Connecticut Broadcasters Association announces 2024 inductees for the CBA Hall of Fame & Finalists for “The CBAs”
October 15th Event Planned for Induction Ceremony and Inaugural CBA station awards
The Connecticut Broadcasters Association (CBA) today announced the 2024 inductees to its Hall of Fame. The Class of 2024 will be officially honored during an event which will also include the inaugural CBA station awards, The CBAs.
The Hall of Fame and CBAs will be hosted at that Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville to be held on Tuesday, October 15th. The evening will offer attendees an opportunity to mingle with broadcasters in the radio and television industry from across Connecticut while showcasing award winning reports, personalities, and programming. Tickets for the event are available at the CTBA website here ctba.org.
“The Connecticut Broadcasters Association has served the common interests of radio and television broadcasters in our state since 1955,” said Kristin Okesson, Chair of the Connecticut Broadcasters Association, who is also Senior Vice President and Market Manager for Connoisseur Media. “The CBA Hall of Fame is a way for us to honor remarkable individuals for their long and particularly distinguished service to the broadcasting industry and to the people of Connecticut. And The CBAs are a way to celebrate the work of those in our industry who work every day to inform and entertain the viewers and listeners of Connecticut.”
The 2024 CBA Hall of Fame inductees are (in alphabetical order):
John & Carol Babina
After having met at UConn, John and Carol Babina worked with noncommercial radio stations for more than six decades. They founded WMNR, now an all-classical radio station in Monroe, and founded and mentored high school and college radio stations throughout the state. They were instrumental in the technical upgrades and fund-raising that allowed WMNR to become affiliated with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. WMNR Fine Arts Radio celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023 and boasts some 60,000 listeners.
Dom Bordonaro
Dom was a broadcast engineer for nearly forty years, beginning with New City in Worcester, MA and retiring in 2019 from Connoisseur Media as its Chief Engineer. He was a highly skilled engineer whose talent, commitment, and dedication extended beyond engineering. His technical expertise and meticulous preparation kept stations on the air. His knowledge contributed to managing through simulcasts, buying and selling stations, moving out of buildings, building studios, installing new antennas/transmitters, launching new automation, and understanding the latest equipment as the world evolved to where almost everything has an IT component. Dom was a once-in-a-generation broadcaster.
Mark Davis
Mark Davis is the multi-Emmy Award winning Chief Political Correspondent for News 8 and WTNH.com. Mark’s political expertise and excellent reporting skills have made him one of the most popular broadcasters in the state for four decades. Mark has been ‘on the air’ in Connecticut for 37 years and a broadcaster for more than 50. He co-hosted the state’s first Saturday morning news/information/magazine program, “Good Morning Connecticut,” and has filled several anchor slots on various editions of News 8. For most of the 1980s, he could also be heard on the highest-rated weeknight radio call-in program in Connecticut, “Dial Mark Davis” on WTIC AM. He was voted best local TV reporter in the state two years in a row by the readers of “Connecticut Magazine.”
Scot Haney
Scot Haney keeps Connecticut updated with the most accurate weather forecasts especially tailored to the morning commute on Channel 3/WFSB-TV. He also co-hosts “Better Connecticut” weekdays on Channel 3 at 3 p.m. Scot started his on-air career in Topeka, KS as a weekend weatherman and a weekday general assignment reporter, and joined WFBS-TV in 1998. In addition to his extensive on-air work, Scot makes hundreds of community appearances each year, volunteering to help raise millions of dollars in funds and bring awareness to a variety of causes.
Dick Robinson
Dick’s nearly seventy years in radio began in Ware, MA and included stops in Holyoke, Springfield, and Providence, RI before landing at WDRC in Hartford. He was a DJ, hosted record hops, and perhaps most notably founded the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, where thousands of Connecticut broadcasters got their training in the industry. Dick’s love for broadcasting has continued with his international radio show “Dick Robinson’s American Standards by the Sea.” Dick is also involved with philanthropic work through his non-profit, The Society for the Preservation of the Great American Songbook.
The current members of the CBA Hall of Fame include Boyd Arnold, Gerry Brooks, Pablo de Jesus Colon, Jr. Denise D’Ascenzo, Brad Davis, Arnold Dean, Joe Dimaggio, Richard Ferguson, Bill Glynn, Ed Henry, Al Terzi, John Ramsey, Walter Martinez, Charlie Parker, Barbara Davitt, and Wayne Norman. In addition, the CBA has bestowed Lifetime Achievement Awards upon Bud Finch, Dr. Mel Goldstein, and Bob Steele – all legendary on-air talent – and Paul Taff, a multi-decade broadcast executive who concluded his career in the state as the President of the CBA.
THE CBAs will bestow “best of” status to one recipient from among these finalists in each of the following categories
2024 Finalists for the CBAs
Best Engineer
Victor Zarilli, WFSB-TV
Fred Santore, WKCI-FM
Best Use of Digital Media
NASA Space notes, WATX-AM
CT’s Hidden History of Slavery, WEDH-TV
Best Non-Commercial Station
WACC-LP, Asnuntuck Community College Radio
WWUH-FM, Five Decades of Alternative Radio
Best Meteorologist
Best News Reporter (Radio)
Best Reporter (TV)
Best Local Show (TV)
March to a Championship, WTNH-TV
Best Talk Show (Radio)
Melissa in the Morning, WICC-AM
Best Anchor (TV)
Keith McGilvery, WTIC -TV
Best Air Personality (Radio)
Best Photojournalist (TV)
Jeremy Fair, WTIC-TV
Nate Gagne, WTIC-TV
Best Community Initiative (Radio)
Chaz & AJ Toy Drive, WPLR-FM
Holiday Stores, WTIC-AM
St. Jude’s Hospital, WWYZ-FM
Best Feature News Story (TV)
Miss Gen from Georgia, WEDH-TV
Cop Saves Baby’s Life, WTNH-TV
A Basketball Brotherhood, WVIT-TV
Best Morning Show (Radio)
Best Newscast Team (TV)
Evening Team, WTNH-TV
Morning Team, WTNH-TV
Kevin & Amber Anchor Team, WVIT-TV
Best Investigative Story (TV)
Sunlight Construction, WFSB-TV
Best Promotion (Radio)
Mutt Madness, WCTY-FM
Girl Math, WKSS-FM
$5,000 Fugitive, WWRX-FM
Best Breaking News Coverage (TV)
New London Church Collapse, WFSB-TV
State Trooper Killed on I-84, WVIT-TV
Station of the Year (Radio)
WEBE-FM
WTIC-FM
WWYZ-FM
Station of the Year (TV)
WTIC-TV
WTNH-TV
WVIT -TV
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