-platform nature and 24/7 cycle of news as it has evolved over the past three decades, Rick has led WRAL through it all — often waiting for the technology to catch up with WRAL's transformative plans. He has overseen the shift in live transmission capability, introduction of drone photography, growing movement toward multimedia journalists, and a myriad of other technological developments that have transformed the industry. Through every change, Rick makes thoughtful and measured decisions, always with an eye on the broader implications and the big picture. Whether he's leading dozens of people through days of hurricane coverage, ushering more inclusive language into newscasts, or making difficult choices about coverage of major issues and events, his calm and wisdom shine through. Rick Gall's impact on the broadcast industry in North Carolina and all its changes over the past 30 years can't be overstated.

Just as Capitol Broadcasting Corporation has always been dedicated to serving the community, Rick has personally led the charge on dozens of efforts. From overseeing an initiative that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for hurricane victims in North Carolina, to managing vaccine hotlines during the pandemic, to initiating a mental health program that connected people struggling to licensed professionals, he is adept at seeing a need and finding a way that WRAL can help. Rick also helps the community on his personal time, volunteering for Special Olympics and being a long-time leader in his church.

Silver Circle Honoree

Cameron Kent

Cameron Kent began his career at WXII-TV in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1979 after graduating from Wake Forest University. He started as a general assignment reporter, then moved to Sports Director, and spent the last 23 years of his career as the main News Anchor.

He was nominated for 14 Emmy^® Awards for journalism, including Best News Writer three times, and won an Emmy^® for his reporting on the Pentagon after 9/11.

As the Crimestoppers reporter for WXII, he won the Crimestoppers top journalism award for the Southeast Region eleven times, and the top award for crime reporting from Crimestoppers International three times.

He’s a recipient of the North Carolina Governor’s Volunteer Service Award, honoring individuals who make a significant contribution to their community through volunteer service. He was the emcee or keynote speaker at over 3,000 events, helping dozens of worthwhile organizations like Second Harvest Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, Samaritan Ministries, and the Boy Scouts.

Cameron was also awarded the “Living Legend” award for outstanding service to the youth in our community.

One of the highlights of his career at WXII was his involvement in organizing the Flights of Honor, escorting over 1,300 World War Two veterans up to Washington, D.C., to visit the World War Two memorial on the National Mall.

In 2018, he was inducted into the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Silver Circle Honoree

Steve Johnson

North Alabama news legend, Steve Johnson, retired from the anchor desk on June 14, 2024, after 47 years at News 19, and it is hard to put his illustrious career into words.

No stranger to the area, Steve grew up in the Rocket City attending Huntsville High School and Auburn University, where he met his wife, Sue. After college, he moved to Anniston, taking a job at the small station WHMA, which was owned by the Anniston Star. After a few years, Huntsville came calling, and former WHNT News Director Dan Cooper offered Steve the job of Sports Director in 1977. While Steve initially turned down the position, he knew after the phone call he made a mistake and called Cooper to accept the very next day. Steve’s first day as Action News 19 Sports Director was May 2, 1977, and he served in that position for more than 22 years. During his tenure as Sports Director, Steve was able to cover “Bo Over the Top” and “The Kick” by Van Tiffin in the 1985 Iron Bowl. However, Steve’s favorite memory was trading a piece of gum for an interview with Dale Earnhardt Sr.

In 1999, Steve transitioned from sports to news. As a general assignment reporter, Steve covered stories that impacted the community, which quickly evolved into him becoming the go-to guy for anything Redstone Arsenal and space. He grew an expertise in space and missile defense reporting, setting a standard in the market. Steve took his coverage of three shuttle launches very seriously, but he remembered to have fun along the way. While doing a live shot for WPIX in New York City for one of the launches, Steve earned the nickname, “The Shuttle Stud,” which followed him for years to come.

In 2010, Steve began filling in on the anchor desk, and in 2013 was promoted to the News 19 Morning Co-Anchor, becoming the long-time face of our morning newscasts. Throughout his time at News 19, Steve was known as a mentor and friend to every colleague that passed through the WHNT newsroom. Former co-anchor Lauren Layton says, “I trust him as a journalist, and I trust him as a friend. He is one of those people that if you have a question, he meets you where you are and brings you up with him.” Members of the community and officials across North Alabama also knew what an asset News 19 had in Steve Johnson. One former co-anchor, Emileigh Forrester, easily summed up his legacy saying: “The knowledge he has imparted on our newsroom is priceless and there will never be another Steve Johnson.”

In retirement, Steve is spending more time with his beloved wife Sue, sons Wes and Chris, daughter-in-law Renae, and two grandsons Luke and Logan. Over his 47 years at WHNT, it’s hard to comprehend the scope of the impact Steve has had on the Tennessee Valley community. His passion for journalism was evident every day he stepped into the newsroom, and his legacy will continue to impact News 19 and the Tennessee Valley.

Silver Circle Honoree

Meryll Rose

Meryll Rose was a familiar face and trusted friend to television viewers for 45 years, most notably as the co-host of Nashville’s top-rated midday show, Talk of the Town.

After graduating from the University of Tennessee’s College of Communications in 1978, Meryll landed her first job as a reporter and weekend anchor at WRCB in Chattanooga. The next year, she returned home to become the co-host of Nashville's first magazine show, PM Magazine. She also served as the producer of that show, until the opportunity arose to develop a new entertainment show for syndication. Meryll joined Jim Owens Entertainment as the producer of This Week in Country Music, which became the popular series Crook & Chase, which she also produced.

Meryll joined WTVF in 1987 as the Executive Producer of Talk of the Town. She returned to an on-air role in 1993 as the co-anchor of NewsChannel 5’s Weekend Morning Report for three years, before being named as the co-host of Talk of the Town in 1996. Meryll was committed to making Talk of the Town a positive, uplifting, bright spot in the day for viewers — a role that brought her great joy until her retirement in 2023.

Retirement has allowed Meryll to pursue other passions like international travel, playing pickleball, and thrifting vintage clothes for her online resale business. She’s enjoying being more involved in church and neighborhood activities, and cheering for her five grandkids at countless baseball, volleyball, and soccer games.

Silver Circle Honoree

Vicki Yates

When Vicki Yates brings you the news every night, you are benefiting from more than three decades of experience and award-winning reporting.

In addition to her anchoring and reporting duties, Vicki co-hosts the annual Children's Miracle Network Telethon benefiting Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, a testament to her community involvement on and off the air.

Her career began in Detroit, Michigan while attending college. As a freelance reporter, she worked for Michigan's number one minority newspaper, The Michigan Chronicle. While a junior at Michigan State University, she was hired to work at WJIM-TV as a news reporter. She drew some tough assignments, including the crime beat and various issues at MSU.

Vicki's experience and responsibilities grew while working as Assistant News Director, reporter, and Public Affairs Director at WMJC Radio in Detroit. She was responsible for six daily newscasts and two weekly public service programs. From there, Vicki went on to work as a newswriter, producer, and news reporter at two other stations in Michigan and Ohio. Vicki's talent eventually landed her an anchor/news reporter position at WKRC-TV in Cincinnati, where she helped make the noon newscast number one in the market. Before joining the NewsChannel 5 team, Vicki anchored and reported at KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh.

She has won six Emmy^® Awards for, among other reports, a mini-documentary "Bundles of Joy" on multiple births… a special news feature about the life of Olympian Wilma Rudolph, and for her news franchise, "School Patrol."

In 2011, Vicki was invited by the White House to visit Washington, D.C. and interview President Barack Obama one-on-one.

Vicki spends much of her time on weekends, hosting events for local organizations, or traveling to visit her much-loved children.

Silver Circle Honoree

Wanda Starke

Wanda Starke joined the staff of WXII 12 News in 1994 as the weekday morning anchor. She was also the co-anchor of the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. In May of 2018, she announced she would be stepping away from the anchor desk to produce stories about people making a difference in the community called "12 Inspires". Wanda has also produced a weekly segment, "A Place to Call Home", since 2000, which profiles children waiting to be adopted. It's a personal issue for Wanda, who was adopted as a young child.

Originally from Hampton Roads, Va., Wanda graduated from the University of Richmond with a B.A. in journalism and speech communication. She also attended Howard University Graduate School. Wanda's broadcasting career began in 1977 on her birthday, December 12, in Augusta, Ga. She later had stops in Norfolk, Greensboro, and Los Angeles, where she worked at KCOP-TV for 5 1/2 years, first as a writer/reporter and later substitute anchor. In 1991, Wanda made history at WGRZ-TV as the first African American named weekday evening anchor in the Buffalo market.

Wanda has received numerous awards including The President's Award for Volunteer Service, The Maya Angelou Women Who Lead Excellence Award Honoring Women in Media from UNCF, and the Anna Quindlen Award for Excellence in Journalism on Behalf of Children and Families from the Child Welfare League of America.

Wanda, a former National Big Sister of the Year, served on the board of directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters in Forsyth County. She currently serves on the board of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company and is a member of the Women's Fund of Winston-Salem.

Wanda and her husband, Ron Fisher, were married in Greensboro in 1989.

Silver Circle Honoree

Dirk L. Mooth

Dirk's 40-year career began as a photographer for an investigative unit for WTVC in Chattanooga. In 1980, he became Chief Photographer for WNGE (later WKRN) in Nashville. As Chief Photographer, Dirk managed a thirteen-person photography staff, maintained vehicles and equipment for daily news-gathering operations, and shot and edited daily turn news stories for same-day deadlines.

In 1985, Dirk became Producer and Editor/Photographer for WTVJ in Miami, where he was responsible for daily turn stories under deadline, produced magazine features and hard news stories for a weekly magazine program, shot and edited documentaries and long-form programming as needed, and covered major national breaking news stories for NBC and the NBC News Channel. Dirk returned to Nashville in 1995 as News Operations Manager for WKRN. In this role, he oversaw technical coordination of live events for broadcast, including crewing and transmission logistics for the following worldwide events: the 1999 Super Bowl in Atlanta; live presence from Afghanistan, including tape feeds and live reports; logistics for numerous live programs originating on WKRN's air; technical manager for all of the Tennessee Titans preseason football broadcasts for the past three seasons; and technical manager for the Jeff Fisher Coach's Show since its inception. He was also responsible for daily news operations, including booking of live talk-backs and remotes, and coordination between departments from project inception to completion.

Dirk earned a B.S. degree in Art from Illinois State University, and studied Television and Film at Columbia College in Chicago.

Dirk's honors and awards include the George Foster Peabody Award for the production of "Hurricane Andrew, as it Happened", and 5 Regional Emmy^® Awards.

Silver Circle Honoree

Kelly Breece

There is no doubt that serendipity was in play when Mike and Kelly Greece were working on the same shoot many years ago. They have been married for eighteen years and are raising their two children, Shane and Saylor, in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

While at Nashville Tech, Mike began his professional career as an intern at WSMV Nashville and was then hired as a cameraman. By 1985, he was also freelancing at TNN: The Nashville Network and was hired there full time in 1986. In his thirteen-year tenure, Mike shot everything from country music shows to NASCAR and drag racing events all over North America.

Mike then designed a plan to buy his first camera crane and pay it off while working at TNN to keep the overhead down, and then took the plunge to open his own company in 1998.

Mike started Pro Jib, Inc., a camera crane company that supplies cranes, camera support equipment, and operators for television shows all over the world. He not only made it, but within the first three years he had bought three cranes and hired other operators to work his cranes for some of the biggest shows in Hollywood such as The Academy Awards and The Grammy Awards.

Mike has focused his camera on actors such as Burt Reynolds, Ann-Margret, Paul Newman, Patrick Swayze, and John Travolta; and musicians such as Madonna, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Elton John, U2, Billy Joel, Gloria Estefan, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, and most recently, Paul McCartney at Shea Stadium in New York, along with a stack of music videos, including Alan Jackson, Taylor Swift, and Martina McBride.

After being nominated for a National Emmy^® Award four times, he won a Primetime Emmy^® Award for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. Mike has also won Midsouth Regional Emmy^® Awards for his camera work on the show Bluegrass Underground.

Kelly graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a degree in Broadcast Production. She became indispensable to television productions, especially live shows, and eventually opened her own company, Elite Script Teleprompting.

Understandably, they are both in constant demand.

Silver Circle Honoree

Mike Breece

Silver Circle Honoree

Mark Bellinger

Mark Bellinger first came to NewsChannel 5 from KHQ-TV in Spokane, Washington, where he covered the North Idaho beat. He began his career at KIDK-TV in Idaho after graduating from the University of Colorado in Boulder. His stellar career stretched more than three decades long.

He started his career at NewsChannel 5 in 1993 as a reporter. For 23 years, Mark was a guiding light in the NewsChannel 5 newsroom — a journalist at heart who was never afraid to ask tough questions but still always managed to make his colleagues smile. During his more than two decades covering the news in Nashville, Mark was affectionately known as "The B" — his specialty was covering crime, producing weekly segments for the station's Crimestoppers franchise.

There's no telling how many criminals he helped get off the streets through the hundreds of stories he produced over the years. No one worked harder or fought harder than "The B," which is what made his death in October of 2016 seem so unfair to his friends, colleagues, and family.

Most viewers didn't know that the cancer came first in 2013, yet Mark still managed to embody the word courage. His colleagues would watch in astonishment as Mark would return to the newsroom just hours after having chemotherapy treatments, then report the news as if a life-altering disease wasn't slowly stealing time away from him.

"The B" had a remarkable relationship with nearly every lawmaker at the Tennessee State Capitol; he was an irreplaceable asset around NewsChannel 5 when it came to covering political stories both large and small.

It's impossible to count the number of stories he told, the number of live shots he begrudgingly pushed through, or the number of lives he undoubtedly touched. Mark loved the Titans, loved wearing cowboy boots to work, and loved telling great stories. He also loved his family. Mark left behind his young daughter Aima and the love of his life, Cindy, who he was married to for 16 years after the two met on a whim at a Logan's Roadhouse while Cindy was working as a waitress.

Mark is missed dearly by everyone who knew him.

Silver Circle Honoree

Ken Simington

The late Ken Simington's broadcast career began at a small radio station in the northeast part of his home state of Arkansas. He earned a Master of Visual Arts from Southern Illinois University and a Bachelor of Science in Radio/TV from Arkansas State University, where he ran camera and audio for AETN for two years before moving to Memphis to be a cameraman for WMC-TV in 1978. Ken arrived at NPT (then WDCN) in 1979 and worked his way through the ranks from studio supervisor to senior producer/director. His affiliation with Tennessee Crossroads began at the show's launch in October 1987, when he worked as a segment producer and then executive producer. He was a consummate professional; he also had a terrific sense of humor, a knack for storytelling, and a green thumb when it came to homegrown tomatoes.

Throughout his career, Ken earned 16 Regional Emmy^® nominations for Director and Magazine Programs — and won once as Executive Producer for Living On: Tennesseans Remembering the Holocaust (2006). But Ken was perhaps proudest of Tennessee Crossroads and its consistently high ratings and popularity. "Ken Simington was the granddaddy of NPT's production staff and had the distinct honor of being the celebrated producer of Tennessee Crossroads," said Beth Curley, NPT's president and CEO. "Ken loved every minute of his work, which viewers could witness every week. Ken had a long and distinguished career at NPT and was beloved by all of our staff. He was a unique talent who is already sorely missed by everyone at NPT."

"He was a brother, a friend, a partner," said Joe Elmore, Tennessee Crossroads' longtime host. "We were like Martin and Lewis — and Ken was Lewis."

Ken served as a governor of NATAS Nashville/Midsouth.

Silver Circle Honoree

Ron Howes

Viewers rely on NewsChannel 5 for the most accurate weather forecasting, and the most advanced weather technology. Ron Howes delivered both, every night on NewsChannel 5 at 6:00 and 10:00. He has earned the American Meteorological Society's Certified Broadcast Meteorologist designation.

You might be interested to know that all this high-tech expertise got its start when Ron was in the seventh grade. His science class spent two weeks studying the weather — and Ron was hooked. That interest led him to Indiana State, where he majored in Physics and served as an instructor.

His first experience in television meteorology came in 1973 at WTWO in Terre Haute, Indiana. He studied hard and was quickly admitted to the American Meteorological Society as a meteorologist. As a result, he was named chief meteorologist at WOTV in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Ron joined WTVF in 1980, continuing NewsChannel 5's ongoing commitment to superior weather reporting. He utilized his knowledge with the Mid-South's most state-of-the-art equipment. He conceived the idea of the NewsChannel 5 Skycam. Now, the camera mounted atop the state's tallest building is a signature for NewsChannel 5, and an important tool for Ron's weather reports.

Away from work, Ron and his wife Cyndy keep track of their four children and adorable grandchildren. Ron stays in touch with the world spending hours talking on his ham radio to people from dozens of countries. He's also a master woodworker, who loves taking on major projects.

Silver Circle Honoree

Nick Simonette

Nick holds the position of Raycom Media Group Vice President, Television. He grew up in New Orleans, and began his career in broadcasting while he was still a student at the University of New Orleans in 1978. His first job was with the NBC affiliate in New Orleans, WDSU-TV. Since his tenure at WDSU-TV, he has worked at several television stations, including Miami, Cincinnati, San Antonio, and Louisville. Nick came up through the ranks in the news department, filling nearly every position in the newsroom. Nick began his news directing career at WAFB in Baton Rouge, LA. He worked at WAFB for 10 years, then moved on to Louisville followed by San Antonio. He then returned to WAFB in 2002 to take the position of Vice President/General Manager.

Nick has served on several civic boards through the years, including the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters (as chairman), the Baton Rouge Area Sports Foundation (as chairman), the Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce, the Baton Rouge General Foundation Board, the Baton Rouge Symphony Board, the St. Michael's Catholic School Foundation Board, and the Habitat for Humanity's Board.

In April of 2008, Raycom Media purchased WBTV. Nick knew of the great legacy that WBTV enjoyed, and when the opportunity to become Vice President/General Manager of WBTV came along, it was too good to pass up. While in Charlotte, Nick became a member of the Rotary Club and also served on the Better Business Bureau Board of Directors, the American Red Cross Board of Directors, and the Greater Enrichment Program Board of Directors.

In September of 2015, Raycom Media again promoted Nick to Group Vice President with oversight of eight Raycom Media stations.

Nick's philosophy is simple… "It is not enough to be right. You also have to be fair, and it is our responsibility to make a positive impact on the communities that we serve."

Silver Circle Honoree

Demetria Kalodimos

Demetria is the longest continuous evening news anchor in WSMV history and has consistently been voted a favorite in local reader polls. With an unusual path to her career in journalism, she majored in music at Illinois Wesleyan University, graduating cum laude in 1981 with a Bachelor's in Music Education. She continued her education at the University of Illinois, where she was awarded a Master of Science in Journalism. In 2007, Demetria was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Illinois Wesleyan.

She began her TV career at WICD, Champaign, Ill., as an anchor/reporter. In 1984, she was chosen in a nationwide search to join Dan Miller on the anchor desk at WSMV. Demetria has won 16 Regional Emmy^® Awards, two National Headliner Awards, two Investigative Reporters and Editors National Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Reporting, and two national citations from American Women in Radio and Television. In 1996, she was chosen Tennessee Associated Press Broadcaster of the Year. In her spare time, Demetria produces documentaries for her own company, Genuine Human Productions. Her documentaries have been screened and awarded at the Nashville Independent Film Festival, The Sidewalk Moving Pictures Festival, Indie Memphis, the Berkeley Film and Video Festival, Barebones, and the Chicago International Film Festival, among others.

In 2000, Demetria started Genuine Human Productions, specializing in real people and true stories. Her documentaries have been screened and awarded at many top film festivals including Chicago International, Sidewalk, Indie Memphis, the Directors Guild, and the Nashville Film Festival.

She also produced and directed nationally broadcast music videos for Americana artist Mary Gauthier and singer-songwriter Shawn Camp. She still savors winning the Women's Racewalk division of the 26.2-mile Detroit Marathon in 1994.

Silver Circle Honoree

David van Hooser

David is the senior writer/producer in the Multimedia Department of The Renaissance Center, a non-profit educational facility. He has written, produced, and directed various projects, which include commercials, documentaries, a TV paranormal drama, industrial videos, informational TV programs, and educational and training videos for clients including Mediacom, Intermedia, Cox Communications, Tennessee Arts Commission, Tennessee State University, the National Park Service, Tennessee District Attorney Generals, and the Tennessee Wars Commission.

His earlier career includes serving as marketing director at WKRN Nashville, on-air promotion manager at WSMV Nashville (including the creation and development of the Snowbird character, whose popularity continues to this day), production vice president at Pro-Kids Productions, and creative services writer/producer at WBKO Bowling Green, KY.

As a screenwriter, David has been a finalist in the 1999 Slamdance Screenwriting Competition, a finalist in the 2000 Underexposed Screenwriting Competition, second place in the 2002 Slamdance Sci-Fi Screenwriting Competition sponsored by The Sci-Fi Channel, and a quarterfinalist in the 2003 Scriptapalooza Screenwriting Competition. In 2008, David's screenplay Barefoot Mel finished in the top 10% in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowships, as a quarterfinalist in the Scriptapalooza Screenwriting Competition, and as a top 10 finalist in the Final Draft Big Break Competition.

David holds a degree in Mass Communication from Western Kentucky University. His honors include 24 Regional Emmy^® Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, the National Association of Broadcasters Service to Children Award, the Promax Gold Medallion Award, the Parents' Choice Gold Award, NATPE Iris Awards, and Addy Diamond Awards.

Silver Circle Honoree

David Crabtree

For more than 30 years, David has reported on some of the biggest stories in the Midsouth region, around the country, and across the world. Just last year, he covered the installation of a new Pope in Rome, the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination in Dallas, and the services for Nelson Mandela in South Africa. On the anchor desk, David is a seasoned, credible, and talented journalist. He excels during breaking news and continuous coverage, when the stakes are highest. No need for scripts in those instances. David has fully carried on the great tradition of news coverage at WRAL, and he's been a key player in the station's success, which includes long-time domination in the ratings.

David has been an anchor/reporter at WRAL since 1994. His previous experience includes anchor/reporter at KCNC Denver, KMGH Denver, WITN Washington, NC, and WKRN Nashville.

His many honors include the DuPont Award, Gabriel Award, 13 Emmy^® Awards, Radio Television News Directors Association Reporter of the Year (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001), 2014 North Carolina Association of Broadcasters Anchor of the Year, and 2014 Radio Television Digital Association of the Carolinas Anchor of the Year.

A native Nashvillian, David holds a Bachelor of Science from Middle Tennessee State University. He also attended Vanderbilt University School of Divinity and has a master's degree in Theology with coursework at Oxford University, Oxford, England. He is presently working on a master's in Divinity at Duke University.

David has touched the lives of many people across the WRAL viewing area. The number of community appearances on behalf of the station is far too great to count. He routinely emcees events and fundraisers. He has served on a number of boards. As a Permanent Deacon of the Episcopal Diocese of NC, he serves the community well beyond his role as a broadcaster. His diaconal work has focused on death row and hospice care.

Silver Circle Honoree

Joe Elmore

Backroads treasures, old-time pleasures, hot cars and cool guitars. Those words sum up the career life of Joe Elmore, television host/producer, music artist/songwriter, and self-professed "Regular Joe".

Since 1987, Joe has hosted Tennessee Crossroads on WNPT Nashville, one of the highest-rated shows of its kind in the country and now broadcast statewide. Crossroads is a travel, heritage, and lifestyle show that celebrates the genuinely fascinating people and places found along the two-lane highways of Tennessee and beyond. The program has earned several Emmy^® Awards and countless nominations.

Joe is also host of America's premiere and longest-running high-performance car show, Horsepower TV, seen every weekend on the Spike TV network. Debuting in 1997, it quickly became the go-to show for enthusiasts and hot-rodders throughout North America.

As if that weren't enough, Joe also pursues his longtime passion — music — as a songwriter and performer. He was immersed in the historic music of the "Memphis Sound" during its heyday and backed up some of the legends of Rock, R&B, and Rockabilly. Today, he continues to write music. "Who doesn't in Nashville?" he would say.

Joe was born in Paragould, Arkansas, earned a master's degree in communications at the University of Memphis, and worked in film production, public relations, and TV news before heading to Nashville to amp up his career. Joe's extensive credits include PM Magazine, Opry Backstage (TNN), The Gold Prospector (TNN), plus numerous TV specials and commercials, in addition to a handful of songwriting credits.

Joe actively supports charities dedicated to helping children with autism and recently released a CD with proceeds earmarked for the National Autism Association. He participates in an annual car show benefiting the National Progeria Research Foundation, while also lending time to various other community projects.

His hobbies are scuba diving, movies, photography, and the endless search for Tennessee’s best barbeque.

Silver Circle Honoree

Matthew Zelkind

Matthew Zelkind has earned the type of recognition and accolades you would expect from a 27-year veteran of the broadcasting business. He started his career in Los Angeles, where at an early age he got a taste of show business as an assistant working on television shows. But he found real-life drama more interesting than Hollywood, and he quickly focused on journalism. Matthew worked as a manager through positions at television stations in California, Oregon, and Nevada. He was named Executive News Director at KAKE-TV in Wichita, Kansas in 1990 and has served as an executive ever since.

With two stints, Matthew is the most tenured news director in the Nashville market. He has headed the WKRN newsroom through countless stories that have changed the city of Nashville, including the 1998 downtown tornado, the birth of Music City as a professional sports market with the inception of the Titans and Predators, and the historic 2010 floods.

Matthew has been a dedicated, community-minded executive. He is a passionate supporter of Keep the Music Playing, an initiative to provide music education in public schools. Following the deadly and destructive floods of 2010, he personally organized a telethon to speed relief to those who desperately needed help. More than $530,000 was raised in a matter of hours. He can be counted on for charitable donations and auction items — one of which was the leading fundraiser for the 2012 Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Since 1996, Matthew has put special emphasis on two of the station's charitable efforts that touch thousands of lives: WKRN's Food-2-Families and the Ronald McDonald Telethon. During his tenure, the Food-2-Families campaign has collected 3.5 million pounds of food, and the Ronald McDonald Telethon has raised $2.2 million.

It's his focus on people that has guided his management style and the news coverage at WKRN-TV. But Matthew would point to his staff, giving them the credit and encouraging excellence every day.

Silver Circle Honoree

Gregg Stone

Over the course of his career in television news, Gregg has had a front-row seat to history. He grew up in Rocket City, named that because of the Marshall Space Flight Center's role in putting man on the moon. MSFC was also in charge of propulsion for the space shuttle. Gregg was at the Kennedy Space Center documenting the first and final flights of the shuttle program — from Columbia's first flight on April 12, 1981, to Atlantis' final lift-off on July 8, 2011.

Gregg has seen a lot of changes in our industry over the past 33 years. He has led the WHNT News 19 team through many of those changes, starting with 16 mm film. Gregg quickly mastered the art of editing in the camera, processing the film, and then editing with a splicer and magnet. He later led the WHNT team of photographers through the transition to ¾", DVC Pro, and now digital news gathering. He has also been a teacher when it comes to setting up and doing live shots from microwave units and operating the satellite truck. Gregg also logged more hours than any other photojournalist in the news helicopter, Skycam 19. He has trained close to 100 photographers and video journalists on lighting, shooting, and editing.

But during that career, he's also worn another hat — one of compassion. Following a tornado that took the lives of 23 people in Huntsville on November 15, 1989, Gregg captured dramatic video as victims were pulled from the rubble of a shopping center on Airport Road. Gregg aided rescuers by providing them light from his camera. Those memories returned on April 27, 2012, when tornadoes caused destruction in every county served by WHNT.

One way Gregg has stayed in shape is riding a bicycle. Over the past few years, Gregg has shared that passion with the Huntsville Boys & Girls Club. Gregg and others take donated bicycles and fix them up for kids who otherwise wouldn't know the joy of riding.

Silver Circle Honoree

Johnny Wood

John W. (Johnny) Wood has literally been a television institution in the Tri-Cities market for more than 40 years. The Johnson City native graduated from Science Hill High and attended East Tennessee State University for two years before finding his passion — broadcasting.

Johnny's career began in radio in 1962 at WOPI-AM, the station known as the home of Tennessee Ernie Ford. He started as a nighttime DJ and later moved to early mornings, covering news and sports along with parades and other special events. In 1968, Johnny moved to Appalachian Broadcasting (WCYB Radio/TV) and found a home.

He started out on the radio side, but quickly moved to television. By the late 1970s, Johnny was producing and anchoring the 11:00 p.m. news. One day, the News Director suggested Johnny fill in on the morning show — and the rest, as they say, is television history. At the time, the morning show consisted mostly of studio interviews. But Johnny changed that by adding school closings and traffic reports. "I was pretty much doing my old radio show on TV," Johnny says. It worked, and the audience grew.

Johnny's fame and ratings continued to climb. By the late 1990s, Johnny had the number one rated morning show in the country. A 2011 survey found that 9 out of every 10 people questioned about TV news in the Tri-Cities knew who Johnny was and where he worked. They loved his down-to-earth personality and his weekly fishing reports as well.

Johnny has been active in the community and has helped charities and non-profits across the area. In 2003, the Virginia Association of Broadcasters honored Johnny with the "George Bowles" Broadcast Journalism Award. The award is given annually to a radio or television reporter for distinguished performance in broadcast news.

Now, more than 43 years since joining WCYB, Johnny Wood continues to shine in the mornings, co-anchoring the 6:00–7:00 a.m. newscast. Johnny remains by far the most recognized, popular, and beloved news anchor in the market.

Silver Circle Honoree

Larry Sprinkle

Larry is a longtime veteran of broadcasting, starting his career as a radio announcer at the age of 14. While living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he became the first American to have a radio program on Radio Ethiopia at the age of 16. Larry continued his career while attending East Carolina University.

Larry was the "Morning Man" on WAYS-AM and WROQ-FM in Charlotte for 13 years. While in radio, he was known for his many voice impressions, including Elvis, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ross Perot, Jimmy Stewart, and dozens more.

Eventually, he combined radio with television and the film industry. He spent a number of years as a commercial spokesman for many national clients, including McDonald's, Magnavox, Dristan, Hardee's, Little Debbie Snacks, and Chewels Gum. You may remember him as the "Ty-D-Bowl Man."

He joined WCNC-TV in 1985 and is the weather anchor for the weekday morning newscast.

Larry has appeared in 11 theatrical films, including Firestarter, Trick or Treat, Rare Breed, and the made-for-television movie The Ryan White Story.

Larry is involved in the community and is on the board of directors of a number of charities. His volunteerism keeps him busy almost every day, including speaking engagements at schools, civic organizations, senior centers, and fundraisers. He has received many awards for his charity work, including the Mayor's Award for Volunteerism, the President's Award from the Association of Retarded Citizens, honors for working with senior citizens, and the Humane Citizen Award for years of work with the Humane Society and the Animal Shelter. Most recently, Larry was honored as Citizen of the Year by the Civitans of Charlotte.

Silver Circle Honoree

Sandra Daye Hughes

For more than 35 years, Sandra Hughes has been a familiar face at WPMY News 2. A history-making broadcaster, Sandra is the first African-American woman in the Piedmont to host her own talk show. She is the first African-American to host PM Magazine in the Southeast region.

Sandra started her career with WFMY News 2 in 1972 as a general assignment reporter, and became manager of WFMY News 2’s community affairs department in 1985. At the same time, Sandra co-hosted The Good Morning Show with veteran Lee Kinard, who was inducted into the Silver Circle in 1996.

Her television specials include Christmas in the Piedmont, Welcome to Walt Disney World, 2 Those Who Care: Service to the Piedmont Awards, Remembering the Woolworth Sit-Ins, and A Season of Caring.

Sandra was the first woman broadcaster invited to participate in the European Communities Visitors Program to observe television in six European countries. She has served on the UNC-Chapel Hill Morehead Scholarship selection committee and created the Minority Broadcast Development Program to expose minority college students to the inner workings of a commercial TV station.

Her many honors, too numerous to list here, include the Edward R. Murrow Award for news reporting, three Emmy^® Awards, the Greensboro News & Record’s Go Triad Reader’s Choice Award for Best TV News Anchor, the International Civil Rights Center and Museum “Unsung Hero” Award, the North Carolina A&T State University President’s Distinguished Alumni Award, the NAACP Presidential Award for Contributions to Humanity, and The North Carolina Governor’s Order of the Long Leaf Pine — the state’s highest civilian honor — presented by Governor Mike Easley.

Sandra is a member of the Junior League of Greensboro, the Leadership Greensboro Alumni Association, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

Silver Circle Honoree

Jerry Hayes

Jerry is in his 31st year at WHNT News 19. He brought something to the news organization that no other employee had at the time — experience with electronic news gathering (ENG). At the time, WHNT was still using 16mm film, and he was the first reporter to shoot, edit, and air a story on 3/4” tape. Jerry was also the first WHNT reporter to do a live shot from a microwave van, the first to do a satellite shot from the station’s satellite truck, and the first to go live from the station’s helicopter. His journey continues in the digital, multimedia world.

Jerry was born in Nashville, Tennessee. While working on his college degree at Middle Tennessee State University, he landed an internship at WTVF, the CBS affiliate in Nashville. After graduation, Jerry was hired as chief videotape editor in their News Department.

In the fall of 1978, he moved to Huntsville and was hired by WHNT as a reporter. Within a couple of weeks, he began producing and anchoring the weekend newscasts. After working as 10 o’clock co-anchor and then noon anchor, Jerry was moved to the 6 and 10 anchor spot in November of 1983. He has literally been around the world gathering stories. He’s reported from the White House and brought stories home from St. Petersburg, Russia. But some of his favorite memories are of getting to know the boys in the band from Fort Payne. Jerry was the first television reporter to interview members of the country music group, Alabama.

Jerry has won numerous awards during his journalistic career. He was recognized with the Associated Press Television Award for Best News Anchor in Alabama in 2005 and 2006. The Alabama Broadcasters Association presented Jerry its ABBY Award for Best Anchor in 2008.

Jerry’s community service includes hosting the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon since 1978, serving as emcee for Panoply of the Arts Choreography Finals for 26 years, and raising awareness and funds for the Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund and the Tools for Schools educational supplies drive.

Silver Circle Honoree

Dave Brown

Dave Brown is Weather Director and chief weathercaster for WMC-TV. In all, Dave's broadcast career spans over four decades.

He began his broadcast career in high school in May 1962, at age 15, as a rock & roll disc jockey at WKBJ Radio in Milan, TN, then worked at WIRJ Radio and WHBQ Radio, all before starting college classes at Memphis State University.

In 1967, Dave became co-host of WHBQ-TV’s wrestling program and co-hosted the wrestling shows at WHBQ and WMC for 35 years. During the 1980s, the program had the highest share of any broadcast in Memphis and was syndicated in over 60 markets.

Dave also hosted WHBQ’s Dialing for Dollars. In 1972, Dave turned to weathercasting at WHBQ and moved to WMC in 1977 as chief weathercaster.

Dave has been in demand for television commercials and industrial training and safety videos. Some of the videos were used worldwide and translated for use in China. In the 1970s, he recorded several training videos to teach the navy of Iran how to run the old ships that the U.S. had sold them.

Dave proudly holds seals of approval from the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. The most significant weather events Dave covered include Ice Storm ’94, Summer Storm 2003 (a rare July derecho), the Tornadoes of April 2, 2006, and the Super Tuesday tornadoes of February 5, 2008.

A family tragedy inspired Dave to become a member of MADD and support their nationwide efforts. He has delivered the message against drunk driving in over 200 speeches to civic clubs, schools, churches, and community events in four states. Dave and his wife Margaret have two daughters and four grandchildren.

Silver Circle Honoree

Joe Birch

In May 2008, Joe marked his 30th year with WMC. The Emmy^® Award-winning news anchor also produces the Taking Back Our Neighborhoods reports. Joe also serves as host of WKNO’s Smart Medicine, with the latest news from the medical community.

Joe has traveled across America and around the world, including Atlanta for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, Italy in 1992 when he met Pope John Paul II, and the People’s Republic of China in 1986.

He has won numerous awards for his charitable and civic endeavors, including, among others, Christian Brothers University’s Maurelian Medal, Diversity Memphis' Humanitarian of the Year, the St. Peter the Rock Award, the Memphis and Shelby County Optimist Respect for Law Committee’s Citizen of the Year, and recognition from the National Council on Problem Gambling. In 2007, the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association introduced the Joe Birch Media Award, which is presented to those who use the tools of communications to enlighten the community.

In addition, Joe has raised nearly $50,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and he is the cofounder and race director of the Gibson Guitar 5K Run-Walk for St. Patrick Learning Center. In the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001, Birch visited New York City to deliver $527,000 that WMC collected to help the United Way of New York City. Joe is heavily involved in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease and serves on the Board of Trustees of Christian Brothers University.

Joe and native Memphian Robyn Davis Birch celebrated 25 years of marriage on June 25, 2008. They have two sons, Joseph and Matthew.

Silver Circle Honoree

Patrick Slattery

Pat Slattery, a national award-winning videographer and longtime chief photographer at WSMV-TV, joined the Vanderbilt University News Service in August 2006 as broadcast technical and production manager. He serves the university and medical center as videographer for live shots at VUStar, Vanderbilt's campus broadcast facility, as well as facilitating audio production and shooting and editing stories for external media and VUCast, Vanderbilt's news website.

Pat was on staff at WSMV-TV for more than 24 years (1982–2006), serving as chief photographer for 11 of those years. As chief photographer, he oversaw and mentored a staff of 24 photojournalists, editors, and ENG technicians.

Al Tompkins, former WSMV news director and currently the broadcast/online group leader at the Poynter Institute, said: “There are few photojournalists who have touched as many professional lives as Pat Slattery. The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) turned to Pat to teach at national conferences, where he taught and mentored countless photojournalists, video editors, and reporters. His work stretches from documentaries that saved an inner-city preschool in Nashville to major works shot in the slums of Haiti, the former Yugoslavia, and the glory of the Olympics in Athens.”

Pat came to Nashville from KSL in Salt Lake City, where he was a photojournalist for Dimension 5, a weekly newsmagazine. Pat’s earlier experience includes WHAS and WLKY in Louisville, and WEHT in Evansville. His professional career began in 1978, after graduating in Radio-TV from Murray State University.

In addition to the twenty Emmy^® Awards he won while at WSMV, Pat is nominated eight times tonight in the advanced media categories. He is the recipient of hundreds of awards, including the National Headliner Award, the IRIS (NATPE), and National Press Photographers Association awards.

Silver Circle Honoree

Dana Kaye

Dana Kaye was born into an Air Force family in Montgomery, Alabama. As a child, she lived in half a dozen states. Because of her military upbringing, Dana dreamed of being a war correspondent. That dream came true when she was chosen to be an embedded journalist with the 101st Airborne during Operation Iraqi Freedom. She traveled with the 3rd Brigade Rakkasans to Kuwait and then across the border into Iraq the night of the U.S. invasion. Dana sent back more than 50 reports during her 6 weeks with the Raider Rakkasans.

In 2001, Dana also traveled with the Screaming Eagles from Fort Campbell on Assignment: Afghanistan. Dana filed dozens of reports from the war zone, spending the night in foxholes and following troops on long-range patrols into enemy territory. She also covered the conditions in downtown Kandahar, where civilians have lived with war for 30 years. While there, Dana began a campaign to collect school supplies for the children of Kandahar who were eager to go back to school. Because of Dana’s efforts, NewsChannel 5 collected more than 500,000 pencils for the kids in Kandahar.

Dana loved the broadcasting business. Her first job was as a radio traffic reporter in Monroe, Louisiana. There weren’t many traffic tie-ups in Monroe, so Dana moved to Baton Rouge to become a TV reporter at WVLA. She became the station's top investigative reporter before moving to KLTV in Tyler, Texas. In Texas, Dana anchored the 6 and 10 o'clock news and did in-depth special reports. She moved back to Baton Rouge for a couple of years before finally making her home in Nashville in 1995.

Dana was married to District Attorney General Dan Alsobrooks. She had one daughter, 17-year-old Alden Allen.

Silver Circle Honoree

Stuart Grasberg

An expert craftsman who brought passion and focus to his work and sincerity to his friendships — that is the sentiment from coworkers and colleagues in remembrance of long-time WTVI employee, senior producer/director Stuart Grasberg, who passed away July 18, 2006.

Thirty years ago, Stuart was hired as an intern by Geneva Brignolo at WCVB Boston, on the Good Day! show. He joined WTVI in 1985 as producer/director. Many station viewers never saw the face behind the voice, but Stuart was a station fixture with his voice-overs that became a WTVI symbol. Stuart’s generosity, dedication, and love of the arts truly made a difference in the lives of people, but also to the cause of various nonprofit organizations.

Stuart had a passion and a drive for working on community-based initiatives, and the majority of his documentaries and programs connected and educated the Charlotte-area community on arts and culture. Upon his arrival at WTVI, he immediately found his calling. His first show as producer/director was ArtSeen, which aired in the late ’80s and early ’90s. He also served as director of the very popular and highly rated series Carolina Calling, the music show featuring musical legend Arthur Smith. In his most recent role, he was the director of Healthwise, a live call-in medical program.

Stuart was viewed by many as a public servant with a zest for working for the community. He videotaped and produced numerous videos for cultural organizations including the N.C. Dance Theatre and the Arts and Science Council. He was so committed to the Arts and Science Council that he coordinated the station’s employee campaign for 15+ years.

Stuart garnered several awards during his broadcasting career, including five Emmy^® Awards for Focus Composite (Ohio Valley Chapter), Charlotte Symphony, Luminous Impressions, Chihuly in Charlotte, and Out of the Ashes: The Story of McColl Center For Visual Art.

You can keep Stuart's work and memory vibrant in our community by donating to the Stuart Grasberg Endowment Fund. Mail your check to WTVI, 3242 Commonwealth Avenue, Charlotte 28205. Make your check payable to WTVI / Stuart Grasberg Endowment Fund. Or you can donate online at www.wtvi.org.

Silver Circle Honoree

Lee Meredith

Lee Meredith is the Vice President and General Manager of WAFF 48, the NBC affiliate in Huntsville, Alabama, owned by Raycom Media, Inc. He is a native of Houston, Texas, and has more than twenty-five years of television experience. He came to WAFF 48 from the Raycom Media television station in Columbia, South Carolina in 2001.

Lee began his career as a news reporter in Texas and later worked as a news producer and executive news producer for several Houston television stations. He served thirteen years as news director at stations in Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, and Chattanooga. In addition to his television career, he worked as an account supervisor for Weekley & Penny, an advertising agency in Houston.

Lee has received numerous honors during his career as a journalist, including a special citation from the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Journalism Awards. The citation was in recognition of his work on a documentary detailing the plight of residents in a decaying, inner-city neighborhood. His news operations and newscasts have often been selected as the best in regional competitions.

A graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, Lee also attended the American Association of Advertising Agencies Marketing Institute and was a participant in the Leadership Chattanooga program. He and his wife Patti live in Hampton Cove.

Silver Circle Honoree

Rudy Kalis

Rudy Kalis is the sports director at WSMV-TV in Nashville and has been a sports reporter and anchor at WSMV since August of 1974.

He grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, spent four years in the U.S. Air Force as a military policeman, and then graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a degree in Broadcasting. He came to Nashville after spending two years at WFRV-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

At Channel 4, he's won 4 Midsouth Regional Emmy^® Awards for Outstanding Sportscast and Commentary. He won a National Iris Award for outstanding locally produced documentary, and he has been voted the Outstanding TV Sportscaster in Nashville 12 times by Nashville Scene magazine. He has also won the AP Award for Outstanding Sportscast in the state of Tennessee 12 times.

His hobbies include golfing, playing basketball, and working outdoors. He is on the board of directors for the Jason Foundation to Prevent Teen Suicide. Rudy is married to Leigh and has two daughters, Leah and Jennifer.

Silver Circle Honoree

Karen Adams

Karen Adams is the 50th inductee into the Midsouth Silver Circle.

She began her broadcast career over 25 years ago at WGHP as a camera operator. She has worked in almost every department in the television station, including operations, news, creative services, sales, programming, community service, and marketing. In March 1997, with 20 years' experience, she was named Vice President and General Manager.

When WGHP switched from ABC to Fox in September of 1995, Karen oversaw all the marketing efforts, resulting in one of the most successful affiliation switches in the country. In her role as general manager, she expanded WGHP's local news from two hours a day to six and a half hours. She launched Fox 8 Friday Football, Rich Brenner Sports Sunday, Fox 8 Hoops, and successfully launched NFL, Major League Baseball, and NASCAR on Fox 8.

Community involvement has been a big part of Karen's commitment as a local broadcaster. She started Fox 8 Gifts for Kids and the Fox 8 Holiday Concerts fourteen years ago. She also brought The Big Sweep to a statewide waterway cleanup, expanding it from a beach cleanup.

Karen serves on the boards of The Salvation Army and Brenner Children's Hospital. She has also been deeply committed to Operation Smile, Make-A-Wish, and Race for the Cure, and is an advocate for literacy.

She received an Emmy^® for Fox 8 Gifts for Kids and received two Take Pride in America awards from President George H. W. Bush on two occasions at the White House. A graduate of High Point University, Karen has lived in the Piedmont for almost 30 years.

Silver Circle Honoree

Tom Suiter

A native of Rocky Mount, Tom earned a bachelor's degree in history from Erskine College in 1971. After graduation, he joined WRAL and has spent his entire career there. He has been sports anchor since 1981. That year, Tom began his Extra Effort Award, recognizing outstanding high school student-athletes who must not only demonstrate extra effort in sports, but also do well in school and earn the respect of coaches, teachers, and students alike.

For ten years, Tom has covered high school football with over a dozen photographers who blanket more than 24 counties to bring viewers Football Friday, a comprehensive high school football wrap-up.

Being in the midst of ACC basketball country, Tom and the WRAL sports team have put together a monumental number of ACC Tournament specials and NCAA Final Four specials.

Tom’s unique delivery, extensive sports knowledge, and genuine love of amateur athletics have earned him dozens of awards through the years. They include numerous UPI, AP, and RTNDA honors, and three Emmy^® Award nominations. In 1986, Tom won the Regional Media Award, and in 1987, the Statewide Media Award from the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. In 1990, he was named Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscaster and Sportswriter Association.

Now in his 30th year of broadcasting, Tom’s viewers still expect enthusiasm, knowledge, highlights, and accuracy.

Silver Circle Honoree

Charlie Scott

A Nashville native, Charlie returned home after serving in the Korean War and graduated from the Tennessee School of Broadcasting in 1953. He began his broadcasting career at the age of 23, working for WSIX Radio and WSIX-TV (later WNGE, now WKRN) in Nashville. Charlie served as a staff announcer and host of the Tennessee Hay Ride country music show. He also was the announcer for singer Pat Boone's nightly show on WSIX, at a time when the famous entertainer was relatively unknown.

Charlie moved on to news and deejay positions at Nashville radio stations WKDA and WMAK, eventually becoming news director for WLAC Radio from 1956 to 1962. From 1957 to 1962, Charlie covered the Tennessee legislature as a member of the Capitol Press Corps. And in 1957, he began Nashville's first broadcast traffic reports from the 31st floor observation deck of the new Life and Casualty Tower, at that time the tallest building in the Southeast.

Charlie's outstanding moments include reporting the 1957 Nashville school integration racial violence; the 1960 downtown Nashville lunch counter sit-ins leading to desegregation of public facilities; live coverage of a 1960 24-hour hostage standoff at the Tennessee State Prison; and discovery of the fast food serial killings in Clarksville in 1994 and in Nashville in 1997.

Charlie rejoined WSIX Radio and TV in 1962. After working in radio and television simultaneously, he moved to television exclusively. In 1983, Charlie became a television news assignment editor for WKRN. His love of news kept him at the assignment desk, and after 48 years of service, he now works weekends only.

Among Charlie's many awards are numerous Associated Press honors and two Emmy^® Award nominations for his coverage of the deadly Franklin-Brentwood tornado on December 24, 1988.

Recognized as an industry pioneer, Charlie's community involvement includes working early on with Handicappers of Nashville as well as a cherished philanthropy — the American Legion's Parade of Pennies. Since 1962, that campaign has provided holiday assistance and disaster relief.

Colleagues refer to him as a living legend of the television newsroom, and hail him for his enthusiasm, loyalty, and dedication. "I just went to work and did my job," Charlie said. "I did the best I could."

Silver Circle Honoree

Charlie Lewis

Charles has worked in the production department of Nashville Public Television (NPT) for the past 37 years. Previously known as WDCN, the station changed its identity to NPT on February 22, 2000, with corresponding call letters WNPT.

After attending MTSU, Charles began his career at NPT in 1964 as a camera operator, and was promoted to crew chief, followed by the positions of producer/director, senior producer/director, and acting production manager.

Charles is senior producer of Tennessee Crossroads, the highest-rated locally produced magazine program in the public television system. Tennessee Crossroads travels the highways and byways of Tennessee, highlighting the personalities, crafts, places, foods, and events that make Tennessee special and its character unique. Since 1987, the program has painted a vibrant, active, and changing portrait of Tennessee that explores the heritage and diversity of the state.

As producer/director of numerous productions throughout his career, Charles exemplifies versatility and creativity in his works. An outstanding example is What’s New - Moon Shots, the first color film produced by NPT, where he was the photographer, editor, and director. Charles was the director/editor of Hank, a documentary on the life of Hank Williams, which won the SECA Program of the Year award in 1977. He has also directed numerous auctions, pledge drives, and instructional programs.

Charles received two nominations for Midsouth Regional Emmy^® Awards — one in the category of Animator for Tennessee Crossroads Open, and a second nomination in the category of Information/Instructional for Art Hysteria: The African-American Experience in Painting.

Described by his colleagues as the “go-to” person, Charles is a dedicated public television professional who is respected not only for his creativity, but also for his calm demeanor and his willingness to always go the extra mile.

Silver Circle Honoree

Don Griffin

After graduating from the University of North Carolina in 1972 with a degree in pre-law and political science, Don began his television career at WCCB, Charlotte. He moved to WRAL, Raleigh, in 1976, where he was a consumer reporter and weekend anchor.

Don joined WSOC, Charlotte in 1982 as a reporter. One year later, he became the Action 9 consumer reporter. He mediates disputes between viewers and merchants. Don cuts through red tape and often gets instant action. And he has righted wrongs committed by government agencies. Action 9 receives 2,000 complaints a week from viewers in the form of letters, phone calls, emails, and faxes.

During his time at WSOC, Don has solved an estimated 2,200 problems on the air. He has helped people recover money from unscrupulous businesses, and his warnings about scams have helped untold numbers of viewers save countless dollars. Some examples of his successes include: a builder who spent about $40,000 to dig up debris that had been buried 30 years before because of an Action 9 investigation; the City of Concord correcting a flood plain problem after a homeowner complained to Action 9; and getting records transferred within a day for a girl attending the North Carolina School for the Deaf who wanted to transfer to a high school near her home.

Don has also anchored newscasts and news specials. In 1991, Don was among the first reporters on the scene of a deadly school bus accident that killed three children. His steady, accurate reports helped viewers understand the complex issues involved in this tragedy.

Among his honors are two Unity Awards from Lincoln University of Missouri — one for the Awakenings magazine show, and the second for hosting the annual Teen Job Exchange, which matches teenagers with employers looking for summer workers. Don’s work on Teen Job Exchange also won a national award from the Community Action Network, plus regional awards from the South Carolina Associated Press and the RTNDA of the Carolinas.

In 1991, Don won a fellowship grant to Duke University, and he won an Unsung Heroes Award in 1992 from Charlotte Focus on Leadership.

Silver Circle Honoree

Adrian Gibson

Adrian started his broadcast career in radio in 1952, working as a disc jockey in Fort Payne. He then became an announcer for football, basketball, and baseball games. Adrian credits his play-by-play commentary as the best teacher early in his career, helping him learn how to think quickly on his feet.

Adrian got his start in radio news in the early '60s, then moved to Huntsville and WAAY Radio in 1968 as news director. Until this time, Adrian had been the man behind the voice everyone had grown to trust. In 1971, Adrian got a chance to put a face with that voice when he joined WAAY-TV as news director, anchor, and reporter.

Then, after 12 years of helping to keep the Tennessee Valley safe and informed, Adrian completed his news background by joining the weather department as a reporter and anchor.

When asked the single most important news/weather event in his career, Adrian quickly points to the 1974 tornadoes. As part of an outstanding weather team in the Valley, Adrian credits his station’s advanced technology (new radar) and forecasting experience for saving so many lives. He received a letter of thanks from then-Governor George C. Wallace on behalf of the people of Alabama.

There's no doubt that in Adrian's 42 years of broadcasting, he's been a constant source of important news and weather information — and a person everyone in North Alabama has grown to depend on… and that's what makes him most proud.

Silver Circle Honoree

Rennie Corley

Born Reynard Alton Corley in North Augusta, South Carolina, Rennie started working as a youngster, bagging groceries and helping his grandfather deliver steel. After high school, he headed north to attend Clemson.

While still a student, Rennie’s incredible 43-year broadcasting career began with a 1957 newspaper ad which led him to WRDW, where he did everything — sweeping the studio, running camera for pro wrestling, and a role in Hippity Hop, the station’s live puppet show. In the early ’60s, Rennie honed his sales skills at Sears and J.C. Penney, then went to WIS in Columbia, South Carolina, where he doubled the station’s sales revenue. He moved on to WTOL Toledo, WSFA Montgomery, KETV Omaha, back to WRDW, and then to WMAR Baltimore, where he became vice president and assistant general manager.

In 1979, Rennie became general manager of WXII Winston-Salem. Under his leadership for two decades, the station rose to news leader in the market. As important, however, is the fact that Rennie is admired and beloved by those who worked alongside him. He considers using the resources of a television station to improve the community to be his greatest accomplishment.

Rennie’s record of public service is phenomenal — serving as an officer or advisor on an incredible 40 boards of directors, taking a hands-on approach to making a difference. His community service awards, too numerous to list, include the Humanitarian Award from the Arthritis Foundation. His efforts raised over $12 million for the March of Dimes, who named Rennie the Volunteer of the Year in 1998.

Rennie is also the proud recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters, and currently serves as a consultant to the organization.

Silver Circle Honoree

Rich Brenner

Rich’s enthusiasm and genuine love for his craft come through day after day. His involvement and commitment to the public reinforce his dedication.

Born in Merchantville, New Jersey, Rich has held a variety of jobs in the industry as a sports reporter, sports editor for his college newspaper, and broadcast his first football game over the radio with play-by-play reports in October of 1965.

Rich spent the summer of 1967, between his sophomore and junior years of college, in Vietnam as a fully accredited news correspondent for the Courier in South Jersey, representing the collegiate point of view. He graduated from Baldwin Wallace College with a B.A. in Political Science and is a former Captain in the United States Marine Corps Reserve.

He began full-time television sportscasting at WLVA (now WSET) in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1975. He was named Virginia Sportscaster of the Year in 1977. Rich has worked at WAVY Portsmouth, WRAL Raleigh-Durham, WMAQ Chicago, and WTVD Durham. He joined WGHP/FOX8 in 1987 as sports anchor. He currently anchors the FOX8 5, 6, and 10:00 News, as well as the weekly primetime Rich Brenner’s Sports Sunday and FOX8 Friday Football, a high school football highlight show for 14 weeks in the fall.

Among Rich’s awards are three Midsouth Regional Emmy^® Awards and the National Iris Award.

Rich is very active in the community, contributing to charity work and non-profit organizations. He enjoys sports of all kinds and motorcycle riding, including five cross-country rides with Kyle Petty's Charity Ride Across America. He interrupted his sixth ride to attend today’s celebration.

Silver Circle Honoree

C.J. Underwood

A Raleigh native, C.J. majored in journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

C.J. began his career at the Indianapolis Times, and moved on to WLWI-TV and WISH-TV. He joined the news department of WBT-WBTV in 1967. He was morning news anchor, sports anchor, weather reporter, movie reviewer, movie host, commentator, commercial spokesperson, live show host, and consumer advocate.

His chief talent and favorite thing to do, however, was chat with and interview people — a discovery he made when he originated the human interest feature Carolina Camera in 1970. He went on to produce more than one thousand stories during several different stints as host of that popular segment of the news. He said the series was a highlight of his career because it allowed him to concentrate on writing, a professional joy.

During the ’80s, C.J. became a favorite lunchtime companion for area viewers on the variety program Top O’ the Day. He served as co-anchor of WBTV News at Noon and WBTV News Saturday Morning. C.J. also produced a weekly series, Thanks to Teachers, which highlighted outstanding teachers nominated by viewers.

After being diagnosed with cancer, C.J. waged a two-year battle and discussed his illness and recovery in a series of reports called C.J.’s Journal. He retired on June 15, 1999, to concentrate his energy on his fight against cancer. C.J. said goodbye to viewers from the same place he had spoken to them for more than 30 years — a Channel 3 newscast.

Silver Circle Honoree

Charlie Orr

Charlie’s broadcasting career began in radio when, as a high school student, he became a weekend announcer and disc jockey at WMCP in Columbia, Tennessee. He later took a job at WDXE in Lawrenceburg, before joining the still relatively young world of television at WLAC-TV (now WTVF), in 1967. He started, and has remained, in the engineering and operations areas.

Upon his arrival, Charlie began making his mark in television. He was a part of the elite engineering team that developed one of the nation’s first live remote ENG unit, dubbed “Project X’’ because of the competitive secrecy involved

During the early years of live remotes at Channel 5, Charlie was the person who literally made them happen. Everyone who works with Charlie is aware of his amazing attention to detail and quick action frequently saves the day. He is also known for turning seemingly impossible obstacles into workable challenges. All this is done with the easy going humility and grace which are Charlie’s trademarks.

Charlie lists his leadership role in organizing live coverage of the 1988 Democratic and Republican Conventions for all the H&C Communications stations as his greatest accomplishment. From both Atlanta and New Orleans, the network Charlie spent a year and a half designing fed live coverage to six stations in virtually every U. S. time zone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

His colleagues in every department at NewsChannel 5 recognize that without Charlie Orr and his can do attitude, Nashville television would be far less than it is today.

Silver Circle Honoree

Bob Mueller

Bob began his broadcasting career at the age of 16, working in the newsroom at KSDK-TV in St. Louis, Missouri.

A St. Louis native. Bob is a graduate of Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, where he received a B.A. in Fine Arts.

He served as a reporter, producer and anchor for WMDB-TV in Peoria, Illinois. Then he worked for WTVC-TV in Chattanooga, where he was an investigative and state government reporter and anchor.

Bob joined NEWS 2 in 1980 as a field reporter covering the State Capitol. He covered the first space shuttle launch in 1981, and was there when President Jimmy Carter returned to Plains, Georgia, after leaving the White House. Bob was the first reporter to talk with Jimmy Carter about the release of the hostages in Iran. During his nearly 20 years at WKRN, Bob's reporting skills have earned him numerous honors and distinctions. Bob is a four-time Emmy^® Award winning journalist and is also a winner of the coveted George Foster Peabody Award for investigative reporting. He also has received awards from the Associated Press, United Press International and the Radio Television News Directors Association (RTNDA).

Bob is also recognized as one of Middle Tennessee’s most active members in helping his community. He has worked in helping feed the hungry with Second Harvest Food Bank for the past 18 years. He serves on their marketing committee for the Boy Scouts, and on the advisory board for the Nashville Mental Illness Organization. Bob has also worked with Vince Gill to raise money through his golf tournament. The Vinny, which has raised nearly 2 million dollars. Three years ago. Bob began hosting his own golf tournament. The Bob Mueller M.S. Celebrity Challenge, which has raised over 100 thousand dollars to fight M.S.

Silver Circle Honoree

Keith Lowhorne

While still in high school in 1972, Keith worked part-time at WHIQ, the public television station, as a stage hand. There he learned the basics of television production, including audio, studio cameras, lighting, and field production. On his first shoot, Keith ran audio for a one-hour documentary on the Old Time Fiddlers Convention in Athens, Alabama, which won an award.

In addition to his degree from the University of Alabama, Keith graduated from the National Press Photographers Association School at the University of Oklahoma.

In 1973, Keith joined WHNT as a studio camera operator. He also placed letters on a spaghetti board to identify people on the news - the forerunner of Chyron, and processed 35mm slides for production and sales.

Keith became WHNT’s first full-time news photographer in 1974, shooting 16mm film with an Aurichon Sound Camera and Bolex, and processed and edited the film for newscasts. In 1976, Keith was promoted to chief photographer. He managed the switchover from film to ENG in 1979, and saw the department increase to seven full time photographers. Keith also helped in the building and design of the station’s first live truck.

Following stints as assignment editor, director of photography, and news assignment manager, Keith was named director of station operations and facilities. His considerable experience led him to such challenges as cable retransmission, license renewal, and the conversion to digital television.

Keith has received numerous awards, including several UPI, AP and Huntsville Ad Club honors. He serves on the boards of the Land Trust of Tennessee Valley and the National Children’s Advocacy Center.

Silver Circle Honoree

Dick Hawley

Dick and Jack are the first team to be inducted into Silver Circle, recognizing the contribution they made together. They helped make television the powerful and compelling force we know today.

Richard Dick Hawley was born and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He served as a navigator in the Air Force in World War II. After discharge, ex-lieutenant Hawley learned of a radio opening way down in Bluefield, West Virginia. He took a chance - auditioned and jumped into his first job in broadcasting.

Next he moved to the leading station in Birmingham, Alabama. There he worked in both radio and the brand-new television. In 1951, Dick moved to the WMC stations in Memphis, and became the area’s best known personality as the anchor and weathercaster on the daily news broadcasts.

You know what?, he says, There wasn’t a day in all those broadcasting days that I didn’t look forward to coming to work. I loved it! And Midsouth television viewers looked forward to seeing him at work. They loved him!

Silver Circle Honoree

Jack Eaton

Dick and Jack are the first team to be inducted into Silver Circle, recognizing the contribution they made together. They helped make television the powerful and compelling force we know today.

Jack Eaton is also an Air Force veteran. Jack is from Warren, Pennsylvania. And like Dick, found his life’s work down South. While in the service, he delivered sports news over the Armed Forces radio station in Puerto Rico. After discharge - now bitten by the broadcasting bug - he went to Syracuse University to study broadcasting. After graduation he joined a Columbus, Georgia, station’s sports department.

Then he moved to the WMC stations in Memphis in 1956. He served as sports anchor on WMC-TV and did play-by-play on WMC Radio

Now retired. Jack does part-time radio sports talk, writes poetry, and follows the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Memphis Tigers.

Silver Circle Honoree

Don Dare

A U. S. Army veteran, Don served as an officer in the Signal Corps. He worked for the Television Division of American Forces Radio and Television at Ft. Gordon, Georgia in 1969-70, and served with them in Vietnam from 1971-72. Don was awarded the Bronze Star, Joint Service Commendation Medal, and Army Commendation Medal.

Don holds a degree in theatre-speech from Wesleyan College and earned a Master of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Georgia in 1974. He has taught journalism, speech, and broadcast courses at the University of Tennessee at Nashville and at Moorpark College in California.

He began his television news career with WLAC (now WTVF) in Nashville in 1973. In 1976, he moved to WCKT (now WSVN) in Miami, and in 1979 went to KSDK in St. Louis.

It was on to Los Angeles in 1983 for the syndicated daily news program Newscope, and N.I.W.S., a weekly nationally syndicated news program. In 1985, Don returned to Miami where he worked at WSVN and WFOR.

He moved to WATE in Knoxville in 1996, and is consumer reporter and co-anchor of News at 5.

Don has won several national journalism awards, including the Gabriel, National Press Club’s Consumer Award, San Francisco State’s Broadcast Media Award, two Freedom Foundation Awards, and two Arthritis Foundation Cecil Awards. His regional awards include the RTNDA Munow Award, the Emmy^®, Missouri Broadcasters Association Investigative Reporting, Florida School Bell, Tennessee Associated Press, and Florida Associated Press.

In Knoxville, Don has been recognized for investigative, documentary and feature reporting in the Golden Press Card competition of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Silver Circle Honoree

Gary Conrad

For 28 years, Gary has reported news stories accurately, produced top-rated newscasts seen by millions of viewers, and taught the tools of the trade to dozens of young reporters and producers.

Gary earned his degree in Speech/Communication in 1970 from North Carolina State University, and was the first graduate in what was then a new area of study. He began his career at WSOC in 1971 as a radio newscaster, then learned how to shoot film and became a television news reporter.

In 1973, Gary was named producer of the 11 p.m. newscast, and brought WSOC their first number-one rating in May. He produced the top-rated 11 p.m. newscast during 11 sweeps in seven years. One of his newscasts was the first in America to use a Soviet satellite to televise a live news report, which was Billy Graham’s first crusade in Moscow.

As a reporter, he covered two national political conventions, and the entire political arena - even royalty when Princess Grace of Monaco visited a textile mill in South Carolina.

In 1989, Gary was named producer of three franchise segments which aired during the early evening newscast, and in 1991 became WSOC’s first copy editor. He was named senior writer in 1998, and also serves as awards and intern coordinator.

Under his supervision, WSOC has won 295 awards. Of those, 48 were national awards including Sigma Delta Chi, National Headliner and Unity awards, and 6 regional Edward R. Murrow awards. Personally, Gary has received two Emmy^® nominations, a School Bell merit citation, and an honorable mention from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. He also served as ethics and freedom-of-information coordinator for the midCarolinas chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and conducted seminars on media ethics for high school teachers.

Silver Circle Honoree

Bob Bomar

In the words of Jim Melchiorre, who nominated Bob, It’s a safe bet that every news photographer or news reporter who has worked in Middle Tennessee since the Eisenhower Administration can tell a Bob Bomar story. His ability to sense where a news story was and to get his camera there is legendary.

While still at George Peabody College for Teachers in 1951, Bob worked nights in the WKDA radio news department, checking wire machines for stories. After graduation, he became a production cameraman and news photographer at WLAC (now WTVF). In 1957, he joined the ArnoldEngineering Development Center where he shot and edited film of classified jet engines and military hardware research for the space program. From 1969-71, Bob was the audio-visual specialist for the Tennessee Game and Fish Commission, and produced a weekly radio show for 100 stations.

Bob returned to television in 1971 as a news photographer/editor at WSMV and spent nearly twenty years there. While still at WSMV, Bob spent five years giving media classes at the Tennessee Law Enforcement Academy.

From 1990-94, he continued his television news career at WKRN, on call 24 hours a day, and responding to most situations alone.

In 1994, with over forty years of news gathering under his belt. Bob continued his work with the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy, giving police officers training in video techniques.

He is a legendary newsman, skilled technician, and held in high regard by everyone who knows what true journalism means.

Silver Circle Honoree

Bernie Mintz

Bernie was born in Chicago in 1936, and moved to St. Paul, Minnesota in 1947, He became interested in photography when he received a camera on his 13th birthday. He moved again to Lincoln, Nebraska, and served on the yearbook staff at Lincoln High School. Majoring in journalism at the University of Nebraska, Bernie got a part-time job on the photo staff of the Lincoln-Journal Star.

An assignment to take photos at KUON, the educational station at the university, inspired him to change his major to broadcast journalism, and volunteer at the television station. Bernie finished his education at Memphis State University and joined the photography department at WKNO. He became director of the department and produced and directed educational programs.

In 1966, Bernie joined WMC as a news photographer. During that turbulent time, Memphis became a focal point and symbol of the Civil Rights Movement—from school integration, to the strike of primarily black city workers—unrest and tension permeated the entire 4-state WMC coverage area. News became a delicate and dangerous activity. Bernie was a front-line soldier, moving from crisis to crisis to capture those moments with his Bell and Howell 16mm camera. He was there that night in April, 30 years ago, when the sniper’s bullet ended the life, but not the dream, of Martin Luther King. Bernie’s photographic images helped the Midsouth and the nation to understand the depth of despair and frustration felt by minority citizens.

After almost 20 years as a WMC news photographer, Bernie took over the assignment desk. Then in 1996, he returned to the downtown beat to gather and research news stories.

Silver Circle Honoree

Fred Kirby

Remembered as one of the last singing cowboys, Fred Kirby was one of the inventors of television in the South. He was a key figure in many facets of programming until the time of his death in 1996, at the age of 85.

Fred became a radio star on WBT in his teenage years, long before the days of television. After ten years on WBT, Fred worked at radio stations in Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Chicago and finally St. Louis, where he was proclaimed the Victory Cowboy, and was honored for selling millions of dollars of war bonds, raising money for the Red Cross, the March ofDimes, and entertaining at Army and Navy hospitals. In addition to being a singer, musician, and DJ, Fred composed nearly 600 songs for MGM, including a million seller, Atomic Power and The Old Country Preacher.

In 1945, he guest-starred in a motion picture, Kentucky Jubilee, and made his television debut at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. Fred was a TV star before most Americans ever heard of the new medium.

When Fred was invited to ride in President Harry Truman's inaugural parade in 1949, Maryland's Oxen Hills Saddle Club gave him a horse. Calico, which he then called all his horses.

Fred's reputation as a helper of handicapped children was spreading, and about a year before television came to Charlotte, he organized a children's radio show called Tiny Town USA, which had some 90,000 listeners. This concern for children showed in his volunteer activities, including his song writing. He wrote God Bless the Little Children, and dedicated it to the Shriners Hospitals all over the country.

Fred's WBTV television career began in 1951, when Junior Rancho premiered, followed by Little Rascals, Looneytune Jamboree, Ricochet Round-Up and Whistlestop, earning him the title of the longest-running children's show host in America.

Dressed in his colorful red shirt with white fringe, packing his Colt 45's and singing and playing his guitar, Fred was the subject of adoration of thousands of children for more than six decades.

Silver Circle Honoree

Thomas H. Kennemer

Tom Kennemer began his television career in 1968 at WHNT, Huntsville as a salesman/intern. He moved into news in 1969, first working as a photographer and black and white developer, and then became a reporter. In 1971, Tom began anchoring the 10 p.m. sports, and moved to anchoring the 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts in 1974. In 1981, he moved across town to WAFF as anchor.

The highlights of Tom's career follow the history of the Alabama. He covered the inaugural Talledega 500 NASCAR race in 1969, reported on and helped photograph President Nixon's visit to Birmingham in the early 7O's, photographed an interview with civil rights leader Reverend Ralph David Abernathy, and interviewed and photographed Coach Bear Bryant and Bob Hope at the Inaugural Alabama Sports Hall of Fame banquet. Tom was reporter and photographer during the devastating tornadoes that struck North Alabama in April, 1974, and anchored newscasts following the Huntsville tornado in November, 1989.

In 1994, Tom hosted and helped produce From the Valley to the Moon, documenting the role NASA's Marshall Space Center in Huntsville played in putting a man on the moon, which was named Best Documentary by the Alabama Associated Press. The program has been placed in the library of the Museum ofBroadcasting and Communications in Chicago. Tom's other awards include four-time Best Anchor of the Year from The Alabama Associated Press, Huntsville Press Club Achievement in Journalism, Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership Award, and Snead State Community College Alumnus of the Year.

Silver Circle Honoree

Anne Holt

Anne Holt was one of 13 children, growing up the daughter of a Tennessee sharecropper. She received her education from the University of Tennessee and immediately went to work for WATE, Knoxville. Anne moved to WKRN, Nashville in 1976 as weekend anchor. In 1980, she became primary anchor of the evening newscasts.

In addition to her anchor duties, Anne serves as a spokesperson for News 2's Food to Families campaign. In 1993, a sorting room at the Second Harvest Food Bank was named after her to reflect Anne's 10 years of dedication to helping feed hungry families in Middle Tennessee. Anne is also a regular speaker at charity, civic, and school functions. She has served on the boards of the Girl Scouts, the March of Dimes, INROADS/Nashville, Inc., and the Honorary Leadership Committee for the Chamber of Commerce's Partnership 2000, and serves on the board of Book ’Em, an organization which encourages children to read, and the University ofTennessee College of Communications Board of Visitors.

An award-winning journalist, Anne received the coveted George Foster Peabody Award for the investigative documentary Under the Influence. She has also won three regional Emmy^® Awards, countless honors from UPI, American Women in Radio and TV, several colleges and universities, and has been named Outstanding Woman of the Year. In 1994, she was awarded the Jerry Thompson Communicator's Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council ofChristians and Jews. Anne was also honored that year with the Donald G. Hileman Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Tennessee College of Communications.

Anne's proudest accomplishment is the Distinguished Service Award from the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters. She received this honor based on her contributions to WKRN, the community, and the well being of others. Along with the Award, Anne also earns the distinction of being the first woman, the first African-American, and the first news anchor to receive this honor.

Silver Circle Honoree

Chuck Hemerick

Chuck Hemrick began his career in 1953 at WTOB, WinstonSalem. He went on to WSJS, Winston-Salem, WFGA, Jacksonville, WSOC, Charlotte, WBTV, Charlotte, and WGHP, High Point. He worked many years as a news photographer, until a serious shoulder injury prevented him from lifting a camera. Since then he was been a videotape editor for WGHP.

Chuck filmed his first story for NBC News in 1967 for the Huntley-Brinkley Report. While at WFGA, Chuck did live shots for NBC News correspondent, Roy Neal, at Cape Canaveral in the early days of the space program.

The Blue Ridge Views series he shot, edited and produced for WGHP for two years needed no narration. His feel and love for the mountains ofNorth Carolina, the people who live there and their music, was the basic theme of the series. Each piece in the series was accepted by the National Archives in Washington, and are available for use by public television stations.

Chuck has won two Radio Television News Directors Association of the Carolinas awards for best documentaries.

When he retires in three years. Chuck will have devoted 48 years to television broadcasting.

Silver Circle Honoree

Bill Hall

Bill Hall began his broadcasting career in Atlanta and joined WSMV in 1974 as a staff announcer. With his easy-going personality, Bill got his big break in 1976 doing the weekend weather with future Entertainment Tonight anchor John Tesh.

In 1977, Bill was promoted to weekday weather at 6 and 10 p.m.

Although he hasn't changed much in his 25 years at WSMV, weather technology has. Today, satellites, doppler radar, and powerful computers are his everyday tools. Even with his sophisticated Skymax weather radar system. Bill has an uncanny knack for turning that complicated weather data into easy-to-understand graphics and forecasts. Bill has spent many nights in his weather office following storms and letting viewers know if they are in danger. In winter storms, the Snowbird Report lists school and business closings. Bill's famous Sunshine Award recognizing viewers on special anniversaries and birthdays, as well as his personal travel forecasts and personal weather requests, have endeared him to viewers.

Bill's versatility reaches to his Backyard gardening segments, and Backburner recipe segments. He has also written a best-selling cookbook for the American Diabetes Association. An avid outdoorsman, Bill also hosts Land and Lakes, a weekly show on fishing, hunting, cooking and enjoying life.

Bill's commitment to community service is constant-from participating in charity fund raisers to serving as Grand Marshal of parades. He works with the Cheatham County DARE program, talking to kids about the dangers of drug use, is actively involved in the Middle Tennessee United Way, and The American Diabetes Association.

Bill was recently recognized as Man of the Year by the National Council ofChristians and Jews, and has won three regional Emmy^® Awards.

Silver Circle Honoree

Cullen Ferguson

Cullen Ferguson's face and voice have been a part ofWSOC-TV for more than 28 years, becoming an anchor/reporter in 1982. He co-anchors Eyewitness News Daybreak, which is one of the highest rated local morning newscasts in the nation.

In 1970, Cullen became the first consumer reporter on Charlotte television. For 10 years he solved consumer complaints against merchants, and his name became a household word. His accomplishments include an expose of home improvement fraud that resulted in the arrest and conviction of a Charlotte home improvement contractor on mail fraud charges. His track record helped establish the Action 9 feature, which continues to this day.

After a decade of consumer reporting, Cullen turned to investigative reporting. In 1981 he co-reported a 20-part series that exposed the environmental dangers posed by illegal dumping of hazardous waste in the hauling and storage of nuclear and chemical waste in the Carolinas.

He won the North Carolina Association of Educators' School Bell Award in 1985 for a series of reports on school bus safety.

Cullen has also been active in community affairs. He has served as president of the board of directors of the Travelers Aid Society, as a member of the board of directors of Time Out Youth (a support organization for gay and lesbian youth), and as an elder for First Presbyterian and South Mecklenberg Presbyterian churches in Charlotte.

Silver Circle Honoree

Dic Condra

From the time Richard Dic Condra was born in 1930, he was itching to go to work. Before his 12th birthday he had a job running errands, a paper route and a job in a grocery store.

By the time he was a teenager. Dic became entranced by the Golden Age of Radio, taking a job as a deejay at WLAY radio, he hosted a show called Turn Table Two. During the 1950s, he became a radioman of a different sort—aboard the USS Snowden. After the war. Dic came back home to Alabama. It was there something new caught his eye. Pictures... in a box ... television. The first TV signal he saw was from an NBC affiliate 140 miles away in Memphis at WMCT. By December 1955, Dic accepted a job as an engineer at the station, where he worked until his retirement in June of this year.

For Dic Condra, almost 20 of his 42 'A years at WMC were spent on the open road. Along with his partner J.C. Clayton, Dic built and operated a series of WMC live remote news and production trucks. Known as the Color Cruiser and the Travelin' Televan, Dic literally pioneered the creation of remote production trucks. For years, virtually every network in the country used the services of WMC because of the remote unit's reputation for top-quality sound and pictures.

Twenty years on the road meant literally millions of miles and hundreds of seat-of-your pants set-ups. From Mexican musical shows, to college football and basketball games to beauty pageants; if it was live TV in America, there was always a good chance it was coming through Dic Condra.

One of the most historically significant events Dic covered was the inauguration of President Richard Nixon. ABC News hired the truck and the network assigned a promising young correspondent from London to be live from the WMC truck. The reporter's name? Peter Jennings.

For parts of five decades. Dic made WMC AM/FM & TV a part of his family. His wife Norma and daughters Jan and Lauri were kind enough to share him with WMC.

Silver Circle Honoree

Larry Brinton

Larry is senior investigative reporter and producer of the popular Street Talk segment for WTVF NewsChannel 5, and co-host of MorningLine on NewsChannel 5+.

But he makes no bones about how his career as Nashville's premier investigative reporter started. They hired me because I could type, he says of his early days in the newsroom at the Nashville Banner. He was paid $50 a week to write obits. Through the years Larry advanced from reporter to editor to managing editor of the Banner before joining WTVF.

Larry's unbending standards and his penchant for digging into stories are legendary. His journalistic accomplishments include an expose on the questionable business practices of some of Middle Tennessee's largest charitable organizations. NBC News featured Larry's investigation in the network documentary Giving and Getting: The Charity Business. His own documentary and news series work at NewsChannel 5 has entailed an undercover investigation of illegal wildcat coal mining in Tennessee, uncovering evidence of a Criminal Courtjudge taking bribes, and bringing a police pilot to the ground for stealing fuel and aircraft parts from the police hangar. In many cases, Larry's investigations were the basis for official criminal investigations.

Books and articles written about reporting feature Lany's work. Author John Behrens wrote that Larry is among the top 20 investigative reporters in the country. The producers of Marie: A True Story asked him to play the role of himself in the film as a direct result of his extensive reporting on the paroles for cash scandal that brought down Tennessee's governor during the late 1970's.

Larry's awards include the Radio and Television News Directors Association, the Society of Professional Journalists in Atlanta, the Tennessee Associated Press, and a Pulitzer nomination.

The reason Larry draws so much personal satisfaction from investigative reporting is reflected in something he tells his friends and colleagues. He says at his funeral the coffin will remain closed -just so some of the people he's covered over the years will always wonder just a little…

Silver Circle Honoree

Robert Stoldal

Bob credits his first journalistic stirrings to his grandfather, who took him to see newsreels at a San Francisco moviehouse, and to his school librarian, who taught him how to research. When he moved to Las Vegas in 1958, he became student school librarian. The first time he saw his name in print was in a local newspaper article about the school librarian. His first job was at the Review Journal, and then in 1961 he became a disc jockey at KLAS radio. By 1967 Bob was doing sports for WSHO-TV, and moved to KLAS-TV in 1968 as anchor-reporter on The Big News.

Now Bob has been a television news director for more than a quarter century. Until four years ago, he headed the news operation at Landmark’s KLAS, the CBS affiliate in Las Vegas. When Landmark purchased WTVF, Bob came to Music City as news director of Nashville’s CBS station.

First in Las Vegas, and now in Nashville, Bob has proven himself to be a leader of the people who work for him and a leader in the community. The Governor of Nevada appointed him to that state’s Historical Commission because of his interest and work in the study and preservation of history in Nevada. This work includes authoring a book focusing on Las Vegas in the early 1920’s.

While he takes his work and the development of his people seriously. Bob has led a colorful life in the broadcast news industry. At one point, he worked for Howard Hughes, and while he never met the eccentric billionaire, he often responded to questions raised by Hughes through a Hughes aide.

Silver Circle Honoree

Clyde G. Payne

A 36-year veteran, Clyde launched his broadcasting career in 1960 as a news reporter at KXJB-TV in Fargo, North Dakota. In 1964, he went to WHTI-TV, Fargo, North Dakota as production director, then became operations manager, sales manager, and station manager.

He joined WBKO-TV, Bowling Green, in 1970. He became president and part owner in 1976. Following the sale of the station to Benedek Broadcasting Corporation in 1983, he assumed the title of divisional vice president and general manager of WBKO.

Clyde serves on the board of directors of the National Association of Broadcasters. He was a member of the ABC Television Affiliates Association from 1985-1990, and was president and chairman of the board in 1989-1990. He continues to serve on the Past Chairman’s Committee. He also served on the Arbitron Television Advisory Council from 1984-1993 and served as chairman in 1989.

His community service includes serving as president of the Bowling Green-Warren County Chamber of Commerce, Bowling Green city commissioner, president of the Bowling Green Kiwanis Club, director of the United Way of Bowling Green Warren County, secretary, chairman and board member of Bowling Green Municipal Utilities, and member of the board of trustees of HCA/Greenview Hospital. He is a director of the National City Bank, and member of the Broadcast Advisory Council of Western Kentucky University

Under his leadership, WKBO is known as a training ground for aspiring artists within broadcasting.

Silver Circle Honoree

Loonis McGlohon

Looms’ early career included playing with big bands like Jimmy Dorsey, accompanying Judy Garland, then forming his own trio. It was with the trio that he first came to national attention, performing on the legendary radio series American Popular Songs. Looms is one of the true television pioneers—appearing live on WBTV in 1949 when they first went on the air as musical director, talent and producer of the daily show. Nocturne.

He has performed all over the world with notable appearances in Rome, Singapore, London, Tokyo, Monte Carlo, and most recently for royalty at Glamis Castle in Scotland. Here in America, Looms has been a frequent performer at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and The Smithsonian.

Looms is also a well-known composer, whose songs have been recorded by Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Cleo Laine, Woody Herman, George Shearing, Eileen Farrell, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. His original songs appear in an anthology, 150 Most Beautiful Songs Ever Written, and have been translated in several foreign languages.

At WBTV in the early years. Looms met his longtime friend, Charles Kuralt, who credits Looms with giving him the encouragement he needed early in his career. Later, Looms wrote and recorded the theme for Kuralt’s highly acclaimed series On The Road.

His television credits include the documentaries Songs of the Soul and What’s It Like Being Septima Clark?, and the shows A Christmas Holiday, Easter in the Holy Land, North Carolina Is My Home, WBTV Salutes North Carolina Artists, and Bach in Our Own Back Yard.

This year, WTVI, Charlotte, produced Loonis and His Good OldFriends, recalling his career.

Loonis’ contributions extend beyond music to the community. He organized and developed the first North Carolina chapter of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America, built two city parks, raised more than a hundred thousand dollars for drought relief, and served on dozens of boards and commissions.

His awards include two coveted Peabody Awards, National Headliners Award, Gabriel Award, two Iris Awards. North Carolina Composer of the Year, The North Carolina Award, and two honorary doctorates.

Silver Circle Honoree

Lee William Kinard Jr.

A pioneer of breakfast television, Lee founded the Good Morning Show which has been on the air continuously for 39 years. He serves as executive producer and host of Good Morning, the top-rated local morning program in the market. In November, 1995, the show was fourth highest rated in the country among affiliates in the top 50 markets. In addition, Lee is co-anchor of News 2 at 6 PM.

Lee’s career began at WABZ, Albemarle, in 1949, where he became part owner and program director. In 1956 he moved to WFMY, and began the morning show the next year.

In 1979, Lee took a crew to Holland to discover a different culture. That venture led to a series of cultural specials spanning 17 years and more than 20 countries, including China, the former Soviet Union, Egypt, Thailand and Estonia.

Clearly, education has played a major role as Lee attended Pfeiffer College in the 4O’s, but went on to receive degrees from the University of North Carolina—a B.A. in 1974 and an M.A. in 1976, capped by the Ed.D. in 1988. His teaching career began as lecturer in the Broadcast Cinema Division of the Department of Communication and Theatre at the University of North Carolina, teaching Radio and TV News Production and Radio-TV Announcing, and he went on to become an Assistant Professor of Journalism.

His honors include 6 School Bell Awards, the Distinguished Alumni Award from both the University of North Carolina and Pfeiffer College, Rotary International’s Paul Harris Fellow, National Conference of Christians and Jews Brotherhood Award, Greensboro Chamber of Commerce Edward R. Murrow Award, and the United Way of Greater Greensboro Alexis de Tocqueville Award.

As a pioneer broadcaster, Lee has been generous in passing along his knowledge and skills to the next generation. Those fortunate enough to work with, or learn from him, are among the many in broadcasting who have benefited from association with this pacesetter.

Silver Circle Honoree

Jane Dowden Grams

Jane is vice president of Opryland USA, and general manager of the Gaylord Syndicom Entertainment Group (Gaylord Syndicom, Gaylord Program Services, Inc., and Gaylord Production Company, Inc.).

She is a 46-year veteran of the television and entertainment business with over 10 years experience in each of four major industries—media advertising, television station management, television program production, and television syndication.

Jane began her career at WGAP radio in Maryville, Tennessee, in 1950 and joined WSM-TV (now WSMV) in 1951. In 1956, Jane became vice president for media of Noble-Dury and Associates in Nashville and was recognized as one of the outstanding media buyers in the south.

In 1965, she helped establish and became president of Showbiz, Inc., a pioneer in the field of syndicated country music television programs. Showbiz developed many country music shows such as The Porter Wagoner Show, The Wilburn Brothers Show, Jim Ed Brown’s Country Place, The Bobby Goldsboro Show, Pop Goes the Country and Nashville on the Road. At one time she was described as the General Motors of country music television.

Jane left Showbiz in 1975 to become president and general manager of WTVC, Chattanooga. She was the first woman general manager of a network affiliated TV station in the United States. She served four years on the ABC affiliates board of directors (another first in the industry).

She joined Opryland USA as vice president in June 1984 and has served as general manager of the syndication and communications division, Gaylord Syndicom, since that time.

Silver Circle Honoree

Fred Blackman

Fred began his television career in 1959 at WTVD, Durham, North Carolina, as a weathercaster. At the same time he hosted a television dance party. He rounded out his career in those early days with a plethora of commercials. Two years later he moved to the anchor position on the 6 PM news.

In 1969, Fred moved to WGHP as anchor of the 6 and anchor/producer of the 11 PM news. Two years later, while still anchoring, he was appointed news director, a position he held for five years.

Considered one of the best news writers in the business, Fred remembers a time when a newscast consisted of only five minutes out of a fifteen minute show (ten minutes were given to weather and sports). There was no film, no tape, only a desk for the newsman, and he would have to vacate that during the break to allow the sports guy to sit down. There was a hod out in the studio that held a batch of sepia-toned pictures which would serve as the video for that night’s news. The director would cut from the anchor to the camera focused on the picture, then back to the newscaster while a floorman quickly removed the top picture to reveal the next, just in time for a quick re-focus and another take. The voice of the newsman continued—deep, full and authoritative—informing an almost mesmerized audience of the state of the world that night.

Fred, a television warrior with 37 years experience, is still at his news desk.

Silver Circle Honoree

Larry R. Bearden

Larry has been in broadcasting since 1961 when he left the Air Force and joined WSM-TV (now WSMV) in Nashville as a staff engineer. He soon distinguished himself and was put in charge of getting Nashville’s first color cameras on the air in 1966 at WSM. From that moment on, Nashville viewers were treated to the best color pictures that the state of the art at that time would permit. He became widely known and respected, not only for operating the color cameras, but also maintaining and enhancing them.

In the early 1970’s Larry was instrumental in the design of, and equipment selection for, the new Opryland Productions teleproduction facilities located in the Grand Ole Opryhouse. Beginning with coverage of the dedication of the Opryhouse by President Nixon in 1974, Opryland Productions became known for its high standards and exceptional quality. A partial list of the talent he has worked with includes Perry Como, Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Ann-Margret, Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash, and Chet Atkins.

Larry returned to WSM-TV in 1977 as assistant chief engineer until 1983, when he joined the Caluger Video Group as vice president. During his eleven years there, he amassed impressive credits including projects for Cinemax, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, Bob Hope Enterprises, Dick Clark Productions, The Family Channel, Billy Graham and the Italian Television Network. His show credits, too numerous to list, include Del Reeves’ Country Carnival, Flatt & Scruggs Show, Bobby Lord Show, Porter Wagoner Show, Wilburn Brothers Show, Jim Ed Brown Show, Pop Goes the Country, That Nashville Music, Marty Robbins Show, Dolly, Hee Haw, Music Hall America, Celebrate the Miracles, The Moscow State Circus, Master Series Concert with Lyle Lovett, Bobby Bare Show, Conway Twitty on the Mississippi, In Concert, Loretta and Crystal Going Home, June Jam, Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the CMA Awards.

In 1995, he went to TNN: The Nashville Network, bringing thirty-five years of contributions not only to the industry, but to all the individuals who have been privileged to work with him.

Silver Circle Honoree

Richard M. Wright

Dick is in his 34th year of television broadcasting, all within the borders of Alabama. His career has included positions as floor crew, director, engineering liaison, stage manager, producer and manager of promotion, programming and operations. Today he is vice president/operations manager.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Dick graduated from Murphy High School in Mobile, then attended the University of Alabama and worked at the Alabama Educational Television Network.

At WKRG, Mobile, he started on the stage crew and became a director. At WFSA, Montgomery, Dick started as a projectionist and became promotion manager. While at WFSA he produced and edited The Three Days in May coverage and printed piece on the death of Lurleen B. Wallace, governor of the State of Alabama. Dick was also on the film crew and chief editor of the acclaimed Auburn Football Review.

He has been at WHNT since 1974 where he started as promotion manager, and became operations manager, production manager, program manager, and finally vice president. He served as executive producer of The Wrong Show, a fundraiser for the Leukemia Society of Huntsville. He was also five-time producer/director of the annual Addy Awards for the Huntsville Advertising Federation.

In 1986-87, he was site manager for the construction of WHNT’s new 30,000 square foot state-of-the-art broadcast facility, affectionately known as Dick’s Baby.

Dick is a past board member of the Broadcasters Promotion Association (currently BPME), and co-chairman of the 1976 BPA convention at the Opryland Hotel with 1,400 in attendance from five countries. He also served on the board of the Alabama A&M University Cluster, and was president of both the Alabama Broadcasters Association and the Salvation Army in Huntsville.

He currently serves on the boards of the Arts Council of Huntsville, the Broadway Theatre League, 4-H for Madison County, SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now), the Salvation Army, and is chairman of the Monte Sano United Methodist Church administrative board.

Dick’s many awards include AP and UPI, Huntsville Advertising Federation Silver Medal, and numerous Addy Awards. He received the only BPA/Michigan State University award ever given to an Alabama broadcaster, and was named Alabama Broadcaster of the Year in 1992.

Silver Circle Honoree

Bill Williams

Fresh out of college in 1957, Bill Williams took a job as an announcer at KCRC Radio in Enid, Oklahoma. It was his plan to spend time at the radio station until he could land a real job. That real job never came along, because Bill fell in love with broadcasting.

He spent 11 years in radio, with stints at KMAM, Butler, Missouri, and WKY, Oklahoma City, before moving into television.

His first television job was with KRCG, Jefferson City, Missouri, where he was host of a daily live children’s show, and moved on to KYTV, Springfield, Missouri, as weekend anchor, reporter and announcer, later becoming prime anchor and news director.

He started at WBIR, Knoxville, in 1977 as anchor. By 1979 the news ratings had grown from respectable second to first place and have maintained that position since.

Bill is known throughout East Tennessee for his handling of the news and his compassion in dealing with human issues. In 1980 he began his Monday’s Child segments, profiling special needs adoptable children—492 of those children have been placed in adoptive homes. He is also host for the local portion of the Children’s MiracleNetwork broadcast, and has been instrumental in raising more than 5 million dollars for the local children’s hospital over 12 years.

In 1985 he testified before the U.S. House Select Committee on Hunger concerning poverty and hunger in rural Appalachia. In 1993 he was honored in a joint resolution by the Tennessee General Assembly for his work with Monday’s Child. Bill serves on numerous boards and is in demand as a public speaker, appearing more than a hundred times a year before community, church and school groups.

Among his many awards are the Silver Gavel, the Community Service Award from the Tennessee Medical Association, the Public Service Award from the Tennessee Association of School Psychologists, and numerous Tennessee Associated Press Broadcasters Association for journalistic excellence. In 1994 he was named in a poll of readers by the Knoxville News Sentinel as best local television personality, and in 1995 was named best local news anchor by Metro Pulse.

Silver Circle Honoree

Robert L. Shepherd

In 1965, just after celebrating his 32nd birthday, Bob was appointed general manager of WDCN. He was one of the youngest public television station managers in the United States at the time—if not the youngest.

With a degree in radio and television and business administration from the University of Alabama, Bob began his career as production manager at WEDU, Tampa-St.Petersburg. He joined WDCN in 1963 as program-production manager.

It was through his initiative that the Nashville Public Television Council was created in 1974. NPTC was established to assist the licensee (the Metropolitan Board of Public Education of Davidson County-Nashville) in the operation of WDCN, particularly in the areas of public relations, business affairs and fund raising. As of June 30, 1995 the NTPC has raised a total of $32,644,845, over 70% of which has come from the private sector.

Bob was the principal negotiator for the licensee in the multi-million dollar channel swap between WDCN, public Channel 2, and WNGE (now WKRN), the commercial ABC affiliated Channel 8. It took three and one-quarter years to complete the exchange, which took place in December of 1973.

Under his leadership building space has increased by a factor of five, and station operating revenues are more than 16 times greater. In 1974-1977 a new 55,000 square foot telecommunications center was designed and constructed, which was nominated for Station of the Year by Broadcast Management/Engineering magazine, and came in second in the national competition. WDCN broadcast its first color transmission in December 1967, and converted to full color in July 1974. It began Closed Captioning for the hearing impaired in March 1980, multi-channel stereo in 1986, and Descriptive Video Service for the visually impaired in 1994.

Bob has served on the boards of Public Broadcasting Service, Tennessee Broadcasting Council and National Association of Educational Broadcasters. Presently, he is executive vice president of the Nashville Public Television Council, and serves on the board of the Southern Educational Communications Association (past treasurer, vice chairman, and chairman), Tennessee Public Television Council. He was a founding governor of the Nashville Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and has served as treasurer since 1992.

Silver Circle Honoree

Evelyn Keller

Evelyn Keller is the first woman to be inducted into the Silver Circle. Throughout her 27-year career at WKRN Nashville, she has served the station with distinction while simultaneously blazing a trail for women in television.

She joined WKRN’s news division in 1967 as public affairs program coordinator, which was followed by stints in promotion, programming and production. Her production work included Bozo and Romper Room. Occasionally, the former fashion model would fill in as Romper Room guest host.

In 1970 Evelyn was named assistant promotion director while continuing her work in programming and production. She continued to shoulder two jobs and Initiate a lifelong devotion to community service with her 1975 promotion to program coordinator and community service coordinator. In 1982 she was named programming manager, and remained program manager until 1991, when she became manager of community affairs.

Evelyn’s greatest contribution to Nashville has been through the station’s Food 2 Families project which benefits Second Harvest Food Bank. When initiated in 1984, the project generated 15,000 pounds of food—ten years later that figure has grown to 650,000 pounds distributed to thousands of Middle Tennessee families. WKRN received the Emmy^® Award for community station project for Evelyn’s work on the program.

Her other contributions include producing the live telecast of the News 2 Christmas Parade for the past 14 years, the Ronald McDonald telecast to raise money for Ronald McDonald House, and the Kids 2 Kids weekly educational PSA’s throughout the school year.

Evelyn has served on the boards of Ronald McDonald House, the McNeilly Center for Children, Leukemia Society and was a founding board member of the Communications Arts Council, which promotes quality in children’s programming. She was a charter member of American Women in Radio and Television.

She currently serves on the board of directors of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the advisory board ofRonald McDonald House, and the communications committee of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Silver Circle Honoree

Hope Hines

As sports director for WTVF, Nashville, Hope goes behind the scenes interpreting the trends for fans of all sports, and interviewing the full spectrum of sports personalities.

After graduation from the University of Georgia, Hope joined WLAC (now WTVF) in Nashville. He covered the Masters golf tournament from 1971-75, and interviewed all the great players, including Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Lee Trevino. In 1974 he covered the Muhammad Ali/George Foreman heavyweight championship fight in Zaire, Africa.

In 1975, he moved to sports director for KFMB, San Diego, and was also the radio play-by-play announcer for the National Football League’s San Diego Chargers in 1976. During this time he also became friends with Ray Kroc, owner and founder of McDonald’s, who owned the San Diego Padres. He was the New Orleans Saints’ television play-by-play announcer at WWL, New Orleans in 1977.

Hope then spent two years as news anchor at WCTV, Tallahassee, followed by sports director at WPCQ, Charlotte. While in Charlotte he became friends with NASCAR stock car driver Dale Earnhardt early in his racing career. Earnhardt is now seventime Winston Cup champion.

From 1979-1982, he was sports anchor and sports magazine host at WMAR, Baltimore. While at WMAR, he worked with such legends as former Baltimore Oriole third baseman Brooks Robinson, and former Baltimore Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas. Hope travelled to Puerto Rico in 1981 to cover winter major league baseball, and covered the Muhammad Ali/Larry Holmes heavyweight championship fight in Las Vegas in 1982.

Hope returned to WTVF, Nashville, in 1983 as sports director, and has covered the Daytona 500 for ten years. Other recent highlights include the World Series in 1992 and 1993, Superbowl XXIV in New Orleans and the women’s Final Four basketball tournament in Atlanta.

He has won three Emmy^® Awards, the IRIS for best sports program in the nation, and was named best sportscaster in the Southeast by the National Association of Sportscasters.

Silver Circle Honoree

Tom Griscom

As president of the Gaylord Communications Group, Tom’s division includes TNN; The Nashville Network, CMT, Z Music, three television stations, four radio stations, and Gaylord Syndicom, a television syndication company.

He began his career with WSM, Inc., in 1951 as a sales assistant with WSM-TV, Nashville’s first television station. He subsequently became an account executive for the station, and then the sales manager in 1958. Tom was the station’s general manager and a vice president of WSM, Inc. from 1968-1978.

In 1978, Tom was appointed Opryland USA, Inc., senior vice president of broadcasting, and became president of the Gaylord Communications Group in 1994.

A Nashville native, he earned his bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University. Tom is a founder and past president of the Nashville Better Business Bureau and has served on the board of governors of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. He is past president of the Nashville Advertising Federation and has served on that organization’s board of directors. He was awarded the NAF’s Printer’s Ink Silver Medal for outstanding service to the community and to advertising.

In addition to his continuing 45-year broadcasting career, Tom is an internationally renowned sculptor.

Silver Circle Honoree

Ed Greaney

In Ed’s own words... I figured that ifI stalled long enough someone would come along and invent a whole new industry that would take me in and offer fun, excitement, variety, challenge and—possibly—some financial reward. Television came to Memphis on December 11, 1948 with WMCT. And, like everyone else, I watched the little movie in the box through the appliance store window, and was drawn like a moth to the flame.

In February 1949, Ed was hired for $40 a week as a floor man to cue performers, flip show title cards, move props, and mop up after the Man’s Best Friend show. Through diligence, study and the fact that someone quit for another job, he became a producer/director for, kids shows, daily devotional, country-western, news, weather and wrestling. Ed’s next assignment was production manager and then in 1962, he became program manager.

By 1972, Ed took over the news operation and became assistant general manager of news and public affairs, a role which lasted until his 1989 retirement. Scripps Howard, however, asked him to stay on to produce shows, file vintage footage, and tell war stories. In December 1983, when Ellis Communications Company became owner of WMC, he was asked to produce the daily Wake Up Call broadcast from 6 to 7 a.m.

Ed Greaney is still in television after 46 years.

Silver Circle Honoree

Jack Callaghan

During his career, Jack has been host of a children’s show, the voice of a puppet, sports anchor, weathercaster, news anchor, program director, the station’s editorial voice and station manager/vice president.

After graduation from the University of Miami in 1953 and two years in the Army’s first TV production unit. Jack joined WLWD, Dayton, as host of a morning children’s show and afternoon talk show. When he left, he was replaced by Phil Donahue.

He was hired shortly after WSOC signed on the air in 1957. In the early days he was Captain Jack, hosting Popeye and His Friends, and was the voice of many characters, including Punchy the Rabbit on Joey the Clown. Jack was paralyzed with polio in 1960, but a special hookup allowed him to continue to voice his characters from his hospital bed.

For a while Jack was the Shell weatherman on the II pm newscast and filled in for the sports director. He anchored the 6 and 11 pm newscasts from 1970-1976. For most of that time he was also working in several management roles, including program director, and became station manager in 1974.

Jack served on the board of NATPE from 1970-1973. He was vice president of television for the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters in 1978, and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 1994.

He is currently national chairman of the board of the Easter Seal Society. His community projects have included national chairman of the Disaster and Health Services for the American Red Cross, chair of the bond campaign for the Spirit Square arts center and Discovery Place science museum, serving on the board of the Mint Museum, Charlotte Opera, United Way, Goodwill Industries, and Charlotte Choral Society. Jack has been a member of the Charlotte Hospital Authority, the Mecklenburg Council on Adolescent Pregnancy, the Afro-American Cultural Center, and even served for two years on the Boxing and Wrestling Commission.

His awards include Sigma Delta Chi’s Public Service Award in Journalism, the North Carolina Easter Seal Citizen of the Year, Women in Communications Ace Award, Charlotte Ad Club Silver Medal, and the Goodwill Industries’ Cornerstone Award. One wing of the Goodwill Industries Building in Charlotte is named in his honor.

Jack retired from WSOC in April 1995, after 38 years of service.

Silver Circle Honoree

Bill Walker

After graduation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a degree in radio-television and political science, Bill Walker joined WSOC, Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1968 as a reporter.

Now managing editor and anchor of the 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 PM newscasts, his career has been extraordinary. He has covered seven national political conventions, interviewed President Gerald Ford in the Oval Office, and covered Pope John Paul IPs visit to South Carolina. Bill has reported live from England twice — on North Carolina's 400th Anniversary and on the daily transatlantic flights from Charlotte to London.

He has also reported live from Frankfurt, Germany on the dismantling of the Berlin Wall concurrent with Lufthansa flights from Charlotte, and traveled to Japan for a series of reports on the culture. He went to Egypt in 1988 to cover the life and artifacts of Ramesses the Great in preparation for the exhibit in Charlotte.

Bill’s list of awards — too long to list here — includes five best newscast awards from AP, and three from UPI, highlighted by UPI’s best newscast in the nation in 1983. He has also won three awards for best mini-documentary from the South CarolinaAssociated Press, the North Carolina Associated Press and the Radio Television News Directors Association of the Carolinas.

His outstanding community service includes awards by the Foster Parents Association, and the School Bell Award. He is a volunteer for the Mental Health Association, the Council for Children, Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center, and Cities in Schools.

He and his wife, Eva, have two sons, and he is a deacon at Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte. Bill’s weekend hobby is cooking.

Silver Circle Honoree

Jim Stanley

Jim Stanley has been in broadcasting in Nashville, Tennessee, over 30 years, as Art Director at WSIX (WKRN), and WDCN before going to WSM (WSMV). After 14 years at WSM he moved to TNN: The Nashville Network in 1982.

Involved in all aspects of set design and construction for TNN, he also serves as art director for outside projects. His credits include the President’s Gala at Ford’s Theatre in Washington for ABC, the Johnny Mathis Special for WNET, the ASCAP Awards, Farm Aid, the International Aerobics Championship, the National Arthritis Telethon, President’s Economic Summit, Midsouth Emmy^® Awards, NBC’s Today Show, Dick Clark Productions, the Chinese Symphony Orchestra Special for the China Central Television Network in Beijing, Crook & Chase, CMA Preview, Hee Haw, A Tribute to Lawrence Welk, the Statler Brothers’ Show, Dove Awards, Music City News Songwriters’ Awards, International Motorsports Hall of Fame Awards, TNN Music City News Country Awards, and Fan Fair, among others.

Jim heads the largest set construction department in Tennessee. He is involved from start to finish on most of his projects. His imprint is evident from the initial pencil sketches to the installation of the set on the stage. Sixty hour weeks are common for Jim, and people taking weekend tours of the Grand Ole Opry are likely to see him at his drafting board. Over the years Jim has earned the respect of America’s top television producers and directors who have come to depend on his creativity and thoroughness.

Silver Circle Honoree

Aaron Shelton

Inspired by an oatmeal box radio, Aaron Shelton launched a life-long career in broadcasting at WSM radio, Nashville, Tennessee, in 1928.

Still with WSM, he began branching out shortly after World War II when he, with George Reynolds and Carl Jenkins, formed Nashville’s first recording company — Castle Recording Laboratory. One of their first sessions was for Fred Rose, who in turn introduced them to Hank Williams. The rest is history, including Aaron’s recording engineer gold record for Your Cheatin’ Heart.

The branching out continued in 1948 when, at the urging of NBC to get in on the ground floor of a new venture called television, Aaron applied for a construction permit for Channel 4. In the spring of 1950 construction began on Nashville’s first television station. The bold endeavor included establishing a network link between Louisville and Nashville, and on September 30,1950, at 1:10 PM, WSM-TV launched Nashville’s first local television broadcast.

The sale of TV sets shot up following the first live basketball game — Vanderbilt at Kentucky on March 3,1951. Another first was the telecast of the inauguration of Frank G. Clement as Governor, a landmark event in those days, forecasting the news-gathering ability of the new medium.

His branching out continued with the new Grand Ole Opry House and the Opryland USA theme park.

From 1928 until his retirement in 1975, Aaron was instrumental in bringing television to Nashville, country music to the world, and laying the ground work for a variety of mass communications.

Silver Circle Honoree

Ralph L. Hucaby

Ralph Hucaby graduated from the University of Kentucky Engineering School in 1943. He worked at the University of Kentucky Radio Studios and at WLAP in Lexington, Kentucky as early as 1941. He then went to RCA to work in their Products Design Engineering Section.

After being stationed in Manila during World War 11, he rejoined RCA, and worked on the design of television products equipment and commercial television stations. This phase of his work at RCA also included some of the early developments in the field of color television.

From RCA, he came to WLAC-TV (now WTVF), Nashville, Tennessee in 1953 as Technical Director, where he designed the initial studio and transmitter facilities and supervised their construction. The first broadcast from WLAC was on August 6,1954. Ralph also designed and supervised the construction of WTVF’s present studio facilities on James Robertson Parkway.

October 14,1974, however, was a landmark day in Ralph’s career, and for television in Nashville. It was on that day that Nashville and the middle Tennessee area were introduced to the concept of instantaneous live news coverage. Having worked for many months in secret on the plan known as Project X to most Channel 5 employees, Ralph and his development team built the first Electronic News Gathering (ENG) vans in the country for use by a station not owned by one of the three broadcast networks. This extraordinary achievement changed Film at 10 to Live Action Cam, enabling news crews to set up and be on the air in a matter of minutes — something that is so commonplace today that most of us take it for granted.

The concepts Ralph developed and implemented in the original ENG vans are still in use today in systems all over the world. After Channel 5 introduced its first ENG vans and system, many other stations came to Nashville to see this new technology and patterned their own ENG systems after the very successful design that Ralph and his team had implemented.

Ralph was elected a Fellow in the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers in 1971. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honor Society) and Sigma Pi Sigma (Physics Honor Society).

Silver Circle Honoree

Charlie Gaddy

Charlie Gaddy’s 36-year broadcasting career began in 1958 as an NBC page in Washington, D.C. He also served as assistant director and announcer with NBC, where he worked on The Huntley-Brinkley Report, covering stories including Krushchev’s 1959 visit to the United States. He returned to North Carolina in 1960 as a staff announcer at WPTF radio.

Charlie returned to TV broadcasting in 1970 when he joined WRAL, Raleigh, North Carolina, as Director of Public Affairs. He became anchor and producer for the station’s early morning newscast in 1972, and primary anchor for the 6 PM newscast in 1974.

He anchored WRAL’s first international live satellite telecast from Plymouth, England, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the first English voyages to the New World. His assignments have taken him to China, Honduras, London, and to Saudi Arabia to cover the deployment of Ft. Bragg troops in the Gulf War. Most recently, Frank traveled with North Carolina veterans to Normandy, providing live coverage of D-Day 50th anniversary events.

His numerous awards include two UPI honors, the 1984 Radio Television News Directors Association of the Carolinas Best Documentary, the Iris for Fisherman of England, and the UPI Best in the Nation for news coverage of the 1988 tornado. He received the Edward R. Murrow Award for the documentary Troubled Waters, and the 1992 Midsouth Emmy^® for News Excellence.

Charlie is chairman of the Board of Trustees of Methodist College and has served on the Board of Directors for the Cued Speech Center in Raleigh, and as Alumni Board President for Guilford College. He has received numerous awards and accolades for his service to the community. Most recently. United Cerebral Palsy announced that they will begin the construction of the Charlie Gaddy Children’s Developmental Center as a tribute to Gaddy’s 25 years of work with clients of cerebral palsy.

Silver Circle Honoree

Guilford Dudley Jr.

Presently Chairman and CEO of International Financial Services, Ltd., Guilford Dudley is former Chairman and CEO of Life and Casualty Insurance Company of Tennessee and Worldwide Insurance Company of London, England. He served on the board of American General Corporation of Houston until being appointed United States Ambassador to Denmark, where he served with distinction, receiving the highest diplomatic award, the Grand Cross of the Donnebrog from King Frederick IX. Attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander as a Naval Aviator in World War II, he received a Presidential citation and a citation from Admiral Halsey as Air Operations Officer on the USS San Jacinto.

Associated with Life and Casualty since 1931, and anticipating the move into television while serving as President of WLAC radio, Nashville, Tennessee, he declared that the same high standards that have always been maintained in radio station WLAC will also be maintained in the case of WLAC-TV (WTVF).

To launch the television station, executives of Life and Casualty signed a two-year contract with Columbia Broadcasting System. The transmitter, building, tower and antenna were constructed in the summer of 1953. The first floor of the Life and Casualty Building on Fourth Avenue North was remodeled for studio and office space.

In 1954, Channel 5, with Guilford Dudley as President, was launched, serving 41 Tennessee counties and 21 southwestern Kentucky counties, and promised the innovation of color television on August 22, with plans to carry Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town in tint TV.

He now serves on the boards of Third National Bank, Financial Securities Advisers, Inc., American Progressive Corporation, and the Board of Trust of Vanderbilt University and Ensworth School.

Silver Circle Honoree

Frank Deal

Frank Deal’s career began not in television, but in theater. He spent the first half of the 1950’s with professional acting companies in New York, Virginia and North Carolina. That background served him well in his first television job at WCYB, Bristol, Virginia. There Frank provided what he calls completely costumed comedy weather reports and hosted Looney Tunes, a live children’s show during which he flew out over the audience with the help of hidden wires.

Frank moved to WKBW, Buffalo, New York, where he was master of ceremonies and announcer for Time to Polka, as well as co-producer, performer and puppeteer on Popeye and His Pals, in the role of First Mate Lanky Frank.

As talk show host, celebrity interviewer, and — always — weatherman, Frank worked his way through stints at WGR, Buffalo, WJRT, Flint, Michigan, and WXON, Detroit, to WGHP in High Point, North Carolina.

After 25 years as senior meteorologist, Frank still provides the market’s most trusted word on the weather. Though he handles three newscasts a day, he has hosted the station’s telethon to benefit United Cerebral Palsy for 17 years. Frank’s efforts have helped raised over a million dollars for UCP.

And Frank finds time for two more of his passions; writing and North Carolina’s mountains. His two recent prime-time specials. Blue Ridge Views and Winter’s Tale, brought the beauty of the Appalachians home to viewers. His upcoming special, Theater under the Stars with Frank Deal will tell the story of North Carolina’s outdoor dramas, focusing on one of the state’s longest running productions. Unto These Hills — the same show in which a young actor named Frank Deal first played a role in the summer of 1951.

Silver Circle Honoree

Edwin Wilson Craig

Nineteen sixty-two marked Edwin Craig’s 50th year of service to National Life of Tennessee with ceremonies at the Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry

He took an early interest in the field of radio and had been nationally prominent since 1925 in the field of broadcasting when WSM radio was launched. Under his leadership the original 1,000 watt station was increased to 5,000 watts in 1927, and to the maximum of 50,000 watts in 1932. He assisted in the organization of the Clear Channel Broadcasting Service in 1934, and served as chairman until 1967. He was elected chairman of the board of National Life and Accident Insurance Company in 1945.

He saw his first television in 1936, while celebrating his 20th wedding anniversary in Europe and watched a television broadcast of the Olympic Games in Frankfurt, Germany. Under his direction, WSM-TV, Channel 4, Nashville’s first television station was launched in 1950.

As a member of the board of directors and the executive committee of the National Association of Broadcasters, Mr. Craig made a real and substantial contribution in reorganizing the NAB, from which the present organization resulted. In 1965 he received a special tribute from Broadcast Music, Inc. for his pioneering interest.

Silver Circle Honoree

Judson Collins

In 1950, Jud Collins became Nashville’s first television newscaster, and came to be known as Mr. TV.

He grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and began his broadcasting career when he was a senior at Central High School. In 1938 he won an oratory contest sponsored by the Birmingham News, which led to a job at their radio station.

Two years after graduation, he went to WSM radio in Nashville as a news and sports announcer — the beginning of a 37-year association with WSM. That service was interrupted by a two-year stint as a pilot in the Air Force.

He was chief anchor for WSM (WSMV) news starting with their first broadcast in 1950, and political commentator and anchor for WSM election returns from 1950 to 1970. His favorite interviews were with Eleanor Roosevelt and Attorney General Robert Kennedy.

Jud was founder and host of the popular Noon Show. In 1964 he became WSM’s News Director and eventually its Vice President of Public Affairs.

He spent two years in news at WNGE (WKRN), Nashville, Tennessee, following his retirement from WSM.

Married with four grown children, Jud enjoys golf and photography. He serves on the board of Fidelity Federal Savings and Loan.