FCC Commissioner Quello tributes continue

0

Jim Quello made a lot of friends before, during and after his 20+ year term at the Federal Communications Commission, and the remembrances upon his passing are still coming. Today we hear from a current commissioner, a former congressman, a particularly moved state broadcasters association and a leading women’s broadcast organization.


* Commissioner Meredith A. Baker: The Commission has lost a dear friend in Jim Quello.  My thoughts and prayers go out to Commissioner Quello’s family and friends.  He had an exemplary 23-year public service career and an unrivaled commitment to this agency and the communications industry.  He will be missed, but his tenure and legacy will not soon be forgotten.

* Former US Rep.Tom Tauke (R-IA): Jim Quello embodied the ideal of public service.  He was a true friend and mentor to hundreds of men and women in public life and industry.  In addition to his many accomplishments as a leader in the broadcast industry and at the Federal Communications Commission, he will be remembered for his big heart, ever-young mind and wonderful wit.”

* Michigan Association of Broadcasters. Quello was one of the original MAB members. He supported and helped to build the association from a small group of radio managers looking for representation on legal issues to what it currently is today – a nationally-recognized association representing more than 300 Michigan radio and television stations. Jim served as president of the MAB in 1959 and credited the MAB, his colleagues and friends from Michigan for mounting a campaign to get him appointed to the FCC in 1974. He served there until 1997 when he retired. For eleven months in 1993, Quello was the Acting Chairman of the FCC. He was honored with the prestigious MAB Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993 and many other awards too numerous to mention is this brief article. You could always find our friend Jim attending MAB conferences – catching up with old Michigan broadcast friends during a reception or participating in a tennis match –  Jim was one of us and we will miss him. This past Friday, January 22, MAB President/CEO Karole White spoke briefly with Jim: “Weak and frail he used his limited breath to be uplifting to me,” said White. “He thanks his friends in the MAB, ‘The Greatest Broadcasting Association in the States,’ he said. I’m to tell everyone he loves them and good bye (from Jim).”

* Sylvia L. Strobel, Interim President of American Women in Radio and Television: It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of former FCC Commissioner Quello. He was a respected broadcaster and public servant. In 1988, Commissioner Quello received AWRT’s Silver Satellite Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the broadcast industry. On behalf of the members of AWRT, we extend our condolences to Mr. Quello’s family, and offer our prayers, thoughts and sympathies during this time of loss.