Awards

Virginia Association of Broadcasters honors four Virginians

June 15, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The Virginia Association of Broadcasters awarded four outstanding Virginia citizens on June 15 for their contributions to broadcasting and the Commonwealth. Recipients were presented their awards at the 70th Annual Summer Convention Awards Banquet at the Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront.

Biographies and photos of the award winners, as well as descriptions of the prizes, follow.

The Virginia Association of Broadcasters represents more than 125 radio and television stations throughout the Commonwealth.

2007 Distinguished Virginian
Congressman Rick Boucher

The Distinguished Virginian Award honors those who, by their own actions, have contributed substantially to the wellbeing of the Commonwealth, its citizens, or the broadcast industry. Recipients have spent a majority of their life in Virginia, and command the respect of broadcasters and the general public.

Click here to download a high-res photo of Boucher.

Congressman Rick Boucher is serving his thirteenth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Virginia's Ninth Congressional District. He is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, serving on three subcommittees: Energy and Air Quality, of which he is the Chairman, as well as Telecommunications and the Internet, and Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection.

He originated the House Internet Caucus in 1996, which has grown to more than 170 members of the U.S. House and Senate. His first Internet related legislation, which became law in 1993, authorized electronic commerce by permitting, for the first time, messages with commercial content to traverse the Internet. Congressman Boucher has led a number of legislative initiatives relating to telecommunications, the Internet and intellectual property. In 1986, Congressman Boucher proposed the first Satellite Home Viewer Act, and he mediated the negotiations between broadcasters and satellite carriers that led to its passage in 1988. The law permits homes that cannot receive adequate over-the-air signals from local television stations to obtain network programming delivered by satellite. Congressman Boucher has been a leader in ensuring that the Internet remains an open medium by promoting network neutrality. And as a long-time champion of the rights of universities, libraries and consumers to make fair use of the digital media they lawfully acquire, Congressman Boucher has introduced legislation backed by a broad coalition of consumer groups and technology companies to preserve the ability of consumers to use digital media in their homes in the manner most convenient to them.

His Showcasing Southwest Virginia program has brought more than 4,800 technology related jobs to his Congressional district in recent years. Boucher earned his bachelor's degree from Roanoke College and his law degree from the University of Virginia Law School. He is a native of Abingdon, Virginia, where he currently resides with his wife Amy.

2007 C.T. Lucy Distinguished Service Award
Dr. Arthur D. Stamler

Named for the founder of the VAB, the C.T. Lucy Distinguished Service Award honors a broadcaster who spent a significant part of his or her career at one or more Virginia broadcast properties and who has become a leader in the state's broadcast industry.

Click here to download a high-res photo of Stamler.

Dr. Arthur D. Stamler began his career in broadcasting in 1952 when he joined the staff of WXKS in Boston, MA, as news director. He first entered management in 1954 as general manager of WGUY, leaving there at the invitation of the United States Army. He served on active duty with the Office of the Chief of Information, and received a direct commission, leaving the service as a First Lieutenant. He went back to management briefly with WFAX, a suburban Washington, D.C. station, and then took ownership of another Washington area station, WOHN. From 1962 to 1985, he was President and Executive Producer of Ads Audiovisual Productions, the nation's largest producer of public service spots for radio and television.

Stamler was a pioneer in a new industry called low power TV, when in 1985 he opened WAZT in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. With his wife, Virginia (Ginny), he grew his new company to include WAZR FM in 1987, along with five additional television stations. These stations garnered several notable awards including National Religious Broadcasters Television Station of the Year in 1998, the Laurence E. Richardson Award for Excellence in Community Service, and the International Angel Award in 2005 for the production of the documentary, "Portrait of a Valley Preacher." He dedicated his 21 years as leader of the AZ TV Network to ensuring that Christian and Family television programming was available in the Shenandoah Valley.

After more than five decades in broadcasting, Stamler retired in 2006, selling the network to JLA Media & Publications, LLC with a commitment to carry on with family friendly television. He continues by sharing his passion for broadcasting as he teaches a Media and Marketing class at Portering the Glory School of Ministry. Named for the founder of the VAB, the C.T. Lucy Distinguished Service Award honors a broadcaster who spent a significant part of his or her career at one or more Virginia broadcast properties and who has become a leader in the state's broadcast industry.

2007 J. Jerry Freeman Engineering Award
Gary C. Harrison

The J.J. Freeman Engineering Achievement Award honors those who have made an outstanding contribution to broadcasting and who has shown technical knowledge, dedication, dependability and leadership in broadcast engineering affairs.

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Gary Harrison started his broadcasting career more than thirty years ago in his hometown of Emporia, and is a Certified Professional Broadcast Engineer (CPBE). In October 2003, Harrison became part owner of, and began serving as the Corporate Secretary of Piedmont Communications, Inc. in Orange. At Piedmont, he is in charge of Operations and Engineering for the company's stations in Orange, Culpeper and Louisa. Since his arrival at Piedmont, he has overseen the consolidation of the stations and the build-out of new studio facilities. He brought WJMA FM and WOJL FM on as the first two commercial non-metro radio stations in Virginia broadcasting in HD.

Harrison maintains four separate transmitting facilities, plus on-air and production studios, as well as supervising the programming and on-air staffs. Prior to Piedmont he served as the Chief Engineer of Radio, and the Technical Director for both the newspaper and the radio operations for the Free Lance Star group in Fredericksburg. From July 2000 to April 2003, he also served as the Operations Manager of Radio properties and as the Chairman of the Fredericksburg, Virginia Emergency Alert System (EAS) Operational Area. During his tenure at the Free Lance-Star, he negotiated the purchase of new properties, built studios, transmitter sites, managed tower construction as well as supported and directed Newspaper technical operations. Harrison is also a member and past Secretary of the Broadcast Engineering Association of Richmond, and a founding member and past Vice President of Society Of Broadcast Engineers, Chapter 60, of Richmond. He served two terms on the Spotsylvania County Cable Commission, as well as two terms on the Community Corrections Board representing the Spotsylvania County, Virginia Board of Supervisors in the RADCO planning district. He has also done extensive contract engineering in both small and large markets, including on HD conversions. Many small market broadcasters owe their good nights' sleep to Harrison, who has made countless middle of the night 'fire runs' to transmitter sites, keeping stations on the air throughout Virginia and North Carolina.

2007 George A. Bowles, Jr. Broadcast Journalism Award
Bruce Rader

The George A. Bowles, Jr. Broadcast Journalism Award is presented to a broadcast reporter or news director who is distinguished in the field of broadcast news, who has longevity in Virginia broadcasting, is respected by his or her peers and who exhibits enthusiasm for his or her work and the community.

Click here to download a high-res photo of Rader.

Bruce Rader is best known for his position as the Sports Director of WAVY-TV and WVBT-TV for the past 30 years. Rader is equally recognized for his tireless work with various organizations including his own Bruce Rader Charities Foundation. The annual Bruce Rader/St Jude Golf Tournament has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the St. Jude Children's Hospital, and his Foundation has provided the opportunity for thousands of young sports fans to attend local sporting events. Rader has hosted the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon for over 25 years and has led major fundraisers for United Cerebral Palsy and the Virginia Beach SPCA.

Rader has been recognized by several institutions over the years. Hampton University President William R. Harvey presented Rader with "The Presidential Award for Outstanding Citizenship," recognizing him for virtues of decency, dignity, and human rights. In 2005, Rader was inducted into the CIAA Hall of Fame and in 2006, Rader was presented the Abe Goldblatt Memorial Award by the Norfolk Sports Club. Rader is also one of the top Olympic reporters in the nation, working with NBC News covering the past three Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Sydney and Athens. He carried the Olympic torch through Charlottesville on its way to Atlanta in 1996, and in 2002 he also carried the torch in Arlington in the shadow of the Pentagon.

Under Rader's leadership, WAVY-TV's Sports Department has received multiple AP honors as the "Best Sports Department" in the State of Virginia, and has been named "Sportscaster of the Year"; by the readers of Portfolio Magazine. Rader was born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area and currently resides in Virginia Beach with his wife Virginia and their twin sons. He can be seen weeknights on WAVY-TV, and is also the host of the Fox 43 SportsWrap every night at 10:45PM on WVBT-TV.

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