Jay Huizenga, Vice President/General Manager of KELO-TV, Sioux Falls, SD was honored as the “2015 Broadcaster of the Year” by the South Dakota Broadcasters Association (SDBA) at their Annual State Leadership Conference held August 14 & 15, 2015, in Custer State Park. The award is given to broadcasters in recognition of their community service.
In his 35 years at KELOLAND Television, Jay has made a tremendous impact on the station and the entire state of South Dakota, which it serves. In Community Service, KELOLAND Television’s Avera Tradition of Caring program, led by Jay, donated $200,000 in airtime to more than a dozen non-profits which were chosen as 2015 Tradition of Caring Grant Recipients. Jay is also involved in frequent KELOLAND sponsored charity events, such as Keep KELOLAND Warm, a 2014 initiative that resulted in collecting thousands of coats for local people in need. In Community Affairs, when an ice storm destroyed the KPLO tower near Reliance, Jay worked with the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe to find a new location because the 50-year old tower had been built on Medicine Butte, land sacred to the tribe. A new tower was built in 2013, the old tower demolished, and the sacred land was returned to the tribe. In Jay’s commitment to Public Safety, KELO has increased its growing network of statewide Skycams, upgraded to the latest weather technology, and recently invested in updates for three Live Doppler radars.
Jay currently serves on the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; the Better Business Bureau Local Advisory Board; the Sioux falls Area Community Foundation Board of Directors; SFACF Development, Finance & Audit Committees; Volunteers of America Advisory Board; the Banquet Board of Directors; the Sioux Empire United Way Board of Directors, and the South Dakota Broadcasters Assn Board of Directors. Jay is a 2015 Inductee into the SD Golf Hall of Fame for 20 years of service and a past member of the United States Golf Assn Mid-Amateur Committee.
The SD Broadcasters Association is a membership organization that represents South Dakota’s radio and television stations. It provides education, legislative and regulatory assistance to its member stations, and in cooperation with those stations, provides community service to South Dakota.
