CARMEL, IND.—There will be a quintet of new inductees into the Indiana Broadcasters Association’s Richard M. Fairbanks Hall of Fame this fall: Brad Byrd, Tom Griswold, Bob Kevoian, Ed Roehling and Bill Shirk. All five will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame during IBA’s 2016 Indiana Broadcasters Conference in November.

Brad Byrd

Brad Byrd has been the lead anchor for WEHT (ABC) and WTVW (CW) in Evansville, Ind., for the past 39 years. He also serves as the stations’ managing editor. In addition, Byrd teaches broadcast courses at the University of Evansville and the University of Southern Indiana. According to IBA, Byrd is the first Tri-State broadcasted elected to the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle Hall of Fame.

Tom Griswold and Bob Kevoian have been the top-rated morning radio show hosts at Indianapolis’ WFBG-FM since 1983 and has been nationally syndicated since 1995. It is known for its original comedy songs and recurring characters, as well as providing national exposure for developing comedians, which in the past have included the likes of George Lopez, Brad Garrett, and Tim Allen; they also organize the Friends of the Bob & Tom Show Comedy Tour. The pair have won five Marconi Awards from the NAB.

Ed Roehling has helped to establish a number of local stations in Indiana, as well as ones in Minnesota and Michigan, including WWWY in Rushville, Ind. He has also served as a professor of communications at Indiana Central College (now University of Indianapolis), general manager for WICR-FM, and vice president for Hoosier Broadcasting, which owned three educational stations across Indiana. Roehling currently works as the president and broker of Roehling Broadcast Services, which provides the radio industry with appraisal, brokerage and consulting services for individual and company acquisitions and sales of broadcast properties.

Bill Shirk has worked his way all the way up through the radio broadcasting industry, starting as a janitor for WERK in Muncie, Ind., in 1965 before becoming a weekend DJ a year later. By 1968 he was WERK’s station manager, sales manager, program director, and production manager in addition to remaining an afternoon DJ. Over the next three decades Shirk served as owner, general manager and director for half a dozen stations in Indianapolis, Greenwood and Lebanon.

All five of the inductees will be honored during the Hall of Fame and Spectrum Awards luncheon on Nov. 17, during the Indiana Broadcasters Conference. Tickets are available here.

INDIANAPOLIS—Broadcasting and electronics industry veteran Dave Arland will become executive director of the Indiana Broadcasters Association in January, with the decision by the IBA’s board of directors to select Carmel, Ind.-based Arland Communications as the organization’s association management firm. 

“Our state’s broadcasters provide an invaluable service to listeners and viewers when seconds really matter—such as during weather emergencies or when breaking news impacts a local community. The Indiana Broadcasters Association and its more than 300 members cover the Hoosier state with local, reliable service that millions depend on every day,” Arland said. “We’re honored to assume a management role for the IBA, which works to strengthen the broadcasting industry throughout Indiana.”

A former Indianapolis broadcaster on WIBC, WIRE, WXTZ, and WAJC radio, Arland’s firm also works closely with clients such as the Advanced Television Systems Committee, the Pearl TV partnership of media companies, and LG Electronics on advanced broadcasting technologies. Arland is immediate past-chairman of the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers committee of the IBA and also is a board member of WFYI Public Media, which operates WFYI Channel 20 and WFYI FM-90.

ArlandCom’s five-member team has more than 30 years of communications experience and includes Account Director and former radio broadcaster Sam Klemet, Creative Director Joshua Phelps, Production Coordinator Nicole Wilson, and assistant Kellie Beadle.

“The IBA will become one of our key clients and the perfect complement to the technology organizations and companies we already represent. As enhancements continue to be made to broadcasting, the fundamental benefits remain—the ability to reach thousands of listeners and viewers with a single broadcast,” Arland said. “We plan to work cooperatively on behalf of Indiana’s broadcasters and represent their interests at the Indiana Statehouse and in Washington, D.C.