Former TAB Chairman Don Chaney Dies
posted on 3.13.2019Texas Broadcasters are mourning the loss of 1985 TAB Chairman Don Chaney. He passed away on March 1 after a long battle with heart disease. He was 81.
Beginning at KZIP-AM in Amarillo as a salesperson and part time announcer, Don Chaney’s radio broadcasting career took shape in Hereford under Clint Formby.
Those “learning years” moved him to Sales Manager and on to a partnership with the Formby Group when they purchased KTEM-AM in Temple and then KTBB-AM in Tyler.
Chaney later formed Broadcasters Unlimited, Inc., which owned radio stations in Tyler, Texarkana and Waco.
In 1994, he sold those properties and formed Stellar Communications, Inc., which owned stations in Alexandria, Louisiana and in Temple-Killeen.
His stations were built on aggressive community service and straightforward news, editorials and music. Their popularity with large audiences and advertising success became hallmarks for Chaney.
In his career Don Chaney served his communities in leadership capacities. He was a member of the TAB Board of Directors where he was elected President in 1985 and named Broadcaster of the Year in 1986 (the award's FIRST recipient).
He served on the National Association of Broadcasters Radio Board from 1987 to 1989. He was chosen Tyler’s Citizen of the Year in 1990.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the East Texas Food Bank and the American Heart Association.
« Back to Latest News