Hall Of Fame

Jack Hyyppa is a native Montanan from Whitehall, who graduated from Butte High. He went on to earn undergraduate degrees from Montana State University and a graduate degree at Northern Illinois University, He returned to MSU in 1973 to join the faculty of the Film and Television Department where he taught television and film production. Jack retired from teaching in 2006 as a full professor having impacted the lives of thousands of students, many of whom went on to careers in television in Montana and beyond.

In 1984, inspired by a local group of mothers who wanted Sesame Street available for their children, Jack brought KUSM-TV, Montana's first public television station, on the air, serving as its manager for 22 years. The station began humbly and creatively, with assistance from KUED in Salt Lake City, and a donated, low-power transmitter from Montana broadcasting legend and Hall-of-Famer, Joe Sample. In the years that followed, Jack grew the small station,
raising support from the community, the university, and the Montana legislature. Its reach would eventually be extended through cable systems across the state and a number of translators.

In 1997, Jack was instrumental in forging a partnership between the state's two rival universities to form Montana Public Television. KUFM-TV went on the air, and in a virtually unprecedented show of cooperation, staff and producers at the University of Montana joined forces with the station at MSU to expand over-the-air public television into western Montana. In the subsequent years, that partnership grew to include stations in Billings, Great Falls and Kalispell.

Jack believed that locally produced, locally scheduled, educational, historical, and civic programming should be available to all Montanans. Today, MontanaPBS serves over 400 Montana communities, reaching over 80% of the state for free, and is available in nearly every Montana home.

Jack Hyyppa’s career established his place as the father of public broadcasting in Montana, a dedicated educator, and an influential leader of our industry.

Bob Hoene’s broadcast career started in 1971 as an instructor in the Radio and Television Department in the Journalism School at UM. Bob moonlighted as play-by-play announcer for the Griz on KGVO Radio while helping put the University radio station on the air. KUFM became Montana’s first public radio station and NPR affiliate.

Bob went to work in Helena for an ad agency and served as the executive director of the Montana Broadcasters Association from 1974 to 1997. Over the years the MBA Board of Directors was populated with future Hall of Fame inductees. This renowned group motivated and guided him through many successful years representing the broadcasters. Bob and his staff introduced sales education while rewarding high achievers with cash and recognition awards, devised the concept for a broadcast station directory, increased membership to record numbers, and hired a lobbyist, while improving communication and service.

Delivering on new ideas added expense; more income was needed. Bob developed a program with the Montana National Guard to fill unused broadcast time with paid messages, guaranteeing statewide coverage to non-commercial accounts and charging for the service. The idea blossomed in Montana and now every Broadcast Association in the nation uses the Non Commercial Sustaining Announcement Program, created by Bob, to help fund their organizations. Today the MBA and all State Broadcast Associations are comfortably subsidized by the NCSA program.

Meanwhile, Bob’s Advertising Agency, 5^th Avenue, grew to become the most prolific purchaser of electronic media in the State. It was his great privilege to work with and for the many members of the MBA.

Service was a theme in Shag Miller’s life; service to his community, to his industry and to his country. In 1942 he left the University of Montana and joined the Army Air Corp where he served in Italy and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and Air Medal. Following his discharge he returned to UM and graduated with a degree in Journalism in 1947.

In 1961 Shag purchased KBOW-AM, Butte, and in 1972 he started KOPR-FM. In the mid-1960s he was instrumental in forming the Intermountain Network of Montana.

Shag served as President of the Chamber of Commerce, the Salvation Army, the Local Development Corporation, the Montana State Golf Association and on the Board of Directors of the Montana Power Company.

In addition to serving as the President of the Montana Broadcasters Association, Shag served on the CBS Radio Affiliates Board and the National AP Radio Board. He served on the UM Foundation Board and was recognized in 1996 as a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Montana.

Cato “The Cat” Butler began his broadcast career in 1946 when, as a junior at Helena High, he went to work at KPFA Radio. Cato is best known for his more than 60 years of broadcasting high school and college football and basketball games around the state, although he also called track meets, horse racing, boxing, golf and baseball.

In the 1950s, when there was little interest in the Carroll College football games, Butler bought time on stations and then sold it himself to sponsors and called the games. He served as the “voice of Class C basketball tournaments” which he called for more than 15 years. But Cato is perhaps best known for the many colorful phrases that he coined over his years of play-by-play including “He tickles the twine for two” ; “Katie bar the door; we have a barn burner here tonight”; and “The cat is in the bag and the bag is in the river.”

Now in his 80s, Cato continues to host a daily talk show on Helena radio.  Cato and his wife Dora have three children.