BHSD Radio Students Win Awards in National High School Radio Competition
Pete Bowers Wins Best Radio Station Advisor for the Second Time
Seven Bloomfield Hills School District radio broadcasting students were finalists in five categories at the Ninth Annual John Drury High School Radio Awards ceremony held November 19, 2011 on the campus of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. Two students, Cameron Billes and Eric Bloom, won 1st Place in the Best PSA category.
The John Drury High School Radio Awards were created to recognize excellence in high school radio broadcasting. These awards were named in honor of award-winning ABC-Chicago news anchor, John Drury. The awards were presented by North Central College and their student radio station WONC-FM.
Seven WBFH students were in the final five for five awards in this national competition:
Best PSA, 1st Place: Cameron Billes (Andover senior) and Eric Bloom (Andover junior)
Best PSA, Finalist: Paul Stewart (Andover senior) and Zac Barnett (Andover senior)
Best Radio Drama- Original, Finalist: Bobby Brandon (Lahser Class of 2011) and Jeremy Fishman (Andover senior)
Best Sportstalk Program, Finalist: Cameron Billes (Andover senior) and Jeremy Fishman (Andover senior)
Best Sportscast, Finalist: Alexander Madias (Andover junior)
Attending the event with the students was WBFH Station Manager Pete Bowers and Assistant Manager/Technical Director Randy Carr. Bowers won the Best Radio Station Advisor, an award he won the first time in 2005. He is the only advisor in the nation to have won that award more than once.
“I congratulate all the winners and nominees,” said Bowers. “I also would like to thank the students who wrote letters of recommendation for the Best Advisor Award: Justin Lopas, Paul Stewart, Zac Barnett and Kenny Selander”.
BHSD Radio Students Cover GOP Debate at Oakland University
Three WBFH radio students were among the throng of state and national media covering the live GOP presidential debate held at Oakland University November 9, 2011. Andover seniors Paul Stewart, Justin Lopas and Josh Lumsden applied for and received media credentials to cover the event, rubbing elbows with Detroit and network radio and TV reporters.
Working out of the media center near the debate stage, the students kept Biff Twitter followers in touch with tweets and photos throughout the debate. After the debate, they did their best to join the “wolfpack” of reporters who swarmed the candidates as they entered the post-debate media filing center. With microphones and video cameras in tow, they were able to move in close enough to ask questions to former Governor of Utah Jon Huntsman and former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania Rick Santorum.
Stewart is the WBFH Operations Manager and host of The Mixing Board from 7-9 p.m. Mondays. Lopas is the Assistant Operations Manager/Assistant Technical Director and host of The Justin Lopas Show from 7-9 p.m. Tuesdays. Lumsden is the Public Affairs Director and host of The Den from 5-7 p.m. Tuesdays. Their shows can be heard at 88.1 on the FM dial or online at www.wbfh.fm.
“It was exciting to be there,” said Stewart. “When we heard the debate was going to be at Oakland University, we knew right away that we wanted to cover it”, he said. “We decided to apply for media credentials”, said Lopas. “Receiving those and covering the event was an extremely valuable experience for me”, he said. “We think we were the only high school students in the press corps”, said Lumsden.
WBFH Station Manager Pete Bowers was impressed with the perseverance of his students. “They didn’t care that they were high school students on a high school radio station. They got the credentials totally on their own. It was cool to see them hone their multimedia skills on a national stage,” Bowers said.
The debate will be remembered for Governor of Texas Rick Perry’s forgetfulness but it will be a memory these media students will never forget.
A video with interviews of Huntsman, Santorum and Perry can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/user/FoursquareProduction?blend=22&ob=5
BHSD Radio Students Attend Broadcasting Career Builder Conference in Lansing
Heather Catallo, Former WBFH Student and Current Channel 7 Investigative Reporter, is Keynote Speaker
Twenty-six Bloomfield Hills School District broadcasting students attended the 6th Annual Broadcasting Career Builder Conference (BCBC) held at Lansing Community College West Campus, November 4, 2011. BCBC was presented by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation (MABF) and offered informational sessions for high school and college broadcasters who may be interested in pursuing a career in the broadcast industry.
The Keynote Address was given by Channel 7 Investigative Reporter Heather Catallo who talked about the life of a reporter at a Detroit television station. Catallo started her broadcasting career as a WBFH-FM Staff Member for three years at Andover High School. She served as The Biff Program Director her senior year.
WBFH Station Manager Pete Bowers introduced Catallo at the conference. “It was a thrill for me to see Heather”, Bowers said. “I had not seen her in person since she graduated from Andover in 1994. I see her on Channel 7 all the time. It is so rewarding to see one of my former students perform award winning news reports on Detroit television”.
Attending the conference along with Bowers was Assistant Manager Randy Carr and 26 students from the Exploring Electronic Media and WBFH Staff classes: Paul Stewart, Adam Kurtagh, Alexander Madias, Ayman Alam, Michael Blumenthal, Bryan Brown, Jacqueline Shandler, Zac Barnett, Josh Lumsden, Danny Harwood, Leo Goldman, Bryan Furlong, Kenny Selander, Winston Parker, Cameron Billes, Grace McIlhon, Jeremy Fishman, Tyler Kieft, Justin Lopas, Leanna Dixon, Tatyana Pearson, Jack Ferszt, Lizzy Sabol, Brock Appleby, D.L. Graham and Patrick Jabero.
Students attended three sessions before the Keynote Address: 40 Ways to Jump Start Your Career; Making the Most of Your College Broadcasting Experience; and The WRITE Path to Success in a Multimedia World. More information about the conference can be found at www.mybcbc.com.
The Biff did a live broadcast from the Bloomfield Township Open House on October 16 (Bryan Brown) and from College Night October 17 (Justin Lopas and Paul Stewart).
The Biff did a live broadcast from the Charles Bowers School Farm Sunday, August 21 from 4-7 p.m. The Corn Roast was a fundraiser for the Board of Preservation Bloomfield and Friends of Preservation Bloomfield. Biff DJ's were Justin Lopas and Josh Lumsden.
The Biff did a live broadcast from the Dream Cruise Saturday, August 20. For the eleventh year in a row, WBFH was live from the southeast corner of Woodward Avenue and Square Lake Rd., the former location of Ted's Restaurant, a popular stop for cruisers in the 60's. Student broadcasters provided car-by-car commentary amid clouds of burning rubber: Paul Stewart, Justin Lopas, Jeremy Fishman, Kenny Selander, Bryan Brown, Bryan Furlong, Winston Parker, Leo Goldman, Zac Barnett, Eric Bloom and Sean Shepard. Spinning the tunes was Mark Stewart. Alumni stopping by included Wade Fink, Kevin Furlong, Lauren Pohl and Ari Quan. Thank you to Dr. Bloom for providing bagels and Mrs. Stewart for getting pizza and hot dogs.
WBFH PLEDGE DRIVE AIRED APRIL 14-16
RAISED OVER $6000 FOR STATION
BIFFSTOCK CONCERT FEATURED DETROIT AREA HIP HOP ARTIST DREW32
The Bloomfield Hills School District’s radio station WBFH, also known as The Biff, aired its 35th Annual Biffstock pledge drive April 14-16. Biff students collected $6180.00 in cash and pledges from listeners in the community to help underwrite radio station enhancement expenses.
“Our radio-a-thon is a fun event for the radio students and it gives listeners a chance to support community radio with their donations” said WBFH Biffstock Chair and Lahser Senior Lauren Pohl. All 25 WBFH staff students from Andover and Lahser were on the air with two hour shifts for a total of 32 hours of live programming, broadcasting live during the school day from Lahser High School April 14 and from Andover High School April 15.
A benefit concert was held in the Andover Theater April 15. Performing was one local Andover rock band and the rap duo The Stewart Brothers. Headlining the concert was popular Detroit area hip hop singer Drew32 (http://drew32.com). A $5 donation was collected at the door.
There are five levels of support for those that donated to The Biff: General Admission ($10), Balcony ($25), Main Floor ($50), Backstage Pass ($100), and Meet & Greet ($250 or more). There were 30 families and individuals who donated during the pledge drive. Those donors received announcements aired on the station and are listed on the station’s website under “Sponsors”.
Corporate sponsors this year include Buffalo Wild Wings, Papa Romano’s, City Scape Deli, Woodward Framing, Outback Steak House, Buddy’s Pizza, Brooklyn Bagel, League of Women Voters Oakland Area, Dental Sleep Medicine of Michigan, Franklin Auto Service, Jet’s Pizza and Brae Burn Golf Club.
Listeners who would still like to be an underwriter can do so by calling (248) 341-WBFH. There also is a link on the station’s website or listeners can e-mail pledges to TheBiff@Radio.fm.
Listeners are also encouraged to join The Biff Fan Group on Facebook. Search “WBFH 88.1 FM, The Biff” and click “Like”. Listeners can also follow the station on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TheBiff881.
WBFH, which can be heard at 88.1 on the FM dial or online at www.wbfh.fm, is licensed to the Board of Education of the Bloomfield Hills School District. The community radio station is supervised by the WBFH management team of Station Manager Pete Bowers and Assistant Manager/Technical Director Randy Carr. WBFH has been honored recently with both national and state recognition. The Biff won 1st Place, Best High School Radio Station in a national competition entitled The John Drury High School Radio Awards last November. WBFH was named the 2011 High School Station of the Year by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters at their annual conference March 9.
Congrats to Biffer Brent Johnson who was awarded an Outstanding Youth Citizen Award by Bloomfield Youth Guidance at their annual dinner held April 20 at Bloomfield Open Hunt. Brent and his sister Cora also won a scholarship from the Bloomfield Township Police Department.
Four WBFH Radio Students Win Top Two Places in County-wide PSA Contest
Bloomfield Hills School District radio broadcasting students won 1st Place and 2nd Place in a contest for Oakland County high school students to write a Public Service Announcement for the theme “What Can I Do?: The Green Power of One.” Sponsored by the League of Women Voters Oakland Area (www.lwvoa.org), the contest was open to all public, private, parochial and home-schooled students who attend or reside in Oakland County.
In the Radio Category, Andover juniors Paul Stewart and Zac Barnett won 1st Place and split a $250 cash prize. Andover juniors Grace McIlhon and Jeremy Fishman tied for 2nd Place and each won a $100 cash prize. WBFH Station Manager Pete Bowers was recognized as faculty advisor for the Biff radio students.
LWVOA PSA Committee Chairperson Renate Soulen presented the awards at the Bloomfield Township Public Library March 31, 2011.
The theme of the contest emphasized the opportunities and responsibility of each individual to conserve energy. Entries were judged on creativity, originality, clarity, motivational message and the use of theme. The winning entries will air on the commercial radio station WWJ Newsradio 950 in Detroit.
Photo below left to right: Pete Bowers, Zac Barnett, Judy Bateman (LWVOA President), Paul Stewart, Jeremy Fishman
Pete Bowers Honored for 34 Years of Distinguished Service to School District.
Video link: http://www.vimeo.com/22652756
Station Manager Pete Bowers received the 2011 Distinguished Service Award for significant contributions to Bloomfield Hills Schools March 24 at the School Board meeting. Attending the meeting in support of Mr. Bowers were his brothers, aunt, wife, sons, current students, former students, current parents, former parents, and Randy Carr.
Ten WBFH Radio Students Win 10 State Broadcasting Awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation (MABF)
WBFH Named 2011 High School Station of the Year
Bloomfield Hills School District radio broadcasting students won four first place awards, three second place awards and three third place awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation (MABF) at their annual Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference held March 9, 2011 at the Lansing Center in Lansing. WBFH tied for the most cumulative points in all categories entered and was awarded the 2011 High School Station of the Year. This was the seventh time in the last nine years that WBFH has won the Station of the Year Award.
The MABF received 411 entries from 29 schools for their annual High School and College Broadcasting Awards competition. WBFH students won 10 of the 24 awards given out in the high school radio division:
Andover junior Cameron Billes won four awards: 1st Place, MHSAA Sports PSA (with Eric Bloom); 1st Place, Sports Play-by-Play (with Eric Bloom); 2nd Place, Daily Newscast/News Feature; 2nd Place, Promotional Announcement (with Eric Bloom).
Andover sophomore Eric Bloom won four awards: 1st Place, Sports Play-by-Play (with Cameron Billes); 1st Place, MHSAA Sports PSA (with Cameron Billes); 2nd Place, Promotional Announcement (with Cameron Billes); 3rd Place, Talk Show (with Max Gun).
Andover junior Grace McIlhon won one award: 1st Place, Daily Newscast/News Feature.
Andover junior Kenny Selander won one award: 1st Place, Promotional Announcement (with Alexander Madias).
Andover sophomore Alexander Madias won one award: 1st Place, Promotional Announcement (with Kenny Selander).
Andover sophomore Danny Harwood won one award: 2nd Place, Sports Play-by-Play (with Joshua Berger).
Andover sophomore Joshua Berger won one award: 2nd Place, Sports Play-by-Play (with Danny Harwood).
Andover senior Max Gun won one award: 3rd Place, Talk Show (with Eric Bloom).
Andover junior Zac Barnett won one award: 3rd Place, Daily Newscast/News Feature.
Lahser senior Bobby Brandon won one award: 3rd Place, Station Activities Report.
The WBFH management team of Station Manager Pete Bowers and Assistant Manager/Technical Director Randy Carr were present to congratulate the award winning students and accept the Station of the Year Award. “Only two of our ten award winning students are seniors. I was very happy to see the underclassmen win as many awards as they did” said Bowers.
Two WBFH Students Win State Broadcasting Award from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation (MABF)
For Television Production
Two Bloomfield Hills School District broadcasting students won a first place award from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation (MABF) at their annual Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference held March 9, 2011 at the Lansing Center in Lansing.
In the High School Television division, Lahser seniors Scott Swanson and Bobby Brandon won 1st Place in the News Feature/Magazine Program category. Swanson recorded and edited the video and Brandon recorded the narration for the production.
Both students are members of the school district radio station WBFH. This was the first time in WBFH history that students entered and won an award in the Television division.
The MABF received 411 entries from 29 schools for their annual High School and College Broadcasting Awards competition.
The WBFH management team of Station Manager Pete Bowers and Assistant Manager/Technical Director Randy Carr were present to congratulate the award winning students for their historic accomplishment.
“I was thrilled to see them win first in the state over many outstanding high school television programs in Michigan” said Bowers.
Pete Bowers and Randy Carr were elected to officer positions in the Michigan Association of Educational Broadcasters (MAEB) February 11. Bowers is the new president and Carr is the new treasurer of the state association.
Biff Students Win Nine Awards in National High School Radio Competition
WBFH Wins 1st Place, Best High School Radio Station in the Nation for the Fourth Time
Bloomfield Hills School District radio broadcasting students won a total of nine awards in seven categories at the Eighth Annual John Drury High School Radio Awards ceremony held November 13, 2010 on the campus of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. Based on the number of award winners, WBFH won 1st Place, Best High School Radio Station. It was the fourth year in the last five years that WBFH had won or tied for Best High School Radio Station.
The John Drury High School Radio Awards were created to recognize excellence in high school radio broadcasting. These awards were named in honor of award-winning ABC-Chicago news anchor, John Drury. The awards were presented by North Central College and their student radio station WONC-FM.
Fourteen WBFH students were nominated for 17 awards, the most of any high school entering this national competition. WBFH students won five 1st Place awards; three 2nd Place awards and one 3rd Place award:
Best Promo, 1st Place: Alex Scharg
Best Sports Play-By-Play, 1st Place: Ryan Bloom
Best Radio Drama- Adaptation, 1st Place: Alex Scharg
Best Public Affairs Program, 1st Place: Josh Loney
Best Newscast, 1st Place: Alex Osten
Best Promo, 2nd Place: Josh Loney
Best Newscast, 2nd Place: Josh Loney
Best Public Service Announcement, 2nd Place: Chad Shepard
Best Sportscast, 3rd Place: Josh Loney and Robert Berman
Also nominated for a Drury Award were: Alan McGee, Bobby Brandon, Jesse Haji-Sheikh, Patrick Garretson, Tyler Kieft, Kevin Furlong, Bryan Furlong and Grace McIlhon.
The Best High School Radio Station award was presented to the WBFH management team consisting of Station Manager Pete Bowers and Assistant Manager/Technical Director Randy Carr.
WWPT from Westport, Connecticut and WLTL from LaGrange, Illinois took 2nd and 3rd Place in the station competition.
“I congratulate all the winners and nominees,” said Bowers. “I’m very proud of our students who won and for WBFH picking up another Best High School Radio Station award.”
Josh Loney had the most nominations of any student (8) and won a total of four awards. Loney, now a freshman at Michigan State University, made the trip to Naperville to accept his awards. “My goal for WBFH was to win best station in the state and best station in the nation in 2010 and we accomplished that” said Loney. Scharg was one of only two students who won two first place awards.
First place award winners were also given a $1,000 scholarship to attend North Central College.
The Biff's special election night broadcast was heard by a record number of online listeners this fall. Co-hosts Brent Johnson, Scott Swanson and Pete Bowers covered the ballot proposals and school board race live on the air from 7-11 p.m. Randy Carr was the producer for the show.
Twenty three Andover and Lahser broadcasting students attended the Broadcasting Career Builder Conference (BCBC) at the Lansing Community College West Campus on Friday, October 29. The BCBC was sponsored by the MAB Foundation. Mr. Bowers, who is on the MABF Board of Directors, was the moderator for the session entitled "Perfecting Your Resume". Mr. Carr was a chaperone. Keynote speaker was Nick Craig, the mid-day air personality on Channel 95.5 in Detroit.
Biff students did a live broadcast from the Bloomfield Township Open House October 10. Broadcasting were Zac Barnett, Alex Osten and Marchelle Washington.
The Greater West Bloomfield Cable Communications Commission recognized Josh Loney as the recipient of its 2010 Cable Scholarship at their meeting August 12. Loney, a June graduate of Andover, is continuing his communications studies at Michigan State University.
Biff broadcasters were LIVE from the Dream Cruise August 21 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. for the 11th year in a row. We were at the southeast corner of Woodward and Square Lake Rd., the former site of Ted's Restaurant, a famous cruiser stop back in the day. Biff DJ's at the Biff booth included: Eric Bloom, Bryan Furlong, Scott Swanson, Jeremy Fishman, Tyler Kieft, Max Gun, Brent Johnson, Sean Shepard, Zac Barnett, Bobby Brandon, Kenny Selander, Lauren Pohl and Ari Quan. Managers on site were Pete Bowers, Randy Carr and Tom Bowers. Alumni stopping by included: Scott Alexander (L-02), Rick Dernberger (L-80), Kelly Reagan (L-81), Jay Fishman (A-06), Wade Fink (A-07), Ridwan Alam (A-09), Josh Loney (A-10), Kevin Furlong (A-10), Patrick Garretson (L-10) and Chad Shepard (L-10). Pizza was donated by Dr. Bloom.
The Biff sponsored one of the 18 holes at the MAB Foundation Golf Scramble July 16. This golf event was a fundraiser for the Foundation which presents student scholarships and performance awards to high school and college broadcasters in the state. The Scramble was at The Inn at St. Johns in Plymouth Michigan. Biffer Cameron Billes was a volunteer for the event and Pete Bowers was there to help out where needed.
Pete Bowers was elected to the Board of Directors of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation July 15. He will be serving a three year team on the MAB Foundation Board and will be on the BCBC Committee.
Other Biff news from this summer: Ron Wittebols resigned as Remote Broadcast Supervisor and we don't have anyone to fill that position...which proves what we've known all along...Uncle Ron is irreplaceable; Randy Carr installed a new audio board in Studio C with talkback to Studio B; WBFH combined with Andover to pay for a new 16 speaker sound system in the Andover cafeteria; Pete Bowers provided sound for the Bowers Farm barn makeover event; and WBFH has DirecTV now on four TV's in the station through DirecTV's School Choice program.
Congratulations to the 11 Biff seniors who graced the Bloomfield airwaves for the last few years: Kevin Furlong, Ryan Bloom, Patrick Garretson, Josh Loney, Josh Gordon, Drake Deitch, Alan McGee, Robert Berman, Chad Shepard, Alex Scharg and Jesse Haji-Sheikh. This group of talented young broadcasters leave the Biff after having won a total of five national and 46 state broadcasting awards.
The Biff was featured on the front page of the May 19 edition of the Eagle newspaper. Read it by clicking on www.candgnews.com.
BIFFSTOCK 2010 PLEDGE DRIVE BRINGS IN OVER $5000 IN DONATIONS AND PLEDGES!
The Bloomfield Hills School District’s radio station WBFH, also known as The Biff, began broadcasting its 34th Annual Biffstock pledge drive April 15th and concluded April 17th at 3 a.m. WBFH students collected money and pledges from listeners in the community to help underwrite radio station enhancement expenses.
Donations and pledges totaled over $5000.00. An exact total will be posted here soon as well as a list on donors. Thank you for your support!
“Our radiothon is a fun event for the radio students and it gives listeners a chance to support community radio with their donations” said WBFH Biffstock Chair and Andover senior Josh Loney. All 26 WBFH staff students from Andover and Lahser were on the air for two hour shifts for a total of 33 hours of live programming. Listeners can also follow the station on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TheBiff881.
There are five levels of support for those that want to be a fan of The Biff: General Admission ($10), Balcony ($25), Main Floor ($50), Backstage Pass ($100), and Meet & Greet ($250 or more). Those who donate receive donor announcements aired on the station and a fan swag bag consisting of a Biff bumper sticker, pen, button and T-shirt. Listeners who would like to be an underwriter can do so by calling (248) 341-WBFH. They can also fax in pledges to (248) 341-5679 or e-mail pledges to TheBiff@Radio.fm.
Listeners are also encouraged to join The Biff Fan Group on Facebook. Search “WBFH 88.1 FM, The Biff” and join the fan group.
The station broadcast live during the school day from Lahser High School Thursday, April 15 and from Andover High School Friday, April 16.
A benefit concert was held in the Andover gym Friday night. Performing were local bands Twentyforseven, Live the Dash, Magic Firewater and Anemic Royalty. DJ's Amir and Lex kicked off the show at 5. They also performed in the lunch room during lunch before enthusiatic crowds. A $5 donation was collected at the door.
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