NYS Broadcasters Association To Welcome Kelly Into 2008 Hall Of Fame

ALBANY, NY (05/19/2008)(readMedia)-- The New York State Broadcasters Association (NYSBA) today announced that veteran Capital Region radio manager John Kelly has been named to NYSBA's 2008 Hall of Fame.

The Troy resident will be inducted during the Tony Malara Awards Dinner at NYSBA's 47th Executive Conference slated for June 24 at the picturesque Sagamore Resort Hotel in Bolton Landing.

Kelly began his career in 1962 when he landed an entry-level sales job at WTRY in Albany - a station he would end up leading to the top of the ratings in the first in a string of remarkable radio successes.

"John let his people take chances that most managers wouldn't," said longtime friend and NYSBA president Joseph A. Reilly. "John also had a great eye for talent."

When auto dealership giant Jim Morrell decided to get into the radio business in 1986, he chose Kelly to lead the way. During his tenure at Albany Broadcasting, Kelly guided WPYX to the top of the heap; the station's power ratio (the relationship between ratings and revenues) was number one in the country. In the 1990s, his astute management skills also helped propel WFLY to the same leadership position.

Named NYSBA's 1997 Broadcaster of the Year, Kelly modestly explained his success this way: "I never knew much about anything. I just hired good people and got out of their way."

But that's not the way Ed Levine, Galaxy Group owner and chairman of the Hall of Fame selection committee, saw it: "Anybody can get lucky once. John Kelly had numerous successes over a number of years all in one market. That separates him from the rest. John was a tough task masker with remarkable intuition. He always knew the right questions to ask."

A native of Poughkeepsie, Kelly spent many summers as a youth on a farm doing chores from dawn to dusk. He earned a business degree at SUNY- Farmingdale on Long Island, where he met Jane, the love of his life. They were married for 44 years until her death in 2004. Spending time with their three children and four grandchildren is one of the most satisfying aspects of his life.

Kelly, who stepped down from the radio business in 2002, has served as president of the NYSBA board and the Capital District Radio Association, chairman of the NYS Emergency Broadcast System, as a Kiwanis board member, and president of his local school board. He has also been the director of WVCR, Siena College's non-commercial radio station, which has become one of the nation's top college stations, and has played a role in developing Siena's electronic journalism major.

Kelly joins fellow Hall of Fame-bound nominees, including Roger King, the "father of modern TV syndication;" acclaimed radio general manager Bob Bruno; Edward F. McLaughlin, former president of ABC Radio Network and the man who discovered Rush Limbaugh; and, legendary Buffalo Bills television and radio announcer Van Miller.

For more information on NYSBA's 47th Annual Executive Conference, call (518) 456-8888, or go to www.nysbroadcasters.org.

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Founded in 1955, the NYS Broadcasters Association (NYSBA) represents the interests of more than 500 television and radio stations in the NYS Assembly, the US Congress, and various other legislative bodies. NYSBA also offers a variety of services to help the broadcasters of New York State better serve their communities. For more information, call (518) 456-8888 or go to www.nysbroadcasters.org.