Judy Simpson, Tom Beardsley and Brian Collamore
At a Dec. 2 event , a trio of broadcasters were enshrined into the Vermont Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame: Tom Beardsley, Brian Collamore and Judy Simpson.
Beardsley’s career began at WIRD(AM) in Lake Placid, NY, in 1969. He had other stops that included WIKE(AM) in Newport, WHWB(AM) in Rutland and WPTZ(TV) before he spent 30 years at WDEV(AM/FM) and its sister stations, both on air and in the sales department. He also worked for Rep. Peter Smith of the New England Daily Council and was part owner of a small radio group in Maine for four years.
Starting his career working at WRMC(FM) and WFAD(AM) while attending Middlebury College, Brian Collamore would later hold positions at WHWB(AM) before joining WSYB(AM) in 1974, serving on air and in sales. He hosts “The Proctor Gas Morning Show” and is the 2013 recipient of the VAB’s Distinguished Service Award. He is currently in his second term as a state senator for Rutland County.
Judy Simpson was the first female TV news director in Vermont history when she joined WVNY(TV) in 1985. She would join WCAX(TV) in 1997 and began serving as anchor of “Channel 3 News This Morning” in 2000; she would continue anchoring for 10 years. She retired earlier this year, but still continues to host “Across the Fence” for WCAX. She is also a past recipient of the VAB’s Distinguished Service Award.
In addition, the VAB presented distinguished service awards to Lynn Beaudoin, Mark Esbjerg and Steve Pelkey. The Alan Noyes Community Service Award was presented to WTSA(AM/FM) radio. And Greg Towne of WVNY was given the Snyyder-Teffner Award for excellence behind the scenes.
