Bill Buchanan
The Texas Association of Broadcasters will honor five people at its Annual Awards Gala, held during the Texas Association of Broadcasters 63rd Annual Convention & Trade Show, Aug. 11 from 7–10 p.m. at the Renaissance Austin Hotel, Austin, Texas.The ceremony will be honor Bill Buchanan, John Kittleman, Mike Wenglar, Dan Giesler and Joe Oliver.
“The broadcast leaders TAB honors this year have raised the bar for their peers and for all local business leaders who strive to better their communities and their state by taking calculated risks and forging strong partnerships to expand opportunities for all Texans,” TAB President Oscar Rodriguez said in a press release.
Mike Wenglar
Bill Buchanan, owner/operator of KSHN(FM) in Liberty, Texas, will be recognized as the organization’s Pioneer of the Year. Buchanan has 50 years of radio experience and still goes behind the mic for a daily show, as well as breaking news and football coverage.
The 2016 winner of TAB’s George Marti Award for Engineering Excellence is Mike Wenglar. He is the owner/operator of KULP(AM) in El Campo, Texas. He also recently retired from Austin ABC affiliate KVUE(TV).
Dr. Joe Oliver, retired Stephen F. Austin State University professor, has been named the TAB Educator of the Year. Oliver has taught radio and television writing, media management, audio production and more for 30 years, and he worked as a commercial broadcaster for 16 years prior. While working as a professor, he helped to set up the university’s student radio station, KSAU(FM), as learning lab to teach the inner workings of commercial radio.
Dr. Joe Oliver
Dan Giesler of Houston’s Giesler Broadcasting Supply, has been named Associate of the Year. Giesler took over 40-year-old family broadcast equipment sales business in the 1980s, at the time of his father’s retirement. The company participates regularly in TAB events.
Dan Giesler
The TAB Broadcaster of the Year for 2016 is John Kittleman. He is the general manager for Rio Grande Valley ABC affiliate KRGV(TV), a station which recently began offering live Spanish-language translation of all the station’s newscasts, an important service in a market where 90% of viewers are of Hispanic descent. In addition to these bilingual efforts, the station continued its community service and investigative journalism efforts. Kittleman has worked in broadcast sales, management and operations for three decades, and he has also served on the TAB board of directors for several terms.
Tickets for the event can be purchased through Beth Bobbit.