Associate of the Year Awards

2012 Associate of the Year Award

Recipient: Hungerford, Aldrin, Nichols and Carter, PC, Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Accepting the award: Chris Harper, CPA, MBA.

Hungerford, Aldrin, Nichols & Carter, P.C., through their dedication to the broadcasting industry, has made it their mission to deliver quality market reports with precision and accuracy. They have been a valued partner of the MAB and its members for nearly 30 years, attending and sponsoring MAB events.

Hungerford, Aldrin, Nichols & Carter, P.C. has given back to the broadcasting community by sharing their expansive knowledge of market trends and accounting, by serving as advisors to MAB and its members and continues to honor the commitment of co-founder Cliff Aldrin to serve and support the Michigan broadcasting industry.

2011 Associate of the Year Award

Recipient: Dennis Mellott, President and General Manager of the Michigan Radio Network and Michigan Farm Network, Lansing, MI

Dennis has been working in the radio industry for 29 years, with 17 of those years in the network business. He serves as president & general manager of Saga Communications’ group of five regional networks:

The Illinois Radio Network
The Minnesota News and Farm Networks
Michigan Radio Network
Michigan Farm Radio Network

In the Upper Midwest, the networks provide radio stations programming and event broadcasts such as state news, farm news, professional and collegiate sports distribution, public service and weekend programming. In Michigan, the networks provide and deliver a variety of programming as well as specialty broadcasts.

Dennis has served as President of the National Association of State Radio Networks; Associate board member for the Michigan Association of broadcasters and is a current member of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting.

2010 Associate of the Year Award

In 2010, the MAB elected to hand out two Associate of the Year Awards.... 

Recipient #1: Michael Gottlieb, National Director of Sales and Marketing, Don-Lors Electronics, Livonia, Michigan

Michael Gottlieb grew up in Plymouth, MI where he graduated from Plymouth Canton high school. After attending Central Michigan University he went to work for E.F. Hutton as a stockbroker and remained in investment business for over 15 years seeing several corporate mergers and acquisitions. He was promoted to several levels from Branch Manager to Vice President during that time before making the move to Don-Lors Electronics who specializes in all facets of commercial and residential satellite TV and communication, home and commercial theatre and A/V and Digital signage and advertising. As the National Director of Sales and Marketing, Michael is responsible for offices in 14 major markets throughout the country.

In 2008 Michael and his company teamed with the Michigan Association of Broadcasters (MAB) to bring the most comprehensive DTV transition plan in the country. Through his dedication to the cause and the people of Michigan, Michael and Don-Lors Electronics opened their facilities and dedicated their staff to the first-ever Live DTV Helpline, assisting Michigan citizens with every facet of the digital television transition.
 

Recipient #2: Will Tieman, Spartan Sports Network

Will Tieman, in his 4th decade of broadcasting college football and basketball games. Within the state of Michigan he is most recognized as the voice for Coach Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartan basketball team. In addition to his broadcast work with MSU, Tieman has served as the voice of Miami University, the Big Ten Basketball Game of the Week and was lead announcer for Coach Eddie Robinson’s Grambling State University Tigers national radio network.

National network football bowl assignments have included The Citrus Bowl, The Motor City Bowl (now Little Caesars Pizza Bowl), the International Bowl and the Blue-Gray Game. He has anchored various television assignments and for 15 seasons in the month of May, Tieman provided national radio coverage from The Indianapolis Motor Speedway. During the course of year over 250 radio stations around the nation air broadcasts he anchors.

For the past two years, Tieman and his crew received the Michigan Association of Broadcaster’s “Best Network Play-By-Play” Award. The honors were for the 2007 Motor City Bowl, and the next season for the Michigan State vs University of Texas basketball game.
Tieman is currently the President of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association.

2009 Associate of the Year Award

Recipient: Don Backus, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, ENCO Systems, Southfield, Michigan

Our winner, Don Backus, is Vice President of Sales and Marketing at ENCO Systems, a world leader in digital audio automation and delivery. Don joined ENCO in 1999, moving from Audio Broadcast Group in Grand Rapids, where he was a sales engineer and digital systems manager.

Prior to Grand Rapids, Don was General Sales Manager of Williams Communications stations in Longview and Tyler, Texas. From 1983 to 1993, Don was President and General Manager of WDBI-FM in Tawas City, Michigan. A number of programming and on-air positions preceded the purchase of WDBI-FM, including tenure at WVIC in East Lansing, WITL in Lansing and WSJM in St. Joseph.

Don attended Michigan State University in East Lansing and is a CRSM. Don has volunteered countless hours to the MAB, having served on the board for eight years as associate counsel. His advice and counsel was invaluable on many committees as well.

2008 Associate of the Year Award

Recipient: Larry Patrick, President, Patrick Communications, Elkridge, Maryland.

Larry Patrick serves many facets of the broadcasting industry in Michigan and across the country.

As President of Patrick Communications, has brokered the sale of more than 60 television stations and 300 radio stations with an aggregate value of $3 billion in recent years.

He serves as the President of the National Association of Media Brokers and is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ion Media Networks, a 62-television station network. Additionally, Patrick is the owner of Legend Communications, a radio group with 16 radio stations serving small markets across U.S.

He is the former Senior Vice President of the National Association of Broadcasters, former Chief Operating Officer of Gilmore Broadcasting and past president of the Broadcast Education Association.

Patrick holds a Ph.D. in communications and management from Ohio University and a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University.

2007 Associate of the Year Award

Recipient: Paul Grzebik, Regional Sales Manager, Axcera, Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Paul Grzebik has served the Michigan Association of Broadcasters as a Member of the Board of Directors and Co-Chairman of the Engineering Committee for the Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference and Expo, and continues to generously offer his time and expertise.

Grzebik serves the broadcast industry as Regional Sales Manager for Axcera, a company that supplies equipment to radio and television stations across Michigan. He has spent nearly 40 years in the broadcast industry, including many as an engineer with Detroit radio stations where he designed, installed and maintained transmitter and studio facilities.

He is a member and twice past Chairman of the Southeast Michigan Chapter of the Society of Broadcast Engineers; is a member and past manager of the Detroit Section of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers; holds a lifetime FCC General Class Radiotelephone license and an FCC Extra Class Amateur Radio license.

2006 Associate of the Year Award

Recipient: Robert G. David, President and General Manager, Handyman Productions, LLC, Troy, Michigan.

Robert G. David has served the Michigan Association of Broadcasters (MAB) as an active committee member, program moderator and panelist. Additionally, Mr. David has served the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation (MABF) as a Board Member, Vice Chairman and Chairman. He continues to generously offer his time and broadcast expertise to both organizations.

Mr. David serves as President and General Manager of Handyman Productions, LLC, and syndicator of the Handyman Show with Glenn Haege. The popular home improvement program airs on more than 150 radio stations, including 20 stations across the state of Michigan.

Mr. David is a broadcast sales and management veteran who has worked for CBS-Infinity, Fritz Broadcasting and ABC in a variety of positions. He has been recognized as a Certified Radio Marketing Consultant at the Diamond level by the Radio Advertising Bureau. He contributions to business, academics and public service and has been recognized by the United States Congress, Michigan Senate, Michigan House of Representatives, Commonwealth of Kentucky, Michigan State University and the International Association of Business Communicators.