The MAB received 458 entries from 33 schools for their annual High School and College Broadcasting Awards competition. WBFH students won 14 of the 26 awards given out in the high school radio division:
Chad Shepard (Lahser senior)
1st, MHSAA Sports PSA
1st, Sportscast/Play-by-Play
2nd, Promotional Announcement
3rd, Talk Show (with Bobby Brandon)
3rd, Air Check (with Drake Deitch)
Josh Loney (Andover senior)
1st, Talk Show
2nd, Air Check
3rd, Daily Newscast/News Feature
3rd (tie), Promotional Announcement
Josh Gordon (Andover senior)
2nd, Public Service Announcement
3rd (tie), Promotional Announcement
Kevin Furlong (Andover senior)
1st, Daily Newscast/News Feature
Patrick Garretson (Lahser senior)
1st, Promotional Announcement
Ryan Bloom (Lahser senior)
3rd, Station Activities Report
Drake Deitch (Andover senior)
3rd, Air Check (with Chad Shepard)
Bobby Brandon (Lahser junior)
3rd, Talk Show (with Chad Shepard)
This was the sixth Station of the Year Award WBFH has won in the last eight years.
Biff staffers won four first-place awards, three second-place awards and three third-place awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation (MABF) at their annual Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference at the Lansing Center in Lansing, Michigan.
WBFH tied for the most cumulative points in all categories entered and was awarded the 2011 High School Station of the Year. This was the seventh time in the last nine years that WBFH has won the Station of the Year Award.
The MABF received 411 entries from 29 schools for their annual High School and College Broadcasting Awards competition. WBFH students won 10 of the 24 awards given out in the high school radio division:
Cameron Billes (Andover junior)
1st, MHSAA Sports PSA (with Eric Bloom)
1st, Sports Play-by-Play (with Eric Bloom)
2nd, Daily Newscast/News Feature
2nd, Promotional Announcement
(with Eric Bloom)
Eric Bloom (Andover sophomore)
1st, Sports Play-by-Play (with Cameron Billes)
1st, MHSAA Sports PSA (with Cameron Billes)
2nd, Promotional Announcement (with Cameron Billes)
3rd, Talk Show (with Max Gun)
Alexander Madias (Andover sophomore)
1st, Promotional Announcement (with Kenny Selander)
Danny Harwood (Andover sophomore)
2nd, Sports Play-by-Play (with Joshua Berger)
Joshua Berger (Andover sophomore)
2nd, Sports Play-by-Play (with Danny Harwood)
Zac Barnett (Andover junior)
3rd, Daily Newscast/News Feature
Kevin Furlong (Andover senior)
1st, Daily Newscast/News Feature
Patrick Garretson (Lahser senior)
1st, Promotional Announcement
Ryan Bloom (Lahser senior)
3rd, Station Activities Report
Drake Deitch (Andover senior)
3rd, Air Check (with Chad Shepard)
Bobby Brandon (Lahser junior)
3rd, Talk Show (with Chad Shepard)
3rd, Station Activities Report
Grace McIlhon (Andover junior)
1st, Daily Newscast/News Feature (with Chad Shepard)
Kenny Selander (Andover junior)
1st, Promotional Announcement (with Alexander Madias)
Max Gun (Andover senior)
3rd, Talk Show (with Eric Bloom)
The WBFH management team of Station Manager Pete Bowers and Assistant Manager/Technical Director Randy Carr were present to congratulate the award-winning students and accept the Station of the Year Award. “Only two of our ten award-winning students are seniors. I was very happy to see the underclassmen win as many awards as they did,” said Bowers.
Two Bloomfield Hills School District broadcasting students won a first-place award from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation (MABF) at their annual Great Lakes Broadcasting Conference held March 9, 2011 at the Lansing Center in Lansing.
In the High School Television division, Lahser seniors Scott Swanson and Bobby Brandon won 1st Place in the News Feature/Magazine Program category. Swanson recorded and edited the video and Brandon recorded the narration for the production. Both students are members of the school district radio station WBFH. This was the first time in WBFH history that students entered and won an award in the Television division.
The MABF received 411 entries from 29 schools for their annual High School and College Broadcasting Awards competition. The WBFH management team of Station Manager Pete Bowers and Assistant Manager/Technical Director Randy Carr were present to congratulate the award winning students for their historic accomplishment. “I was thrilled to see them win first in the state over many outstanding high school television programs in Michigan,” said Bowers.
A lot of students have worked the studios of The Biff, which means a lot of parents have stopped by the station offices located in Andover High School. Two dads stopped by one day...
(Article from Radio Magazine®, The Technology Leader website.)
(May 2, 2012) In an effort to raise awareness of high school radio stations and their activities, Pete Bowers creates High School Radio Day.
October 9, 2011 was the first-ever College Radio Day, launched to bring awareness to college (and some high school) radio stations worlwide. Shortly after WBFH Station Manager Pete Powers attended the National College Media Convention in Orlando and sat in on the session entitled “College Radio Day “ led by Founder and President Rob Quicke. During the session, Bowers thought “Wny not have a High School Radio Day?” While high school stations can register with College Radio Day, Bowers thought a day dedicated to just high school stations was in order.
Before proceeding, Bowers bounced the idea off Quicke who gave it a thumbs-up. Both agreed that High School Radio Day would not compete with College Radio Day, but the two would complement each other. Bowers suggested that High School Radio Day be held in May, which is the month the first high school radio station signed on the air in 1949. HSRD would bring awareness to high school staitons and start to promote College Radio Day, which will be October 2, 20212.
The plan is to make High School Radio Day an annual event. Stations can register to participate.
Plans in the works include a nationwide web chat with participating stations on May 16. High school radio students and advisers will be able to share thoughts through video streaming.
The Intercollegiate Broadcast System, Collegiate Broadcasters, Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation and College Radio Day are supporters of the event.
1. Kids say the darndest things.
2. High school radio stations don’t play commercials...never have, never will.
3. You can call a high school radio station with a song request and actually talk to the DJ.
4. If it’s a hot topic in your community, it’s a hot topic on your local high school radio station.
5. Three words: high school sports!
6. High school radio stations play the hits, but it doesn’t have to be a hit to be played on a high school radio station.
7. One word: LOCALISM!
8. They don’t have as many pledge drives as NPR stations.
9. Breaking news on a high school radio station is about the fight in the hallway at lunch; not the fight in a bar in town at 2:00 a.m.
10. The DJ on a high school radio station might be sitting at the desk right next to you in your math class.
The League of Women Voters Oakland Area sought entries from Oakland County high school students for a public service announcement contest. The contest was open to all public, private, parochial and home-schooled students who attend or reside in Oakland County.
The theme was Know Before You Go, Be an Informed Voter. Bloomfield Hills School District radio broadcasting students won 1st Place, 2nd Place and 3rd Place.
Andover Junior Bryan Brown won 1st Place and received a $350 cash prize. Andover Senior Kenny Selander won 2nd Place and received a $250 cash prize. Andover Senior Paul Stewart and Andover Sophomore Mark Stewart won 3rd Place and received a $150 cash prize.
The winning entries aired on WWJ Newsradio 950 in Detroit.
Staffers Participating:
9:00 a.m. - 10:40 a.m. (4th Hour): Marcus, Mark, Adam, Sean
10:40 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. (6th Hour): DJ Bling, Evan, Jack
11:45 a.m. - 12:50 p.m. (6th Hour): Ayman, Blake
12:50 p.m. - 1:55 p.m. (Advisory): Sam, Julian, Brock
1:55 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. (Advisory): Matthew, Jaron, Mazen
3:00 p.m. _ 5:00 p.m. (“Excuse the Disturbance”): Ben, Josh, Dylan
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. (“Late Knight Sports”): Michael, Sean
Write up in The Oakland Press about the brand-new Biff Radio app, designed to make listening to The Biff that much more convenient.
BLOOMFIELD HILLS.—Bloomfield Hills Schools students recently took home the second most awards of all Michigan schools at the annual Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation's High School and College Broadcasting Awards competition.
Nine of the 24 awards the disctrict brought home were given out in the high school radio division. The list of winners include Jaron Kirshenbaum, Winston Parker, Andrew Brown, Harrison Parker, Dylan Deitch, Brock Appleby, Jonah Lopas, Evan Sacksner and Kent Davis.
The radio station, WBFH, also known as The Biff, is a non-commercial, educational radio station broadcasting at 88.1 FM or online at www.wbfh.fm. The station can be heard on the Biff Radio app.
Pete Bowers is interviewed by Jacobs Media Strategies consultant Mike Stern regarding High School Radio Day 2015.
Here are some of the broadcasts that The Biff offered during the spring of 2016.
Always wanting to try something new and different for the annual Biffstock fund raiser, Assistant Station Manager Ronald Wittebols suggested a grand idea: a live version of his Sunday evening broadcast with emphasis on skits and performances by Biff staffers.
Everything was planned down to the minute with slots for individual interviews, jokes and a monolog or two. There were two live bands featured and the whole production had a Tonight Show feel about it.
There was plenty of laughs; and audience participation, too! Unfortunately, there wasn't much of an in-house audience; but thousands of people heard the live broadcast!
Newly-recruited staff announcer Jim Ochs served as the booth announcer as Ronald Wittebols hosted along with his cast of sidekicks: Chuck Riffenburg and Jeff Hazard. Future staff member Sofi K sang some of her hits, too.
After years of planning, then waiting; and then waiting for the building to be completed; and then moving equipment over to the new high school, the day finally arrived when the move was officially recognized as complete.
Each year, the staff would dream up a new way to celebrate High School Radio Day. Ronald Wittebols decided to share his special waffle recipe with the world.
More pictures can be found: Click here
Hard to believe, but after 4 decades WBFH never had an official jingle package!
Station Manager Ronald Wittebols wanted to reward the staff for all of their hard work and dedication in a transition year, so he figured what better way to sing the praises of The Biff than to commission a jingle package base on one of his favorite legendary radio stations: WLS/Chicago.
After much research, Wittebols chose TMStudios. And when the finished product was delivered, he decided to debut the jingles on his late-mother's birthday as a tribute; Theresa Wittebols was a great supporter of The Biff.
The annual Michigan Association of Broadcasters (MAB) Great Lakes Media Show was held at the Lansing Center in Lansing, Michigan. Some of the WBFH staff made the trek to attend.
Staff Advisor Danielle Tier and Station Operations Manager Ronald Wittebols ushered the staffers through the various industry exhibits and conference meetings during the all-day event.
Noah Streng, Sofia Washer and Nicholas Albaran were honored with their three first-place awards; Nicholas also won an honorable mention.
There were many opportunities for staffers to interact with industry professionals and fellow conference attendees.
More pictures of staffers can be found: Click here
The 2018 Biffstock campaign was a great success. Staff members contacted local businesses and generous donors to collect nearly $3,000 to enhance the radio station’s budget.
Spring brings some neat fundraising opportunities to The Biff. One idea that sprang from Student General Manager Kaylie Brooks and her staff of managers was to commission WBFH popsockets for sale to the general population.
Popsockets are a useful smart phone attachment that allows for a better grip and can be used as a prop stand for desktop convenience.
The WBFH popsocket is just $10 and can be purchased from any Biff staffer.
On Tuesday, August 14th, The Michigan Association of Broadcasters (MAB) weclomed three outstanding individuals into its Hall of Fame; one of them was former WBFH General Manager Pete Bowers!
Hall of Fame inductees are nominated and voted on by their peers. Award recipients were honored during the MAB’s annual awards banquet surrounded by broadcasters and friends.
Here’s what the MAB had to say about his induction:
“Pete Bowers has influenced the lives of hundreds of students as a high school broadcasting educator at WBFH-FM which is owned and operated by the Bloomfield Hills School District. But his 41 years of service and dedication extends well beyond the boundaries of Bloomfield Hills. His students have dominated state and national high school broadcasting award competitions winning MABF Station of the Year ten times. WBFH students won Best High School Station in the Nation six times, tied with the most of any station in the U.S. Bowers has been honored as Best High School Advisor in the Nation twice.”
Congratulations, Pete! We’re extremely proud of you!
Spirit Week took place September 24 through 28 and The Biff participated by airing the September 27 pep assembly live.
Every year the Intercollegiate Broadcast System is honors the best and the brightest among college and high school media.
The 2019 Awards Ceremonies were held at the 79th Annual IBS International Media Conference at the Hotel Penn in Midtown Manhattan on March 1.
Best Student Manager:
Sofi K, Winner
Best Promo Director:
Austin Wiggins, Finalist
Best News Director:
Caitlin Finerty, Winner
Best Production Director:
Roni Kane, Winner
Best Show Promo:
Austin Wiggins, Finalist
Best Show Promo:
Sofi K
Best Show Promo:
Austin Wiggins, Finalist
Best Show Promo:
Sofi K
Best Logo:
WBFH Staff, Winner
Best Promo Poster:
WBFH Staff, Finalist
Best Show Poster:
Roni Kane, Finalist
Best Show Poster:
Alex Grant, Winner
Best Use of Twitter:
WBFH Staff, Finalist
On Wednesday, March 6, a few WBFH staff members attended the Great Lakes Radio Conference in Lansing, Michigan. This yearly event offers the opportunity to interface with vendors, industry professionals and nationally-recognized newsmakers who affect policy, programming and trends the media marketplace.
The keynote speaker this year was former CBS News Correspondent Lara Logan, a well-known international journalist who made news just a few week prior with her comments on the working press.
The highlight for staffers was winning the following awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation:
Roni Kane, Josh Salhaney
Second Place:
Digital Media Experience
“Meet the Biff!”
Sophia Washer
Second Place:
On Air Personality or Team
“Sofi K On Air”
Roni Kane
First Place:
Promotional Announcement
“ITS Haunted House”
Austin Wiggins
Second Place:
Promotional Announcement
“Everyone Loves The Biff!”
Thomas Westman
Second Place:
Public Service Announcement
“Littering”
Alex Grant
Second Place:
Public Service Announcement sponsored by Okay2Say
“OK2SAY”
During the tour, WBFH staffers met with some of the Beasley staff and saw first-hand what it takes to be one of the most successful radio groups in the Detroit market. After a few conversations and plenty of observation, the big take-away was that The Biff operates just like a major-market station, the only difference being The Biff doesn’t play commercials.
WBFH staff were very impressed with what they saw and for many of them, this was their first time visiting a major-market broadcast station group. It was an eye-opening experience that motivated them to continue providing the best community radio in Oakland County.
Click here to see more pictures.
The second annual production of Bloomfield’s Got Talent entered the Biff History Book on Monday, December 9. The 7th-hour in-school assembly—an homage to a popular network television talent show—was well-produced, well-attended and well-received with over 300 staff and students packing the auditorium to watch the various contestants vie for recognition and some really neat prizes.
Bilal Mustaquim, Justin Satawa and Jack Brown, three very popular WBFH personalities hosted the festivities with plenty of other staff members helping behind the scenes.
Staging such an event meshes well with the performance curriculum that Station Advisor Danielle Tier has created for the radio class. Most staff members have experience behind the microphone, but such an even forces Biff personalities to face an actual live audience as masters and mistresses of ceremony.
After judges Matt MacLeod, David Jenvey and Eric Klein winnowed the field, it was up to the audience to vote electronically for the ultimate winner: Lindsey Beck.
The event is sure to return next year!
