The Connecticut Broadcasters Association, a collective of radio and television stations in the state, recently announced the Class of 2025 inductees to its “hall of fame” and the nominations for this year’s “best of” awards. The honors will be enshrined at a banquet, called The CBAs, in October.
“The ‘hall of fame’ shines a light on those who have devoted the majority, if not all, of their careers to Connecticut broadcasting,” said Kristin Okesson, the chair of the CBA. “The CBAs…are about coming together to celebrate the hard work and dedication of everyone in our industry.”
This year’s inductees include radio veterans Ray Dunaway, Danny Lyons and Juan Castillo, television personalities Kara Sundlun, Ann Nyberg and Joe Furey and tenured sales and station manager Klarn DePalma.
“How did that happen!” Sundlun said on television, having heard the news for the first time from Scot Haney, her co-host on WFSB Channel 3’s “Great Day Connecticut“. Haney was inducted into the CBA hall of fame last year.
“I’m so honored and humbled,” she later added on social media. Sundlun, who is married to fellow journalist and nominee for best anchor Dennis House, started reporting at WFSB in 2000.
Channel 3, the market’s CBS affiliate, is also up for ten CBA awards — including the prestigious station of the year award and best locally-produced show for the 9 a.m. hour of “Great Day,” which is hosted by Haney and Nicole Nalepa. Nalepa was nominated for best anchor and the station’s Mike Slifer, a Cromwell native, was nominated for best meteorologist. A number of featured stories rounded out WFSB’s award consideration.
NBC station WVIT Channel 30, and ABC affiliate WTNH Channel 8 were also nominated for station of the year — WNTH won the title last year.
1992 University of Connecticut School of Business alumnus Klarn DePalma, the only non-air talent to be inducted, is the senior vice president of sales for Nexstar Media Group — one of the largest owners of television stations nationwide; they own WTNH and WCTX Channel 59 in Connecticut.
“My years at UConn provided me with a foundation that has supported every stage of my career in broadcasting and sales,” DePalma said. “[UConn] not only prepared me academically but also taught me the importance of communication, teamwork, and perseverance — skills I still use every day…These lessons have guided me into the media industry and continue to influence how I approach leadership, partnerships, and innovation.”
DePalma was most recently the executive vice president for targeted media nationally and general manager of the Meredith Corporation’s New England cluster, which includes WFSB plus WGGB, WSHM and EGGB — the ABC, CBS and Fox affiliates in Western Massachusetts — and is involved with numerous charitable organizations. He began his career with WFSB as an entry-level salesperson shortly after graduating from UConn.
Inductees Furey and Nyberg can be seen on Channel 8’s newscasts. Furey shares the evening moniker of chief meteorologist alongside morning chief Gil Simmons. Connecticut has weathered storms with Furey for decades, with stints on various radio and television stations before joining WTNH in 2017.
Ann Nyberg, who is the longest-serving female news talent in Connecticut television history according to the CBA, enters the hall of fame after more than 40 years with Channel 8. In addition to anchoring the late weekday news, she produces and hosts NYBERG, an in-depth interview segment with local change-makers.
“We are over the moon to be inducted into the Connecticut Broadcasters Hall of Fame this October. We have been so privileged to be a part of this beautiful state of Connecticut, which we call home,” Nyberg said on social media. “This is icing on the cake, because we love what we do and will continue to do, to keep you all informed about as many things as we can.”
Radio inductee Lyons is going on 50 years in Connecticut broadcasting — the last 38 on WEBE FM 107.9 Westport, where he hosts The Lyons Den midday airshift. He won the CBA best radio air personality award last year and, in the past, he’s been the force behind charity fundraisers like the “WEBE 108 Kids Fest.”
Castillo, a fixture on WYBC FM 94.3 New Haven, is the afternoon drive jock and operations director; both stations are owned by Westport-based Connoisseur Media.
“Who would have thought…over 30 years ago,” Castillo said on social media. “Look mom, I’m going into the hall of fame!”
Dunaway, a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, worked in several markets before years of hosting the morning news show at WTIC AM 1080 Hartford starting in 1992. He retired in 2021 after co-hosting in recent years with Brian Shactman, who won best morning radio host last year.
WNPR FM 90.5 Meriden, WTIC FM 96.5 Hartford and WWYZ FM 92.5 Waterbury are the radio nominees for station of the year — with WACC FM 107.7 Enfield at Asnuntuck Community College and WWUH FM 91.3 West Hartford at the University of Hartford also nominated for noncommercial station honors. This year’s CBA awards will additionally recognize photojournalists, reporters and promotions and community initiatives from other area outlets.
The CBA was established in 1955 to address legal, governmental, and community issues for broadcast stations in Connecticut. They’ve been hosting conventions for over 60 years but started their hall of fame in 2015 — Previously inducted members include UConn sports and Willimantic-area radio fixture Wayne Norman, longtime newscasters Al Terzi, Gerry Brooks and the late Denise D’Ascenzo, beloved weatherman Dr. Mel Goldstein, Connecticut School of Broadcasting founder Dick Robinson and legendary WTIC morning host Bob Steele — among other important figures in New England broadcasting.
This year’s CBAs banquet, with the official hall of fame enshrinement and announcement of award winners, will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 7 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington, Connecticut.
More information about the CBA organization and a list of previous award winners is available at ctba.org.
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