Ted Koplar – 2018
For decades Ted Koplar’s name was synonymous with KPLR-TV. In his early days with the station he helped develop their first local news broadcasts and produced other local programming. In 1979 he became the station’s president/CEO. He founded World Events Productions in 1980, helped form the sanctioning body and cleared Kickboxing nationally. World Events won many awards for its production of Voltron as well as Denver the Dinosaur. Both shows went global. In TV’s technical end, he is credited with development of a digital system “Veil” that aids advertisers in the verification of airing of commercials. In the community he served as a member and chairman of the Nine Network board of directors, a member of the foundation board at Barnes Jewish Hospital and an advisor for Missouri University of Science and Technology.