WTAM's Crystal Award

With the folks at the National Association of Broadcasters holding their yearly gathering this week in Las Vegas, it's also time for awards.

And one of those awards goes to a local news/talk mainstay, Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100 Cleveland. WTAM received one of the NAB's Crystal Awards, which goes to stations with an "outstanding year-round commitment to community service".

Two WTAM efforts got the NAB's attention for the 2006 Crystal Awards.

The first is a long-running station campaign, "Coats for Kids". The yearly event has been a local radio staple for 25 years, starting in 1981.

WTAM's "Coats for Kids" brought in 24,000 coats for needy kids last year.

The second WTAM community service campaign is much more personal to the folks on Oak Tree.

It's the support and work on behalf of finding a cure for pancreatic cancer, including a fundraising walk put into motion by the man whose diagnosis started this, sportscaster Casey Coleman.

Not only did the "PanCan" walk raise a lot of money for the cause, but it was a heartfelt labor for Casey's co-workers and friends at Oak Tree. And a small tear comes to our eye when we realize that, of course, Casey is no longer around to see this award being given.

WTAM was one of ten stations getting Crystal Awards from the NAB this year. Along with other news/talk powerhouses like KOA in Denver and KTAR in Phoenix, small market stations got them...and AllAccess points out that along with them, curiously enough, four Minnesota stations were honored...