Associate Of The Year Awards

MAB Associate of the Year Award

In 2006, the MAB Board of Directors established the Associate of the Year Award. Criteria for this
award stipulate, among other things, that nominees shall be individuals rather than corporations - and must
be active in the MAB.

Nominees must have demonstrated exceptional, consistent and sustaining support for the
organization and the broadcast industry as a whole.

2010 Associates of the Year Award

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

Winner #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.

Winner #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

Winner: 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.

Past winners coming!