CT Broadcasters Honors HOF, Award Winners

• The Connecticut Broadcasters Association (CBA) recently inducted new members into its Hall of Fame Class of 2024 during an event that also featured the inaugural CBA station awards, cleverly dubbed “The CBAs.”

The 2024 CBA Hall of Fame inductees:

•  John and Carol Babina, who founded WMNR, now an all-classical radio station in Monroe, CT, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023 and boasts some 60,000 listeners.

• Described as a “once-in-a-generation broadcaster,” Dom Bordonaro was a broadcast engineer for nearly 40 years, beginning with New City in Worcester, MA, and retiring in 2019 from Connoisseur Media as its Chief Engineer.

• Mark Davis, multi-Emmy Award winning Chief Political Correspondent for News 8 and WTNH.com, who has been “on the air” in Connecticut for 37 years and a broadcaster for more than 50. Davis co-hosted the state’s first Saturday morning news/information/magazine show, Good Morning Connecticut, and for most of the ’80s, he hosted the highest-rated weeknight radio call-in program in Connecticut, Dial Mark Davis on WTIC-AM/Hartford.

• Scot Haney: longtime reporter/anchor on WFSB-TV (Channel 3)/Hartford and co-host of Great Day Connecticut weekdays at 3pm on Channel 3. Haney started his on-air career in Topeka, KS as a weekend weathercaster and a weekday general assignment reporter and joined WFBS-TV in 1998.

• Dick Robinson’s nearly 70 years in radio began in Ware, MA and included stops in Holyoke, Springfield, and Providence before landing at WDRC/Hartford. He was a DJ, hosted record hops, and perhaps most notably founded the legendary Connecticut School of Broadcasting, where thousands of area broadcasters got their industry training.

THE CBAs also awarded “Best Of” honors to winners in 21 distinct categories. Here are the radio honorees:

• Best Engineer: Fred Santore, WKCI (KC101)/New Haven

• Best Non-Commercial Station: WWUH-FM (University of Hartford)

• Best Community Initiative (Radio): Chaz & AJ Toy Drive, WPLR/New Haven

• Best News Reporter (Radio): Morgan Cunningham, WTIC-AM/Hartford

• Best Talk Show (Radio): Melissa in the Morning, WICC-AM/Bridgeport

• Best Air Personality (Radio): Danny Lyons, WEBE-FM/Bridgeport

• Best College Radio Organization: ICE Radio, CT State Community College Manchester

• Best Morning Show (Radio): Brian & Company, WTIC-AM/Hartford

• Best Promotion (Radio): $5,000 Fugitive, WWRX (Jammin’ 107.7)/New London. (Pictured: That’s WWRX morning host Mikey V proudly showing off his major award)

• Station of the Year (Radio): WEBE-FM/Bridgeport

“The CBAs were our first station awards event ever and I think it’s safe to say they were an unqualified success,” stated Mike Ryan, President of the Connecticut Broadcasters Association. “Our stations enjoyed themselves, the friendly competition, and the camaraderie with industry colleagues. And we added six deserving people to the CBA Hall of Fame. Everyone is already talking about next year.”