The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia

Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Luncheon
Wednesday, April 15, 2009

On Wednesday, April 15th, 2009, the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia had a very special luncheon, "A Tribute to Frank Ford." Early in March, we lost Frank, a longtime member of the Broadcast Pioneers. So our Wednesday, April 15th, was in his memory. It all took place at the beautiful Bala Golf Club, 2200 Belmont Avenue in Philadelphia!

120 people joined us as Frank's wife, Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham was our main speaker. She told us stories about her husband. This was a celebration of the life of Frank Ford.

Our MC for the afternoon was Broadcast Pioneers member Larry Kane, the Dean of Philadelphia News Anchoring. Addressing us was:

Dom Giordano, current WPHT talk show host and long time friend
Lew Klein, co-owner of Gateway TV and Exec. Producer of Bandstand
Sid Mark, long-time broadcast legend and colleague at WWDB-FM

Joining us on the telephone live from Florida wa Frank's long-time friend and former business partner of the Valley Forge Music Fair, Shelly Gross, a former President of Broadcast Pioneers.

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Each year, the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia awards scholarships. In 2009, we gave away twelve $1,000 scholarships which was an ALL TIME RECORD for the organization. Out of the 251 entrants (an all-time record), we have finally selected our winners. They will received their grants at our April 15th luncheon.

The winners were:

Adam Bradshaw, a sophomore from Rowan University
Shari-Gay Chrishna DaCosta, a sophomore from Temple University
Gillian Davis, a junior from Cabrini College
Charles Murphy, a sophomore from Drexel University
Rebecca Petner, a junior from LaSalle University
Patrick Rosenbaum, a sophomore from Temple University
Thomas Rossi, a junior from LaSalle University
Paul Russo, a sophomore from Rowan University
Danielle Sacco, a junior from Temple University
Monica Sellecchia, a junior from Temple University
Nicole Stefano, a junior from Rowan University
Heather West, a junior from Villanova University

Four of these scholarships were underwritten by Broadcast Pioneers Vice-President Kal Rudman. One of them was donated by member Esther Kurtz, in the memory of her late husband, David Kurtz, former of B-101.

The e-mail address of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia is pioneers@broadcastpioneers.com