JOPLIN, MO (SNS) --The late Leo Stafford, a longtime area radio engineer/technician, is the winner of the 2004 Pioneer Broadcaster Award. The Award, presented during Media Showcase Day activities on Thursday, Oct. 28 at MSSU, recognizes Leo Stafford for his electronics expertise in the early days of radio and in establishing the first television station in the Joplin area, KOAM-TV.

Leo Stafford's earliest experience in radio was in 1927, when he built a low-power station in the corner of the photography studio where he worked in Springfield, Mo. Leo Stafford earned a degree through correspondence with the Chicago School of Engineering in 1928. He had early engineering experience at radio stations in Springfield, helping to build KWTO.

He moved to Pittsburg in 1943 and helped to build the transmitter and design the towers for KOAM radio, the first radio station in Pittsburg (now KKOW radio). In 1953, Leo Stafford was instrumental in construction of KOAM-TV. He helped to transform a wheat field south of Pittsburg into the area's first television station. The building was finished in December, and the station began broadcasting December 13, 1953. Leo Stafford was on duty at the transmitter on the first day of telecasts. Leo Stafford worked as a technical supervisor at KOAM-TV for 35 years.

He continued to serve as a consultant many years after retiring. He died in 1996. His peers describe Leo Stafford as a broadcast pioneer, always curious and involved, always tinkering, always eager to learn something new. Missouri Southern recognizes Leo Stafford for his pioneering spirit and work in local broadcasting.

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