The information below is the actual nomination language used by the person who submitted the nomination. All submissions had to answer three questions: one about the nominee's career, one about their contribution to the communist they served, and finally, about their contribution to the broadcasting industry in Arkansas.

Career and accomplishments as an Arkansas Broadcaster

Bobby Caldwell, owner and CEO of EAB, grew up listening to KWYN-AM in Wynne, which signed on 1956. Hea remembered hearing election returns, football games, “Purple People Eater” and Gene Autry’s Christmas songs. After graduation, he went to Arkansas State University to study business. But after getting engaged to Peggy Raley, he switched his college major to broadcasting. Raley’s father, Raymond, had owned KWYN-AM. He passed away in 1966, and Caldwell’s help was needed with the family business. After graduating with a Radio-TV degree from Arkansas State University, he went to work at the station in Wynne. He was mostly interested in the business side of radio but learned to do it all. He became vice president and general manager in 1973, later owning the station. As owner, he has seen much success over the years, thanks to his philosophy of being “local, local, local.” He will often tell those who ask about his success, “If you take care of the community, the community will take care of you.” Over the years, opportunities became available for Caldwell to add stations to his group. Today, EAB owns or operates radio stations that air on 60 signals, the largest broadcast group in Arkansas; a sports network that produces live audio and video presentations of multiple high schools across the state, along with Arkansas State University and Arkansas Tech University sports; an agriculture network and a news network, both of which air on Caldwell’s stations and several other radio stations statewide; two electronic newspapers and the EAB Media App, where all of the original content produced by Caldwell’s teams across the state can be accessed. He is one of the greatest advocates for the business, serving the Arkansas Broadcasters Association as a board member and past president, as board chairman of the National Association of Broadcasters Small-Medium Market Radio Committee, and representing the region on the NAB Board of Directors. He is the 2000 recipient of the ABA’s Silver Mic Award, the 2019 Leadership Award from the Broadcasters Foundation of America and completed NAB’s Executive Development Program for Radio at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business. With all his success, Caldwell remains a broadcaster to the core, arriving at the Wynne studio at 5:15 to go on-air to host oldies show until 9:00, when he spends the remainder of the day managing his operation.

Contributions to their community during their time as an Arkansas Broadcaster

An active member of his community, Caldwell has served as a board member for several philanthropic and business organizations during his career. He has also served on the board of First National Bank of Wynne, as a member of the Arkansas State University Foundation board of directors, and on the board of directors of the National Association of Broadcasters. His insistence on his stations being a community resource is perhaps his greatest service. While other broadcasters have utilized national programming services to fill airtime with inexpensive programming, Caldwell has kept his core local programs intact. The Yawn Patrol program is the oldest radio talk show in the Mid-South, running since 1956. To this day, community members come into the station to talk about their local projects with the radio hosts. It’s also a direct link for the community to hear from the two school superintendents in the county, the mayor of Wynne, the Cross County Judge and others, who all appear on the program monthly. The station has kept a log for decades of the people who have appeared on the program. Alongside local residents, the program has had lots of state and federal elected leaders appear. The program has a diverse listenership, thanks to the amount of local information presented. While HIPPA rules have prevented hospitals from sharing medical information with the public, those who are admitted to the Wynne hospital can designate whether they want their admission and dismissal announced on the radio to update their friends and others. One of the best examples of this contribution to the community is in his stations’ response to a massive tornado that struck Wynne in March of 2023. The EF-3 twister with 180 MPH winds made a direct hit on the town, destroying 84 businesses and homes and damaging 78 more. Because of Caldwell’s station’s connection to the community, local residents knew they could tune there to find out exactly where the storm was hitting. An early warning from the radio station resulted in Wynne High School letting students out early. While the community suffered four fatalities and 30 injuries, it could have been much worse, as the high school was completely destroyed. Listeners reported hearing warnings on the air that kept them away from the worst damage.

Contributions to our industry

Caldwell’s philosophy of broadcasting is community first – that local news, local sports and other local information is the most important thing in every community his company serves. While other broadcasters have gone to national platforms, importing programming from out of the market, he has focused on locally produced content. To this end, Caldwell has ensured that each market has a news and sports reporter. This support of local journalism is unusual, when local newspapers are shuttering, and other broadcasters are eliminating those positions. Many of his employees have large skill sets, and he pays better than the industry average for those who are capable of doing multiple things. Caldwell has purchased two local newspapers that folded and relaunched them as digital products in tandem with his radio stations in those communities, often hiring staff from the newspaper to serve as reporters. He has gone into communities where local media has suffered under previous cost-cutter ownership, made significant equipment and technology upgrades, and made key hires in these communities. He has brought back silent stations and made them viable parts of their local communities. Where others might see an industry in decline, he has proven that going back to basics and super-serving local audiences will lead to success. He believes that people need to have a vision, have patience, and think long-term.