The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation has announced it 2024 WBA Hall of Fame class:
Steve Brown is a career broadcast engineer with a reputation for giving back and thinking of the future. (Woodward Community Media, Appleton)
Matt Lepay is the voice of the UW-Badgers Football and Men’s Basketball teams and has been for 35 years.
Patty Loew led a long, successful career in academics and broadcasting while drawing attention to Native American issues.
Dave Robinson is a livelong broadcaster who’s served his communities and industry in so many ways. (Robinson Corp, Viroqua)
The 2024 Hall of Fame honorees will be celebrated the night of June 20 at the 2024 Summer Conference at Hotel Retlaw in Fond du Lac.
The Wisconsin Broadcasters Hall of Fame was created in 1989 to honor broadcasters that have devoted a minimum of 25 years to the broadcasting industry. Nominees aree evaluated based on their “integrity, leadership, and impact on their station(s), communities served, and the state of Wisconsin broadcast industry.”
An additional four are being recognized as “WBA Local Broadcast Legends”.
JD Barber, an on air host with a huge and hilarious personality entertaining southern Wisconsin for 27 years. (posthumous)
Jim Callow, a lifelong broadcaster who’s earned a reputation for service to the community and his fellow employees. (Radio Plus Bay Cities, Marinette)
Bill Jartz, a long time Green Bay TV anchor who is also the gameday voice of Lambeau Field. (WBAY-TV, Green Bay)
Bob Lindmeier, a leader in the field of meteorology and as an ambassador to the station he served for 44 years. (WKOW-TV, Madison)
The WBA Local Broadcast Legends Award was established in 2015 under the direction of Bruce Grassman, former owner/president of Results Broadcasting. The award recognizes individuals who work behind the scenes and within their communities fulfilling the commitment broadcasters have made to serve their local communities. They exemplify localism. This award is a means to extend recognition of these individuals beyond their local communities.
Inductees are chosen each year from nominations by WBA members, family members and friends. Broadcasters who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame include managers, personalities, engineers, reporters, educators and those broadcasting pioneers who were all of the above.
In October 1989, Alfred C. Sykes, then Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, came to Wisconsin to formally dedicate a Hall of Fame display, including plaques honoring the inductees, at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin Library in Madison. In 2010, due to remodeling of the SHSW facility, the display was removed and put in storage.
The display now resides at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center. The Wisconsin Broadcasters Hall of Fame also has a permanent, virtual display at the online Wisconsin Museum of Broadcasting which debuted in 2009 at http://www.wisconsinbroadcastingmuseum.org, where the Wisconsin Broadcasters Hall of Fame Gallery is one of our major attractions.
The 2024 Hall of Fame honorees will be celebrated the night of June 20 at the 2024 Summer Conference at Hotel Retlaw in Fond du Lac.
