The Rick Jowett Fellowship was established in 2017 by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation to support educational opportunities for photographers and videographers who work in media in Wisconsin.
Recipients of the fellowship can use the grant for professional development in the areas of photography and videography. Applicants must specify how the funds will be used.
Potential uses include but are not limited to courses offered by the National Press Photographers Association, the Poynter Institute, or any accredited college or university.
This fellowship intends to award a total of up to $2,000 in grants annually to multiple recipients to cover part… Continue reading
In 2010, the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation Board of Directors created the Educational Support Grant Program. This program awards up to $10,000 annually to assist non-profit college and technical school broadcast education programs to acquire equipment, hardware, software, and/or other teaching materials necessary to conduct broadcast education programs and promote careers in broadcasting.
Communications educators are invited to submit grant proposals for 2019 and we encourage educators to spread the word about the WBA Foundation’s Educational Support Grant Program.
In 2018, the WBA Foundation Board approved four grants totaling $9,977. The program has generated excellent response. Since the inception… Continue reading
The VP/General Manager of WCLO/WJVL in Janesville, Mike O’Brien, and his wife Patty, have joined the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation’s Legacy Club.
The Legacy Club was formed in 1998 to provide a formal procedure and recognition for those who make bequests or agree to make bequests to the WBA Foundation in their wills.
For more information on how to join the Legacy Club, please contact Foundation President Michelle Vetterkind.
A Wisconsin sports broadcasting legend and WBA Hall of Famer has retired.
Mike Sullivan retired Jan. 31 after 45 years in radio in the Eau Claire area and western Wisconsin. He called more than 4,000 ballgames covering three generations in local high school sports.
Sullivan worked in almost every aspect of radio broadcasting from DJ to station manager during career. In 1992, he turned WBIZ Radio in Eau Claire into the state’s first all-sports station.
Sullivan attended Swarthmore College and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and he graduated from Brown Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He broke into broadcasting… Continue reading
Historic TV news anchor, WBA Hall of Famer, and former Wisconsin State Senator Walter John Chilsen has died.
Chilsen was a news broadcaster in Wausau and served six terms in the Wisconsin State Senate. He died on Christmas Day at the age of 95.
Chilsen began his career in 1949 at WLIN radio in Merrill. After three years he moved on to pursue a career in acting, first at Northwestern University and then in California. He returned to radio broadcasting with WLIN in early 1954 and then moved to WSAU radio in Wausau later that year.
Chilsen became the first… Continue reading
WBA Hall of Famer Nathan Goetz is being remembered for his contributions to radio in Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.
Goetz died Wednesday at his home in Naples, Florida. He was 92.
The Monroe native built the Goetz Broadcasting Corporation from a single station, KMAQ, Maquoketa, Iowa, in 1956-58 to 12 stations in 1990 in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan, including WFAW-WSJY, Fort Atkinson, WDLB-WLJY, Marshfield, WRDB-WNFM, Reedsburg, WQJY-FM, La Crosse. When he sold the company in 1999, he had 14 stations in seven markets and seven news, sports, and farming networks serving 140 radio stations.
Goetz served as treasurer… Continue reading
Bernie Strachota is being remembered for his contributions during his 19-year career in Milwaukee radio. The WBA Hall of Fame broadcaster died Sunday. He was 96.
Strachota started his career in 1959 at what was then WRIT AM/FM and worked there until 1978. In 1962, he turned WRIT-AM, Milwaukee’s top “Top 40 Hits” station, into one of the first fully-automated radio stations in the country. He was also one of the first broadcasters in the country to grasp the concept of niche programming in radio. He designed the first “For Women Only” format for his FM station, even changing its… Continue reading
I am pleased to have the honor of serving as Chair of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation (WBAF). Foundation President and CEO, Michelle Vetterkind, provides outstanding leadership for the WBAF. I am happy to report that your Foundation is well positioned to be a strong partner with the WBA during 2019.
Communication with the WBA membership and the WBA board remain consistent and effective through Foundation reports in the WBA newsletter and WBAF reports presented at WBA Board and Executive Committee meetings. As Foundation Chair, my attendance at these meetings provides an excellent opportunity for WBA board members to provide… Continue reading
The WBA Foundation is getting thank yous for it recent awarding of Educational Support Grants. Two letters are below:
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Hello Michelle,
I hope all is well with you and the WBA!
I would like to sincerely thank you and the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation for the Educational Support Grant grant of $2,500 for the purchase of production equipment that will serve the needs of our Stage & Screen Arts students now and into the future!
As with many institutions of higher education, we are tasked with being as resourceful as humanly possible while providing the best education… Continue reading
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