By KALIN KROHE
Panhandle Post
Eagle Radio's KQSK 97.5FM Double Q Country Sports Director Dave Collins and KCOW 92.5FM/1400AM Morning Show Host/Production Director Jason Wentworth both won awards at the 2022 Nebraska Broadcasters Association (NBA) convention held Aug. 10 in Lincoln.
This year Wentworth won a Silver award for "Best Commercial" from the NBA for KCOW. The commercial was for Dave’s Pharmacy called "Bug on the Street."
Wentworth has been with Eagle Communications for 24 years, beginning in July of 1998.
Wentworth has been Commercial Production Director for Eagle radio stations in Alliance and Chadron since 1998; in the Fall of 1999 he began his 23-year run as host of the KCOW morning show.
Including this year, Wentworth has won nine Nebraska Broadcasters Association Awards since 2009 in categories including Commercial Spot, Promo Spot, Service To Children and Service to Community. Four of these have been Gold Awards, indicating best in the state of Nebraska.
"I love my job. I love Alliance. And I love having The Mighty K-Cow Art Players available at all times," Wentworth said. "In the Dave's Pharmacy spot that won this year I asked Mike Glesinger to interview a mosquito and I asked Tammy Griffee to be a mosquito. And for over a decade I've asked Kalin Krohe to be a weird old recluse who lives in the radio station basement. In most other workplaces this kind of stuff would result in some kind of HR meeting. I'm proud of the relationships I've built with our local businesses over the years. I feel glad that they trust me to put my fevered brain to work on their marketing messages. "
Wentworth has also received four Black Hills Advertising Federation awards for his commercial work.
"Jason Wentworth is a treasure in our market and on KCOW," Nebraska Regional Manager Olivia Hasenauer said. "Not only does he wake up listeners every morning with a live morning show, but Jason has also been production director of our Eagle stations in Alliance and Chadron for many years. His talent in commercial writing is second to none. Jason can be creative, funny, original and unique, serious, and most importantly different in his message creation achieving results that work for our clients. We are lucky to have Jason as a part of Eagle in the Panhandle and serving our customers with his creative writing skills."
Dave Collins, who joined Eagle Radio in Chadron as Sports Director in April 2015, has been honored with six awards by the Nebraska Broadcasters Association, recognizing his sports reporting for the state of Nebraska.
This year Collins won a Gold award for "Best Sportscast" from the NBA for KQSK.
"Dave Collins, is one of the best when it comes to sports broadcasting, year after year, he continues to win awards," Hasenhauer said. "He continues to lead in the state in sports broadcasting and Play-by-Play and we at Eagle are honored to have Dave as a part of our employee-owned company and the exclusive voice of The Chadron State Eagles. His talents are eminent with every broadcast and every on-air show, he's fun to listen to and makes you feel like you're right there in the game with Chadron State."
The NBA selected Collins as the 2018 bronze award recipient for the Best In‐Depth Sports Story for the Jay Long Show, as well as the bronze recipient for Best Sportscast for Morning Sports with Dave Collins.
"It's an honor to be recognized with a Gold award this year," Collins said. "During my 18-year career covering sports on the radio across Nebraska I've met and heard so many outstanding broadcasters, which makes it even more humbling and gratifying that my work shined among such a strong group of professionals across the state. I'm also grateful for all of the listeners that tune in during weekday mornings for sports reports on Eagle Radio, as well as on game day when Chadron State is on our airwaves. It's a pleasure to bring these broadcasts to our listeners!"
Collins competes against radio stations across the state of Nebraska including Lincoln and Omaha markets. Despite the steep competition, Dave has won six awards during his years with Eagle.