What do the President of Katz Radio Group, the Chief Insights Officer at Cumulus Media and Westwood One, and the now-retired longtime spokesman for the NAB all have in common? As of Wednesday, they are all Leadership Award recipients, following their individual honors during an early morning Broadcasters Foundation of America fundraising breakfast held on the final day of the NAB Show.
Cumulus’ Pierre Bouvard was the first of the radio industry honorees, and one of his daughters, a high school senior en route to University of San Diego, was in attendance to see her dad accept the award.
The lone woman to be honored this year is Katz’s beloved Christine Travaglini. In her acceptance of the award, she referenced a highly theatrical entrance and moving speech from media mogul Byron Allen, also an honoree. Allen’s speech can be heard in its entirety later today in a RBR+TVBR InFOCUS Podcast.
“I’m not going to top the entrance,” Travaglini said of Allen’s performance. She also had to comment on the head shot used on-screen and in the official program’s biography. “I will say that is COVID hair there,” she joked, eliciting laughs from the industry VIPs in the crowd at the Encore Hotel.
Taking a more serious tone, she said, “It is such a great honor to be here today and I’m very humbled to be in the company of so many outstanding leaders and fellow honorees this morning. It was 30 years ago today that I started as an assistant in Atlanta. I never thought I’d be accepting this award, at this podium, on this stage, and at this event.”
As a rep, Travaglini says she dedicated her career to selling and advocating for the power of Radio, to drive the industry forward. “It is a great honor to be recognized by the Broadcasters Foundation of America, because this award isn’t just about me but of our entire dedicated and talent team at Katz. Everyone here knows that when you surround yourself with hard-working people, good things do happen.”
With retired broadcast television executive Ralph Oakley also being honored by the BFA, it was Dennis Wharton who was the final award recipient for 2022. He remarked how during his years at the NAB he once had oversight of some 1,600 reporters in the newsroom. “Now I’m just playing golf and beating the hell of out of Jordan Wertlieb,” he quipped, referencing the Hearst Television President.
Wharton remembers saying 18 months ago, when Jim Thompson called Wharton to tell him he’d be a recipient, he swore it was a mistake. Now, here he was – a song of a Midwestern pig farmer, with parents that never went to college, and a solid B- student at The Ohio State University. “I’m humbled as hell by this award,” he said, noting that he wasn’t as deserving as the others being honored. “If you want to take it back you’re going to have to fight me for it!”
He thanked his mentor and friend Eddie Frits, the former NAB head, who brought Wharton over from Daily Variety to run the association’s communications team in June 1996. Wharton said, “That one or two-year job turned into 24. That’s how careers get made, I suppose.”
Always the jokester, he ended his comments by mentioning former NAB COO Chris Ornelas, because “he’d be sad if I didn’t mention him. I’ve seen him sad many times, because we’ve played golf together.”
Lastly, former Oregon Senator Gordon Smith, the recently retired President/CEO of the NAB, was bestowed with the Lowry Mays Excellence In Broadcasting Award. “My heart is very full,” he said. And, he also thanked Ornelas so he wouldn’t hurt his feelings, resulting in laughs from the audience.
“I’m especially honored to receive this award, and I congratulate each of those who have received an award this morning,” Smith said.
He also paid homage to his parents and to John F. Kennedy for aspiring him to “do what you can do for your country.” And, Smith turned to his LDS Church roots by sharing a tale about the Dead Sea. But, it flows through the Sea of Galilee. What does this have to do with broadcasters? It conjured a metaphor, in that the purpose of the Broadcasters Foundation of America was that, like Galilee, everything that comes in and goes out. “It lives, and it blesses other people,” Smith said. “Like Galilee, what it gets it gives in service to others.”
