The Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame is pleased to announce its newest group of inductees. The following broadcasters were selected in voting between June 1 and July 1, 2026. The vote involved current members of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame, members of the California Historical Radio Society, and members of the public who participated in the fundraising “Donate To Vote” program.
Program Hosts:
Marla Davies is best known for her 30 years at San Jose’s KEZR but over a lengthy Bay Area radio career, she’s worked on the air or behind the audio console at numerous stations including KOME, KFRC, KOFY-FM, KXFX, and KQED-FM. She’s also working with the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival, helping gain approval of a low-power FM (LPFM) license.
Bill Lee has been on the air for more than 50 years, beginning when he was heard in 1972 on Hartford, CT station WTIC-FM using his birth name, Bill Lenkey. He is recognized by Bay Area radio fans for his work at two stations: the “Big 610” KFRC of the 1980s and the New Jack Zoo morning show at KMEL in the 1990s. Lee’s trademark has long been a rapid-fire, often rhyming delivery that worked perfectly with fast-paced formats.
JV and Elvis –“The Dog House” Originating on San Jose’s Hot 97.7 KHQT, the ensemble show led by “JV” (Jeffrey Vandergrift) and “Elvis” (Dan Lay), with producer Lance “Hollywood” Otani, would move to San Francisco’s Wild 107.7 (KSAN) and then Wild 94.9 (KYLD) and become a dominant cultural and ratings force in the 1990s and 2000s. Vandergrift died in 2023 at the age of 55.
News:
Ken Bastida is well-known for his lengthy tenure as the lead anchor for KPIX-TV’s Eyewitness News, but Bastida was a radio reporter for many years before shifting to television. The San Francisco State University alumnus began as a student intern at KFRC before working as a newsperson at KGO, KMEL, K-101, and KFYI . In 1986, Bastida joined KCBS, where he served as South Bay Bureau Chief before leaving for television in 1990.
Sports:
Duane Kuiper ended his 12-year Major League Baseball career as a member of the San Francisco Giants. While still playing, he began hosting a regular show on KNBR. Upon retiring as a player, Kuiper became a regular part of the Giants’ radio broadcast team in 1986. Except for a season with the Colorado Rockies (1993), Kuiper has been involved with Giants broadcasts, both radio and television, ever since.
Management:
Keith Naftaly is a San Francisco native who broke into the business answering the phones at KFRC. When KMEL became the Bay Area’s first Top 40 FM station in 1984, Naftaly joined as music coordinator. He was soon promoted to Music Director and then became the station’s Program Director at the age of 24. Naftaly is credited with helping KMEL deliver ratings dominance while becoming a blueprint for music stations nationwide.
Engineering:
Larry Wood is a Certified Professional Broadcast Engineer whose Bay Area engineering career began in 1976 at KDIA. He would go on to hold engineering positions at a dozen other stations, retiring after serving for 23 years as Chief Engineer at KQED-FM.
Specialty:
Jack Perry holds the distinction of having served as production director at both of San Jose’s album rock giants: KOME and KSJO during their glory years from the late 1970s until the early ‘90s. Fans remember the brash imaging that drove both stations’ on-air sound. Perry would then spend twenty years with CBS as Creative Services Director, creating imaging and commercials for KCBS and KRQR.
In addition, the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame Advisory Board has selected the following individuals for induction (* indicates deceased)
Debbie Abrams worked in radio in Oroville and Chico before joining Santa Rosa’s KZST, where she spent 27 years as fellow 2026 BARHOF inductee Brent Farris’ sidekick on the morning broadcast. After Farris retired in September 2023, Abrams continued as the solo host of the program until her retirement in March 2026.
Bill Bowker is a Sonoma County broadcasting legend. He was first heard on Bay Area radio in 1979, when he joined Santa Rosa station KVRE. Over the next 42 years of full time work as a program host, Program Director, and music promoter, Bowker would become a beloved fixture on the North Bay music scene.
Dick Conte has been a defining voice in jazz radio for over sixty years. His broadcasting career began in the early 1960s at the legendary KJAZ and continued through celebrated tenures at KMPX, KSFO, KKCY, KKSF, and most recently KCSM, where he served as DJ, Music Director, and Program Director until his retirement in June 2025.
Abel de Luna became the first Mexican-American city council member in Healdsburg history at age 29 and then mayor at 31. He would become an influential local businessman, establishing La Luna Markets and the legendary Aven Theater, where he showed mainstream and Spanish-language films. He also launched the record label Luna Music and radio network Moon Broadcasting, which elevated local Latino musical talent to global stages and award recognition. Luna’s ownership of Spanish-language stations dates back to 1979.
Brent Farris got his start on the North Bay media landscape as a photographer for the Marin Independent Journal. He discovered a love for radio in college and began his radio career working at KTIM in San Rafael. In 1985, Farris joined Santa Rosa’s KZST, where he would be a Sonoma County morning fixture for the next 38 years.
Jim Grady * arrived in Sonoma County in 1960, looking for a better climate than that of Seattle, where he’d started his radio career. He would spend the next 44 years as the morning host at KSRO, while also broadcasting countless Sonoma County sports events with his on-air sidekick and fellow 2026 BARHOF inductee Merle Ross. Grady would spend the final years of his celebrated career at KZST. Grady passed away in 2013 at the age of 77.
Claire Mack dropped out of high school but enrolled at the College of San Mateo in her 20s. Mack’s quick wit, clear voice and outgoing personality, along with her KCSM training, made her a compelling on-air talent. She found paid work at KGO radio and television while still a student at CSM, and would eventually work in various roles at KCSM radio and television for thirty years.
Tarea Hall Pittman * was a renowned leader in the Black community who began a regular radio broadcast called “Negroes in the News” in 1935 on Oakland station KLS (later known as KWBR and KDIA). These weekly roundups of positive news from the Black community continued into the 1980’s. Pittman became nationally-known for these broadcasts. Pittman was a longtime Berkeley resident and the South Branch of the Berkeley Public Library is named after her. She died in 1991.
Merle Ross * was born in Lodi, grew up in Oakland, and graduated from San Jose State College. His radio career began in Watsonville, after which he moved to San Rosa’s KSRO in 1959. He would serve the station in the roles of Program Director, Operations Manager, and News Director for over 30 years. Ross would team up with KSRO morning host and fellow 2026 BARHOF inductee Jim Grady for thousands of Sonoma County sports broadcasts, covering everything from local high schools to Santa Rosa Junior College to Sonoma State University. Ross died in 2021 at the age of 92.
Leslie Stoval * launched her Bay Area radio career in the 1970s at KZSU, the student station at her alma mater, Stanford University. Over a nearly fifty-year career, she would be heard in key roles on notable stations such as KMEL, KBLX, KDIA and KSOL. Her final stop in Bay Area radio was at KCSM. Stoval died in 2025 at the age of 70.
Ron Walters * was known as “The Voice of Petaluma”, a fixture on KTOB for 30 years. The Iowa native graduated from Healdsburg High School and went on to star in basketball at Gonzaga University. Returning to Sonoma County to start a family, he worked at several other jobs before joining KTOB in 1963. He would go on to hold down the morning show, sell air time, and handle high school sports broadcasts. Walters died in 2017 at age 84.
The 19 newly-selected inductees will bring the total number enshrined in BARHOF to 304 since the first class was inducted in 2006.
The new BARHOF inductees will be invited to meet Bay Area radio fans at the annual Radio Day By the Bay celebration in Alameda on Saturday, July 18. The annual BARHOF Induction Luncheon, open to the public, will be held on Saturday, October 10. Tickets will be made available at a later date.