The father-and-son engineering combination of Frank and Dave Hertel was recently honored by the Kentucky Broadcasters Association.
The Hertels, part of the Newman-Kees consulting engineering firm, received the Clarance E. Henson Technology Award at the KBA Annual Membership Conference in Owensboro, Ky., on Sept. 14, during the legacy awards portion of the ceremony. The award recognizes the importance of technology and engineering to broadcasting in the Bluegrass State.
Retired engineer Rick Crago of Forcht Broadcasting was also honored at KBA’s legacy awards with the J.T. Whitlock Life Service Award.
The legacy award winners were nominated by their peers then vetted and ultimately selected by a KBA committee.
“Frank and Dave are not only well deserving of this honor but are also a great story of broadcast engineering legacy,” Chris Winkle, president & CEO of the KBA, told Radio World.
Over the years, the Hertels, while based across the Ohio River in Evansville, Ind., have performed quite a bit of work on Kentucky stations and Frank described the award as very special. Dave’s portfolio includes engineering for 100 kW Class C1 98.9 WSIP(FM) in Paintsville.
Radio World readers are no doubt familiar with Frank’s frequent contributions to John Bisset’s Workbench columns, stemming from a wealth of knowledge which comes from his more than 60 years of experience in radio engineering. Frank, 81, earned his FCC license when he was 18 and specialized in electronics while serving in the Indiana National Guard.
Frank continues to build and service radio and TV stations. He performs bench service and field measurements while Dave does most of the field work.
Dave is the youngest of four children in the Hertel family and started going on service calls with his dad when he was five years old.
