CRS Announces Honorees, Scholarship Recipients

The Country Radio Broadcasters, Inc. (CRB) announces the 2022 Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award recipient and individuals selected to receive the Rusty Walker and Lisa McKay Women in Radio Scholarships.

Heather Froglear

Heather Froglear has been named the 2022 Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award recipient. Froglear will be recognized with the award during the New Faces of Country Music show, held during CRS 2022. Froglear has spent 28 years on the air at KFRG and currently sits on the Board of Directors for Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital and the Country Radio Seminar’s Agenda Committee. She is the creator of K-Frogger’s for Kids Radiothon, benefiting Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital. In its 20th year, K-Frogger’s for Kids Radiothon has cumulatively raised over $7 million. Froglear has involvement in several organizations supporting veterans, law enforcement, children, and more. These organizations include Lifestream, the Riverside Police Officer’s Association, the American Cancer Society Inland Empire Chapter, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and more.  

Every year, the Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award is given at the discretion of the CRB Board of Directors to recognize an individual in the Country Radio industry who has displayed a magnanimous spirit of caring and generosity in service to their community. The Tom Rivers Award is named in honor of CRB Board member Tom Rivers. Rivers, known for his work at WQYK, Tampa/St. Petersburg and WUSN, Chicago, was highly regarded for his public service. Past recipients of the Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award include Lon Helton, “Dollar” Bill Lawson, Dan Halyburton, Peter Smyth, Jeff Smulyan, Mary Quaas, George G. Beasley, and more.

CRB/CRS Board President Kurt Johnson remarks, "Heather is the kind of person this award was made for. She's not about prestige or celebrity, but she has lots of both and personally commits to using them for good. The power of her empathy raises the lives of people who need her. And we all need people like her. CRS is proud to recognize Heather's significant and very real service."

Receiving this year’s Rusty Walker Scholarship are Kyle Matthews (APD/MD, KFGE, Lincoln, NE), Spencer Campbell (Account Executive, WLVK Ft Knox, KY), and Morgan Taylor (On-Air Talent, KGRT, Las Cruces, NM), and set to receive the first-ever Lisa McKay Women in Radio Scholarship is Jacqueline Dunn Pailizzi (PM Drive and APD, WCJC, Marion, IN).  Each recipient will receive complimentary registration, hotel, and airfare for CRS 2022. Scholars will also be recognized at CRS 2022 during CRS Honors, which is the kick-off to the 3-day event.

CRS Executive Director, RJ Curtis, comments "CRS has a decades-long mantra of 'growth through sharing,' and today's award recipients fully live up to that spirit. Tom Rivers was an unselfish and empathetic broadcaster whose humanitarian acts were done with sincerity and humility. Heather Froglear is the perfect honoree for 2022 and lives up to Tom's namesake and legacy, as her impressive list of initiatives proves. Rusty Walker and Lisa McKay were two of our industry's most passionate and involved mentors, encouraging younger broadcast professionals to learn, excel, and lead. CRS is proud to host these aspiring and deserving industry professionals in 2022, and we believe Rusty and Lisa would be proud." 

Paisley Dunn

The Rusty Walker Scholarship Program honors former CRS board member, Rusty Walker. Walker was a Country Radio Hall of Fame inductee, an influential programmer and consultant, and mentor in the music industry. After his shocking passing in 2012, the scholarship program was developed to continue his legacy of supporting bright, young minds in the business. 

2022 marks the Lisa McKay Women in Radio Scholarship program debut and honors the late Lisa McKay, who successfully programmed WQDR/Raleigh for 16 years and was inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame in 2018. McKay was integral in helping the CRB launch the well-established annual Rusty Walker Scholarship program, formed to mentor up-and-coming programmers. The scholarship serves to advance younger females pursuing leadership roles in radio programming. 

CRS will be held Wednesday, February 23 through February 25, 2022, and will feature a jam-packed schedule that includes Country Radio Seminar’s most anticipated events, including educational panels, virtual networking, and workshops designed to provide instant, actionable takeaways.