Ken Beno
Ken Beno is dedicated to sharing his passion for broadcasting with high school and college students in the state and beyond. His career has enriched the broadcasting industry in Wisconsin and forged a path to state, regional and national broadcasting careers for many of his students. As chair of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Education Committee since 2001, Beno established innovative student outreach ranging from high school presentations, to a Radio Marketing Professional certification through the Radio Advertising Bureau for college students, to an annual student seminar. In 2002, he founded the WBA Student Awards for Excellence competition, which has since seen a four-fold increase in entries.
Beno, an Illinois native, began his radio career at WINI Radio in Murphysboro, Illinois. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and received his master’s degree from Eastern Illinois University. He taught broadcasting at Lake Land College in Illinois for many years and founded the college radio station. He also became the first station manager of WEIU-TV in Charleston, Illinois. Beno joined the WBA in 1991 and has been instrumental in developing the future of broadcasting ever since.
As one of Ken Beno’s former students, I can say that he is an excellent teacher and worthy of Hall of Fame induction. It’s always a pleasure to see worthy people being recognized.
Well deserved and a class act.
What a great honor for an awesome Man, learned alot from him. Congrats
I only had classes with Ken my freshman year, but he was without question, the best, and my favorite, broadcasting professor. He was absolutely dedicated to ensuring his students got their FCC 3rd Class License, which at that time was essential to finding a job in radio. I recently found notes from his classes back in 1975 that included his hand-drawn diagrams of the board and his real life lessons for success. Loved seeing this video. Ken’s smile and passion has never waned. Good on ya, WBA, for recognizing this outstanding man. Well deserved, Ken!