Allen Elected Board Chair New Officers & Directors Elected At Annual Meeting

According to WBA bylaws, Tom Allen, Regional Vice President for , Inc. assumed the Chair position at the annual meeting during the recent WBA Winter Conference.

Tom Allen is currently a Regional Vice President for Quincy Media, Inc., overseeing stations in seven markets, which includes a number of Wisconsin stations in Madison, Wausau, La Crosse, Eau Claire and Superior/Duluth. A native of Wisconsin, Tom returned to Madison in 2008 as VP/GM of WKOW TV. After graduating from Loyola University in New Orleans where he worked at WWL Television, Tom has held TV management positions in markets including Nashville TN, Tulsa OK, Cleveland OH and Raleigh NC. Following his time in Raleigh, where Tom Tom Allen also served as Chair of the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters, he and his wife Patti took a break and hit the road for more than four years, traveling much of North America behind the wheel of an RV. Eventually, he got tired of driving, and Tom returned to broadcasting, joining Quincy in the summer of 2006.

In the Chair position, Allen succeeds Scott Chorski, Vice President/General Manager of WKBT-TV in La Crosse, who will remain as ex-officio Past Chair.

With Allen now in the leadership position on the Board, Dick Record, Family Radio, La Crosse was elected Vice- Chair Radio and designated Chair-Elect to succeed Allen in 2017. Steve Wexler, E.W. Scripps Company, Milwaukee, was elected Vice-Chair Television; Nancy Douglass, WLKG-FM, Lake Geneva, was elected was elected Treasurer; and Steve Lavin, WBAY-TV, Green Bay, was elected Secretary.

Directors elected to two-year terms are: • Director (SW District), Don Vesely, WMTV, Madison; • Director (NE District), Chris Bernier, Radio Plus, Marinette/Fond du Lac; and • Director (NW District), Brad Heinkel, WAOW-TV, Wausau.

Due to an unexpected vacancy in for the SE Director position (formerly held by Keith Bratel, Milwaukee Radio Alliance), that seat remains open for now.

Mid-term Directors who were not facing re-election include: • (SW) Lupita Montoto, WLMV (LaMovida), Madison; • (NW) Lynn Bieritz, Mid-West Family Broadcasting, Eau Claire; and • (SE) Jan Wade, WISN-TV, Milwaukee.

In addition, with Steve Lavin being elected Secretary, Juli Buehler, WLUK-TV, Green Bay was elected to fulfill the remainder of Lavin’s unexpired NE Director term.

At-large Director re-appointed by the Board: Michael Wright, Midwest Communications, Wausau.

At-large mid-term Directors who were not facing re-election include Chuck Steinmetz, WITI-TV, Milwaukee; J.T. Koser, Koser Radio Group, Rice Lake/Hayward; Richard Wood, Resonant Results, (representing our Associate membership); and Gene Purcell, Educational Communications Board (representing non-commercial broadcasting).

In addition, Tom Walker, Mid-West Family Broadcasting, Madison, remains on the board as an ex-officio member, per his seat on the NAB Board, according to WBA bylaws.