Halls of Fame

John Oelke – Legacy

​John Oelke began his broadcast engineering career here when was hired as vacation relief in 1961 by the St. Louis Pulitzer broadcast operation.

​In 1974 he was promoted to manager of engineering for KSD Radio. When the station was sold two years later, he took on additional duties for sister station KSD-FM, essentially becoming the company’s chief engineer. He built new studios, then repeated that task for WRTH.

​In 1984 Oelke became KSHE’s chief engineer, where he designed and built the station’s studios, transmitting facility and offices.

​After his “retirement” in 1996, John Oelke became site manager for St. Louis’ community broadcasting tower, which was shared by 10 FM stations, a digital TV antenna and several low-power TV stations.

Brad Hildebrand – 2015

Brad Hildebrand began his radio career on KSLQ St. Louis in 1973 where he worked as a DJ, traffic reporter, production director, assistant program director and host of talk programming. In 1984 he started CompuTraffic, one of the first independent companies in the nation to provide on-air traffic reports, and, later, news reports to subscribing radio and television stations. After selling the company in 1994, Brad developed the nation’s first traffic reporting website, and he expanded his traffic reporting operations to three other Midwestern cities. In 1998 he purchased an AM/FM radio operation in Washington, MO.

While working in the business full-time, Brad also taught at St. Louis Community College and Lindenwood University. His charity work over the years included the Missouri Special Olympics, Emmaus Homes, American Cancer Society and the Salvation Army.

Donny Brooks – 2007

​Donny “Soul Finger” Brooks hit the St. Louis market in 1962, taking a short-lived job at WBBR in East St. Louis, moving quickly to KATZ the following year and becoming a star disc jockey there. His young, energetic approach to his shows made him extremely popular, and job offers from other markets followed.

​By 1968 he was back in St. Louis and had moved through the ranks to take on the additional duties of music director and program director at KATZ. Donny left the market again in 1973 but returned to KKSS in 1975.

Skeets Yaney – 2013

One of the only live radio musical performers to make the transition to disc jockey in St. Louis, Clyde “Skeets” Yaney, the “Golden Voice Yodeler,” began performing for free, singing and yodeling on KMOX in the 1930s. Within three weeks he was hired, allowing him to quit his job in road construction. He soon achieved star billing as part of the Skeets and Frankie duo, part of the National Champion Hillbillies, a group was featured on KMOX and CBS Network programming into the 1950s. They developed a large nationwide following, and Skeets received a stream of gifts and fan mail from female admirers.

When economic pressures caused radio stations to do away with live entertainment, Yaney re-invented himself as a disc jockey, first on WEW, then KSTL, extending a local radio career that spanned 40 years, all the while continuing his personal appearances at local clubs and fairs.

Jim Holder – 2007

​Jim Holder came to KSD radio and TV from WDRQ in Detroit in October, 1971. His duties centered around the news and sports departments in radio and television. In May, 1979 Jim began an 18 year stint in the KMOX sports department, where he served as morning drive sports anchor and hosted a variety of local and national sports talk shows.

Jim moved to KTRS in February of 1996 and spent 10 years there as sports director.

He was honored by the Missouri Broadcasters in four different decades for his work.

Jeremy Lansman – 2013

After apprenticing at KRAB in Seattle, at the time one of four U.S. stations supported by listener donations, Lansman returned to his home town in 1967 intending to pioneer a station more open to the community, forms of expression, and ideas, than is common in mass media.

Staffed by volunteer announcers and producers, KDNA became a platform for unusual music, serious news, as well as a platform for political expression from John Birchers to Communists. 

Listener support was a new concept.  Cajoling listeners to give cash to keep the station afloat required constant on-air reminders. Keeping KDNA alive was a huge challenge for Lansman and his staff.  Lansman also had to deal with people who were offended by the broadcasting of ideas that included both right wing and left. A worn-down Lansman (and station co-owner Lorenzo Milam) sold KDNA in 1974 with the idea of establishing a new station in the non-commercial-educational band.  Besides local offspring KDHX, Lansman helped create a plethora of independent community stations throughout the country.