Annual Industry Awards
Every year NCAB honors the “best of the best” in the North Carolina broadcast industry with the Association’s most prestigious awards — the Hall of Fame Award, the Distinguished Service Award, and the Wade Hargrove Community Leadership Award.
Hall of Fame Award
The Hall of Fame Award was initiated in 1970. Consideration is given to North Carolina residents who have made significant contributions to broadcasting in the state, persons born in North Carolina who have made significant contributions to the broadcast industry outside the state and persons either born or residing outside of North Carolina who have made significant contributions to broadcasting in North Carolina. This award is designed to recognize and honor persons who have contributed to the broadcast industry in the past or over an extended period of time.
Distinguished Service Award
The Distinguished Service Award was authorized in 1973 in memory of the late Earle Gluck, who was a pioneer in broadcasting in North Carolina and played a significant role in the formation and development of NCAB. This award is given for outstanding service to or on behalf of the broadcast industry. This award is bestowed either annually or less frequently as the occasion warrants and is intended to recognize “current” contributions to broadcasting - as opposed to contributions made in the past or made over an extended period of time, which are recognized by the Hall of Fame Award.
Wade H. Hargrove Community Leadership Award
Unlike the NCAB Distinguished Service Award which recognizes service to the Association and to the broad-cast industry, the Wade Hargrove Community Leadership Award is intended to recognize current or past general managers, or other senior management of an NCAB member station who has made significant contributions toward the communities served by their radio or television stations, or to the general well being or improvement of the citizens of their local community, county or state. In keeping with the FCC mandate of “serving the public interest, convenience, and necessity,” these contributions may be made through public service campaigns, community events, service as an officer or elected official, or service on local boards and civic organizations. This Award was established in 2011 to honor Wade Hargrove who has dedicated his long career to protecting the rights of all broadcasters. Mr. Hargrove served as Executive Director and General Counsel to the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters for over 40 years.
| Past Recipients of Hall Of Fame Award | ||
| David Brinkley (1970) | Doug Mayes (1988) | Ralph Epperson (2006) |
| H. K. Carpenter (1970) | J. Floyd Fletcher (1989) | Maurice “Maury” O’Dell (2006) |
| Grady Cole (1970) | Robert Mendelson (1989) | Roy Underhill (2006) |
| George C. Cox (1970) | Arthur Smith (1990) | Joseph McKinley Bryan (2007) |
| Earle J. Gluck (1970) | Ray Wilkinson (1990) | John L. Greene (2007) |
| Charles H. Crutchfield (1970) | Ty Boyd (1991) | Kenneth W. Lowe (2007) |
| Billy Graham (1970) | Frank Rice (1992) | Lee W. Kinard, Jr. (2008) |
| Andy Griffith (1970) | James B. Childress (1992) | Bruce Wheeler (2009) |
| Kay Kyser (1970) | Cy Bahakel (1993) | George Diab (2010) |
| Edward R. Murrow (1970) | Sen. Jesse Helms (1993) | Sandra Hughes (2010) |
| Richard A. Dunlea (1971) | Jack Callaghan (1994) | Pat Patterson (2010) |
| Ray Reeve (1971) | Charlie Gaddy (1994) | Tom Campbell (2011) |
| Harold Essex (1972) | Carl V. Venters, Jr. (1995) | Tom Howe (2012) |
| Carl Goerch (1972) | Kermit Edney (1996) | Larry Stogner (2012) |
| Frank Jarman (1973) | Ervin L. Hester, Sr. (1996) | Stuart W. Epperson (2013) |
| E. Z. Jones (1974) | Loonis McGlohon (1996) | Robert Lacey (2013) |
| Robert M. Wallace (1974) | Max Meeks (1996) | Mark J. Prak (2014) |
| A. J. Fletcher (1975) | Jack Hankins (1997) | Tom Suiter (2014) |
| Richard H. Mason (1975) | Bill Page (1997) | Henry Hinton (2015) |
| Doris B. Potter (1976) | George Beasley (1998) | Stuart Scott (2015) |
| Wesley H. Wallace (1976) | Wade Hargrove (1998) | Ann Seltman Smart (2016) |
| Charles B. Kuralt (1977) | Jimmy Capps, Jr. (1999) | Dee Ray (2016) |
| Graham “Pappy” Poyner (1977) | Hattie Leeper (1999) | Rick Ray (2016) |
| Robert R. Hilker (1978) | John W. “Jake” Dunlop (2000) | Greg Fishel (2017) |
| Gordon Gray (1979) | James A. Heavner (2000) | John Isley (2017) |
| Harold Harrison (1980) | Jackson F. Lee (2001) | Billy James (2017) |
| Earl Holder (1980) | William R. Rollins (2001) | Carl Davis (2018) |
| Jim Reid (1980) | Tom Joyner (2002) | Cameron Kent (2018) |
| W. R. Roberson, Jr. (1981) | Jan Caddell (2002) | Bill Currie (2019) |
| Hartwell Campbell (1982) | Don Curtis (2002) | Dick Harlow (2019) |
| Betty Feezor (1982) | Rick Dees (2002) | Lisa McKay (2019) |
| Fred Fletcher (1982) | Earl Wynn (2002) | Jeff Davis (2020) |
| Roy H. Park (1982) | James G. Babb (2003) | Dave Lingafelt (2020) |
| Jack Starnes (1983) | James F. Goodmon (2003) | Jim Nantz (2020) |
| Frank U. Fletcher (1984) | Charlie Rose (2003) | John Hancock (2021) |
| Howard Cosell (1985) | Woody Durham (2004) | Carl Kassell (2021) |
| Reginald Fessenden (1986) | Vassie Balkcum (2004) | Mick Mixon (2022) |
| William Friday (1986) | Carl Lamm (2004) | Mike Raley (2022) |
| Kate Smith (1986) | Cullie Tarleton (2004) | Wanda Starke (2022) |
| Wally Ausley (1987) | Art Cooley (2005) | Bill Leslie (2022) |
| Edmund S. Long (1987) | Rennie Corley (2005) | Billy Packer (2023) |
| Clyde McLean (1987) | John Young (2005) | David Crabtree (2023) |
| Wallace Jorgenson (1988) | Henry Boggan (2006) | James D. (Danny) Highsmith (2024) |
| Helen Little (2024) | ||
| Past Recipients of Distinguished Service Award | ||
| Wade H. Hargrove (1973) | Donald Curtis (1990) | David Crabtree (2007) |
| Jack Starnes (1974) | Victor W. Dawson (1991) | Mark Prak (2008) |
| Wesley H. Wallace (1975) | Alan MacIntyre (1991) | The Dawson Family (2009) |
| Robert R. Hilker (1976) | Vassie Balkcum (1992) | Henry Price (2010) |
| Charles H. Crutchfield (1977) | John Greene (1993) | Dr. James Carson (2011) |
| Sam J. Ervin, Jr. (1978) | Jan Caddell (1994) | Senator Richard Burr (2012) |
| Jack P. Hankins (1979) | Rennie Corley (1995) | J. Daniel Highsmith (2013) |
| Eugene H. Bohi (1980) | George Beasley (1996) | Gary Weiss (2014) |
| Wallace J. Jorgenson (1981) | Tom Joyner (1997) | Dick Harlow (2015) |
| Cullie M. Tarleton (1982) | Beverly J. Holt (1998) | Caroline Beasley (2016) |
| Carl V. Venters, Jr. (1983) | John Dawson (1999) | Honorable G.K. Butterfield (2016) |
| James A. Heavner (1984) | Mike Weeks (2000) | Steven D. Hammel (2017) |
| Robert L. Harper (1985) | Henry Hinton (2001) | Dean Susan King (2018) |
| William R. Rollins (1986) | Walker Morris (2002) | Chairman Ajit Pai (2019) |
| James Goodmon (1987) | Tom Howe (2003) | The Honorable Virginia Fox (2020) |
| Senator James Broyhill (1988) | Richard Cole (2004) | Tiffany Hewitt (2021) |
| Tom Harrell (1988) | Rick Jackson (2005) | Trip Savery (2022) |
| James G. Babb, Jr. (1989) | Ardie Gregory (2006) | Rick Gall (2023) |
| Dan Vallie (2024) | ||
| Past Recipients of the Wade H. Hargove Community Leadership Award | |
| Phil Zachary (2011) | Dan Vallie (2017) |
| J. Daniel Highsmith (2012) | Broadcasters of the Triad Region (2018) |
| J. Ardell Sink (2013) | North Carolina Emergency Management (2019) |
| Gig Hilton (2014) | First Responders of North Carolina (2020) |
| Doug Hamilton (2015) | Mike Sprayberry (2021) |
| Lee Armstrong (2016) | Dr. Nido Qubein (2022) |
| Lisa Reynolds and Elizabeth Harris (2023) | |
| North Carolina NOAA (2024) | |
