Don't Forget to renew your membership!

It's time to renew your membership in Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia. Regardless of when you joined, dues go for a year. However, we invoice all members in May because we do the entire 488 members at one time.

Why? We use a volunteer to generate this material. If we had to do it every month, we would have to hire a service, pay them and charge more for dues. We try to keep our membership dues reasonable. Please help us do this by returning your dues with the invoice and your payment.

And for those who wish to do so, we would really appreciate an extra contribution. We are a charitable 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and donations can be tax deductible. Check with your tax advisor.

Just to update you on what has taken place in the last 12 months. Our membership has grown from 433 members to 488. That's a 17% growth rate. Keep in mind that Broadcast Pioneers is already the largest organization of its type anywhere on the planet.

We continue to mentor college students. We ran a two-hour career night on a local college campus a couple of months ago. In October, we will have a college student symposium that will be held at WPVI. Last year, it was at KYW-TV and the year before at WCAU-TV. So in three years, college students can actually see three different commercial television stations. We also bring students to our lunches and our annual banquet at no cost to them.

Four years ago, our board approved the establishment of our digital archival project. We have already digitally encoded over 10,000 pieces of audio and tens of thousands of broadcast related digital photos in this archive. Video items have also been digitized, including over two thousand TV shows.

Our mission continues to be to preserve the history of our broadcast market in pictures, words and audio/video. If you printed our website, you would need almost 12,000 pieces of paper - not counting any of our audio or video. Our future is bright. We are not just pioneers, but innovators in Philadelphia communications. Our mission continues. Let’s move forward. None of this would be possible without your support. Please renew your membership today. If you have NOT received your membership renewal, please contact us.

RESERVE NOW! CALL (856) 365-5600!

Our next Broadcast Pioneers luncheon is a "A Tribute to Herb Clarke." Herb was a former president and former chairman of the board of this organization. Most of us will remember him as the weather guy on Channel 10 for 40 years. Some of knew him for his love of gardening. He was the garden reporter at KYW Newsradio after his retirement from WCAU-TV.

The luncheon will be held at the Bala Golf Club, 2200 Belmont Avenue in Philadelphia on Wednesday, June 19th (that's the third Wednesday of the month). Meet and greet is at 12 noon and lunch will be served at 12:30 pm. Make plans to be there!

Our MC for the afternoon is Broadcast Pioneers member and former WCAU-TV reporter Terry Ruggles. Included in the speakers will be members Bill Baldini, Dick Kearney, Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz, Peggy King, Orien Reid Nix and more. Herb's widow, Barbara will be with us. Marlene Adelman, daughter of Robin and Ira and granddaughter of member Leon Love will present an original poem about Herb and weathercasting that afternoon.

(856) 365-5600! RSVP TODAY!

It all takes place at the beautiful and historic Bala Golf Club, 2200 Belmont Avenue (across the street from the State Police) in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia. Only minutes away from Channels 6, 10 and 17 and the radio stations in Bala Cynwyd. Call now for reservations. (856) 365-5600! Don't miss this one!

Meet and greet (networking) starts at 12 noon, and a full course lunch including salad, coffee or tea and dessert will be served at 12:30 pm. There will also be a crudité and cheese table. Cash bar available all afternoon!

(856) 365-5600! CALL IMMEDIATELY!

Plenty of FREE parking. The luncheon is open to all our members, their guests and any person in the industry or associated fields, whether active or retired. You do NOT have to be a member to attend. Call NOW with your reservation(s), (856) 365-5600!

In order to speed up check-in at the luncheon, it would help if you had the $28 in exact change or your $28 check already written. Make it payable to the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia.

WE'LL BE PROUD TO SEE YOU IN THE CROWD!

(Left to right) members David Kurtz and Jerry Lee

Our latest Broadcast Pioneers luncheon was a "A Tribute to B101. This month, they were 50 years old. Happy Birthday, B101. Previously, B-101 was known as Eazy 101 and WDVR. For 50 years, this station has been one of this market's top rated radio stations. It's one of only a few of major market stations still in the hands of a hands-on owner and not a group. Both David Kurtz and Jerry Lee have been members of this organization for decades.

The luncheon was held at the Bala Golf Club, 2200 Belmont Avenue in Philadelphia on Wednesday, May 15th (that's the third Wednesday of the month).

We had scheduled many marvelous speakers for your enjoyment. They were (in alphabetical order):

Allan Kalish, owner of Kalish & Associates, former manager of Kalish & Rice
Dave Kurtz, son of B101's founder and former owner, David Kurtz
Marlin Taylor, first WDVR's Station Manager and Program Director
Alan Tempest, The current Executive Director of the Philadelphia Ad Club

Our Keystone speaker was Former Broadcast Pioneers President and Former Chairman of the Board of Broadcast Pioneers, Jerry Lee, owner of B101.

Our MC for the afternoon was Blaise Howard, Vice-President and General Manager of B101. Happy Birthday to B101. Plus, early WDVR announcers Dave Shayer and Joaquin Bowman (both members of Broadcast Pioneers) also said a few words.

(Left to right) members Joaquin Bowman, Esther Kurtz, Marlin Taylor and Dave Shayer
(Some of the original WDVR Staff from 1963)
Broadcast Pioneers Luncheon, Bal Golf Club, Philadelphia
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
(Photo originally donated by member Joaquin Bowman)

It took place at the beautiful and historic Bala Golf Club, 2200 Belmont Avenue (across the street from the State Police) in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia. Only minutes away from Channels 6, 10 and 17 and the radio stations in Bala Cynwyd.

36 PHOTOS!
Photos taken by Broadcast Pioneers President Jerry Klein
These copyrighted images are protected under US Copyright.
Any usage without the express, written permission of
the copyright holder is strictly prohibited!
Usage does NOT fall under "Fair Use" of copyright laws!

Shortly, we hope to have complete video of the entire luncheon available, so keep checking back.

Normally, our newsletter is not available to the general public until one month after publication. During that first 30 days, it is viewable only by members. Last month, it was available to everyone because we were having some problems delivering it to our membership so we posted it on our front page of the website.

For May, we have temporarily resolved the issue by returning to our old system. However, that won't work long term because of the rapid growth of this organization. We have almost tripled our membership during the last seven years.

Beginning in June, our newsletter will be delivered differently. Details are in our May newsletter which is only available to members during the month of May. Broadcast Pioneers members should make a point to read it.

Yes, we are now on Facebook. "Like us" at http://www.facebook.com/broadcastpioneers! Visit us often!

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!

The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia since our beginning in 1962 has maintained archival material of broadcast related items for our market. In February of 2009, we started our DAP, Digital Archival Project.

Since its inception, we have digitized over 2,500 local TV broadcasts, 10,000 local radio broadcasts and have digitized nearly 20,000 photos and other documents. While the seems like a lot, in reality, it's only a very small portion (below 00.000001%) of what has been broadcast.

We are looking for donated materials. If you have or know of anyone willing to contribute any broadcast memorabilia, please contact us at 856-365-5600 or e-mail the Broadcast Pioneers at pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com. This would include photos, scans, audio, video and articles. This material may also be used on our website.

Don't have any of the above material but still wish to help out? We can use your cash! This has become an expensive project for us. We are a state-chartered, federally recognized charity with a 501(c)(3) status. Any contribution may be tax deductible on your federal income taxes. Check with your tax advisor.