BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Four Auburn Network stations were honored with prestigious ABBY Awards by the Alabama Broadcasters Association on Saturday in Birmingham.
Donny Blankenship was recognized as Best Radio Personality for his work on the morning show, The Donny B Show, on Wings 94.3. Additionally, the station was recognized for exceptional production work as Al Mason took home trophies for Best Public Service Announcement for his work on “Storybook Farm Derby Day” and for Best Event/Client Promo for his Opelika Rotary Club “Burger Wars” promo.
NewsTalk WANI’s Auburn-Opelika This Morning was named the state’s Best Talk Show, marking the 15th time that the show has received the award, while ESPN 106.7’s The Drive with Bill Cameron and Dan Peck was awarded the state’s Best Sports Talk Show for the second time in a row, third overall.
Jacob Goins, host of ESPN 106.7’s On the Line show, won Best Sportscaster in the state for his play-by-play efforts as Voice of the Lee-Scott Academy Warriors, whose games aired on AU100.
Since the annual ABBY Awards began 18 years ago, Auburn Network stations have earned 50 awards, more than any other media organization in the state.
“These six awards recognize our stations’ continued dedication and our staff’s continued dedication to broadcast quality and excellence,” said Steve Witten, Vice President and Market Manager. “I am extremely proud of all our teams, from on-air, to operations, to sales, and administration. It is satisfying to be recognized for our efforts, and I’m happy to be able to celebrate our passion for excellence, entertainment, information, and public service. A special thank you to Riley Hubbard for assembling the reels that we submitted to the ABA for consideration. That project required a lot of time and effort.”
Donny Blankenship, who hosts The Donny B Show weekday mornings on Wings 94.3, was named Best Radio Personality for the second straight year. “It is incredibly humbling to receive the ABBY award for Best Radio Personality for the second year in a row,” said Blankenship. “I thoroughly enjoy playing the best music ever made and providing some laughs to my listeners every morning. I’m looking forward to growing the show even more in the future. I’m also thankful to Steve and Ben for giving me this opportunity to do what I love.”
Al Mason, who handles most of the production efforts at Auburn Network, was recognized for his production of the Best Public Service Announcement and the Best Client/Event Promo. “I love working every day with local businesses and organizations as a trusted creative marketing partner,” said Mason. “For those efforts on behalf of our clients to be recognized by the ABA is especially rewarding!”
Ben Taylor received an honor on Saturday night as Auburn-Opelika This Morning was named Best Talk Show in its 26th year. The popular weekday morning show on NewsTalk WANI featuring local news, weather, commentary, and interviews has now received the honor 15 times.
“It’s very humbling to accept this award and be mentioned alongside legendary broadcasters Rod Bramblett and Andy Burcham who have previously hosted Auburn-Opelika This Morning,” said Taylor. It goes to show how important local radio is to our community. Thank you Auburn, Opelika, and Lee County for supporting local, supporting our community, and embracing this show for over 26 years. This award speaks to our wonderful community and what it has to offer, far more than it speaks to any of us responsible for the show.”
The Drive with Bill Cameron & Dan Peck was awarded Best Sports Talk Show. This marks the second straight year and third time overall The Drive has received the honor, and the sixth time that the award has been won by an ESPN 106.7 program. Bill Cameron has been involved in sports talk in the state since 1986 when he and former Voice of the Auburn Tigers Jim Fyffe began co-hosting a daily sports talk show in Montgomery. He has been a host of The Drive since joining the Auburn Network in 2013.
“Dan Peck and I have a great time getting to cover Auburn’s hometown teams for the Auburn-Opelika area which of course includes Auburn University, but also the incredibly successful high school programs in our area,” said Cameron. “I believe that we’ve built a quality program that listeners enjoy being able to engage with every weekday by calling in and sharing their opinions on Auburn sports as well as Alabama and the SEC. I also want to thank our studio engineer Drew Forehand, who has done a really great job behind the controls producing our show and making the show sound perfect every day.”
Jacob Goins, host of ESPN 106.7’s On the Line, was named Best Sportscaster in the state for his play-by-play efforts as Voice of the Lee-Scott Academy Warriors, whose games aired on AU100.
“I am honored and blessed to receive the ABBY Award for Sportscaster of the Year,” said Goins. “Thank you to Auburn Network, Radio Alabama, my Color Commentator Christian Griffin, and the coaches and players of Lee-Scott Academy for making this possible. Being the voice of a team has been one of the greatest joys of my life, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Operating under the master RadioAlabama brand, Auburn-Opelika stations include Wings 94.3 (WGZZ), 96.3 WLEE (WGZZ-HD2), ESPN 106.7 (WGZZ-HD3), NewsTalk WANI 98.7/1400 (WGZZ-HD4/WANI), AU100 (WAUE), and Tiger Country 104.5 (WAUE-HD2), along with East Alabama Living and East Alabama Weddings magazines. The media family also includes WSGN (WSGN), MIX 106.5 (WSGN-HD2), 105.1 WRFS (WRFS), KiX 100.3 (WYEA), KiX 96.3 (WFXO), SylacaugaNews.com, and RadioAlabamaSports.net. Collectively, the stations have been recognized and/or won 82 awards for broadcast excellence from the Alabama Broadcasters Association and are home to Alabama’s Radio Station of the Year for 2009, 2016, and 2017.
