Boughton, Monnich and Webber to join NBA Hall of Fame

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, August 1, 2024

Nebraska Broadcasters Association

The Nebraska Broadcasters Association (NBA) will induct Kent Boughton, Jane Monnich and Dave Webber into the NBA Hall of Fame on August 6th in Lincoln, NE during the 89th Annual NBA Convention. Established in 1972, the NBA Hall of Fame will have 118 members with these pending inductees.

Kent Boughton began his broadcasting career at the age of 15 as a disc jockey at KRGI in Grand Island. After graduating from Brown Institute in 1977, Kent began his television career as sports and weather director at KIFI-TV in Idaho Falls before returning to Nebraska in 1979 to become weather director at KHAS-TV in Hastings. A defining moment of Kent's career at KHAS was his live coverage during the June 3, 1980 tornado that devastated the Grand Island area. After 12 years on the air, he left broadcasting for a few years to see his kids grow up. He returned to the airwaves in 1999 as chief forecaster at KHGI-TV in Kearney, where he became the trusted weather source for central Nebraskans for over 20 years. An avid outdoorsman, Kent pioneered KHGI's "Outdoor Files" segment, featuring local hunting and fishing stories. Since retiring in 2023, Kent has found his way back on the air, currently serving as a part-time forecaster on Lincoln's KLKN TV.

Hired as a news writer for KLIN at Lincoln's Broadcast House in 1972, little did Jane Monnich know the Broadcast House would be her professional home for the next 48 years. At a time when women were rarely heard on the air, Monnich was soon named KLIN's afternoon news anchor. She moved to morning news in 1973 and in 1976 became KLIN's morning show co-host with Ron Dean, forming Lincoln's first male-female radio show. Monnich's passion was always news and over the more than four decades of reporting and anchoring that followed, Monnich became known as THE voice of KLIN news. Above and beyond her outstanding radio reporting career, Jane served as coach and mentor to many, inspiring future broadcasters and paving the way for more women to join the radio airwaves. Monnich retired from KLIN in 2020.

In a career now exceeding 50 years, Dave Webber got his start as a disc jockey on Omaha's KLNG and KFAB before joining KMEG-TV in Sioux City as a sports reporter in 1973. Webber returned to Omaha in 1977 as a sports reporter for KMTV before taking the assistant sports director role at Omaha's WOWT-TV in 1978. He quickly rose to sports director and over the next 31 years, Webber didn't just read the sports, he went out and covered sports including Cornhuskers national championships and bowl games, Creighton NCAA tournament runs, the College World Series, the end of Rosenblatt Stadium, high school sports and more. While honored with numerous industry and community service awards, Webber nurtured other sports reporters throughout his career. One of Omaha's most-loved TV personalities, Webber semi-retired in 2009. He remains active with WOWT's high school football coverage and hosts the station's "Omaha Everyday" feature.

Established in 1934, the Nebraska Broadcasters Association is a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization supporting the interests of FCC-licensed AM, FM & TV member stations in Nebraska and is the second-oldest state broadcast association in America.