Sam Elliott
Sam was a true broadcaster in every sense of the word. He ate, slept and breathed the business. His father Wendell, who owned KULY-AM in Ulysses, was a founding member of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters and served on the board in 1951. Sam was "raised in radio" with parents in the business. (His father and mother were inducted into the KAB Hall of Fame together in 2002).
He was a high school disc jockey for KGNO in Dodge City where he played the first rock-and-roll in southwest Kansas and after college worked at KULY in Ulysses and KFXX-FM in Hugoton. Sam served on the KAB Board of Directors from 1982 to 1987 and was president 1985 to 1986. He worked many hours for the KAB and would travel to Topeka to lobby for Kansas broadcasters every chance he got. He undertook the task of writing the history of the KAB from 1951 through 1986, which is available on the KAB website today.
Sam later found his calling in broadcasting as a teacher. At the University of Kansas, Sam was an assistant professor at the William Allen White School of Journalism. He helped professionalize KJHK-FM and turn it into a strong student laboratory as well as a community asset.
After retiring from KU Sam and his wife Marita moved to Lake Wabaunsee and he continued to host a daily radio show "Let’s Talk" on WIBW-AM. Marita earlier served as executive secretary of the KAB from 1980 to 1982. In this short time she established herself as a leader and a true broadcaster and later, with Sam, worked countless hours for the KAB.
Along with Marita, his family includes his children Sara, Lori, Lisa, Jess, Vicki, and Lisa, along with 10 grandchildren.
He was inducted posthumously into the Kansas Association Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2017.
Entry: Elliott, Sam
Author: Kansas Association of Broadcasters
Author information: The Kansas Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame honors those who have worked in broadcasting in Kansas and made substantial contributions to broadcasting, the state, and the nation.
Date Created: October 2017
Date Modified: October 2017
The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.
