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) | J. Floyd Fletcher (1989) | vRoy Underhill (2006) |
| H. K. Carpenter (1970) | Robert Mendelson (1989) | Joseph McKinley Bryan (2007) |
| Grady Cole (1970) | Arthur Smith (1990) | John L. Greene (2007) |
| George C. Cox (1970) | Ray Wilkinson (1990) | Kenneth W. Lowe (2007) |
| Earle J. Gluck (1970) | Ty Boyd (1991) | Lee W. Kinard, Jr. (2008) |
| Charles H. Crutchfield (1970) | Frank Rice (1992) | Bruce Wheeler (2009) |
| Billy Graham (1970) | James B. Childress (1992) | George Diab (2010) |
| Andy Griffith (1970) | Cy Bahakel (1993) | Sandra Hughes (2010) |
| Kay Kyser (1970) | Sen. Jesse Helms (1993) | Pat Patterson (2010) |
| Edward R. Murrow (1970) | Jack Callaghan (1994) | Tom Campbell (2011) |
| Richard A. Dunlea (1971) | Charlie Gaddy (1994) | Tom Howe (2012) |
| Ray Reeve (1971) | Carl V. Venters, Jr. (1995) | Larry Stogner (2012) |
| Harold Essex (1972) | Kermit Edney (1996) | Stuart W. Epperson (2013) |
| Carl Goerch (1972) | Ervin L. Hester, Sr. (1996) | Robert Lacey (2013) |
| Frank Jarman (1973) | Loonis McGlohon (1996) | Mark J. Prak (2014) |
| E. Z. Jones (1974) | Max Meeks (1996) | Tom Suiter (2014) |
| Robert M. Wallace (1974) | Jack Hankins (1997) | Henry Hinton (2015) |
| A. J. Fletcher (1975) | Bill Page (1997) | Stuart Scott (2015) |
| Richard H. Mason (1975) | George Beasley (1998) | Ann Seltman Smart (2016) |
| Doris B. Potter (1976) | Wade Hargrove (1998) | Dee Ray (2016) |
| Wesley H. Wallace (1976) | Jimmy Capps, Jr. (1999) | Rick Ray (2016) |
| Charles B. Kuralt (1977) | Hattie Leeper (1999) | Greg Fishel (2017) |
| Graham “Pappy” Poyner (1977) | John W. “Jake” Dunlop (2000) | John Isley (2017) |
| Robert R. Hilker (1978) | James A. Heavner (2000) | Billy James (2017) |
| Gordon Gray (1979) | Jackson F. Lee (2001) | Carl Davis (2018) |
| Harold Harrison (1980) | William R. Rollins (2001) | Cameron Kent (2018) |
| Earl Holder (1980) | Tom Joyner (2002) | Bill Currie (2019) |
| Jim Reid (1980) | Jan Caddell (2002) | Dick Harlow (2019) |
| W. R. Roberson, Jr. (1981) | Don Curtis (2002) | Lisa McKay (2019) |
| Hartwell Campbell (1982) | Rick Dees (2002) | Jeff Davis (2020) |
| Betty Feezor (1982) | Earl Wynn (2002) | Dave Lingafelt (2020) |
| Fred Fletcher (1982) | James G. Babb (2003) | Jim Nantz (2020) |
| Roy H. Park (1982) | James F. Goodmon (2003) | John Hancock (2021) |
| Jack Starnes (1983) | Charlie Rose (2003) | Carl Kassell (2021) |
| Frank U. Fletcher (1984) | Woody Durham (2004) | Mick Mixon (2022) |
| Howard Cosell (1985) | Vassie Balkcum (2004) | Mike Raley (2022) |
| Reginald Fessenden (1986) | Carl Lamm (2004) | Wanda Starke (2022) |
| William Friday (1986) | Cullie Tarleton (2004) | Bill Leslie (2022) |
| Kate Smith (1986) | Art Cooley (2005) | Billy Packer (2023) |
| Wally Ausley (1987) | Rennie Corley (2005) | David Crabtree (2023) |
| Edmund S. Long (1987) | John Young (2005) | James D. (Danny) Highsmith (2024) |
| Clyde McLean (1987) | Henry Boggan (2006) | Helen Little (2024) |
| Wallace Jorgenson (1988) | Ralph Epperson (2006) | |
| Doug Mayes (1988) | Maurice “Maury” O’Dell (2006) | |
| Past Recipients of Distinguished Service Award | ||
| Wade H. Hargrove (1973) | Victor W. Dawson (1991) | The Dawson Family (2009) |
| Jack Starnes (1974) | Alan MacIntyre (1991) | Henry Price (2010) |
| Wesley H. Wallace (1975) | Vassie Balkcum (1992) | Dr. James Carson (2011) |
| Robert R. Hilker (1976) | John Greene (1993) | Senator Richard Burr (2012) |
| Charles H. Crutchfield (1977) | Jan Caddell (1994) | J. Daniel Highsmith (2013) |
| Sam J. Ervin, Jr. (1978) | Rennie Corley (1995) | Gary Weiss (2014) |
| Jack P. Hankins (1979) | George Beasley (1996) | Dick Harlow (2015) |
| Eugene H. Bohi (1980) | Tom Joyner (1997) | Caroline Beasley (2016) |
| Wallace J. Jorgenson (1981) | Beverly J. Holt (1998) | Honorable G.K. Butterfield (2016) |
| Cullie M. Tarleton (1982) | John Dawson (1999) | Steven D. Hammel (2017) |
| Carl V. Venters, Jr. (1983) | Mike Weeks (2000) | Dean Susan King (2018) |
| James A. Heavner (1984) | Henry Hinton (2001) | Chairman Ajit Pai (2019) |
| Robert L. Harper (1985) | Walker Morris (2002) | The Honorable Virginia Fox (2020) |
| William R. Rollins (1986) | Tom Howe (2003) | Tiffany Hewitt (2021) |
| James Goodmon (1987) | Richard Cole (2004) | Trip Savery (2022) |
| Senator James Broyhill (1988) | Rick Jackson (2005) | Rick Gall (2023) |
| Tom Harrell (1988) | Ardie Gregory (2006) | Dan Vallie (2024) |
| James G. Babb, Jr. (1989) | David Crabtree (2007) | |
| Donald Curtis (1990) | Mark Prak (2008) | |
| Past Recipients of the Wade H. Hargove Community Leadership Award | |
| Phil Zachary (2011) | North Carolina Emergency Management (2019) |
| J. Daniel Highsmith (2012) | First Responders of North Carolina (2020) |
| J. Ardell Sink (2013) | Mike Sprayberry (2021) |
| Gig Hilton (2014) | Dr. Nido Qubein (2022) |
| Doug Hamilton (2015) | Lisa Reynolds and Elizabeth Harris (2023) |
| Lee Armstrong (2016) | North Carolina NOAA (2024) |
| Dan Vallie (2017) | |
| Broadcasters of the Triad Region (2018) | |
