Pine Bluff, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – A career in Arkansas broadcasting spanning more than five decades has earned Jonesboro Media Group President and General Manager Trey Stafford a place in the Arkansas Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame.
Stafford was inducted Sunday night during the Arkansas Broadcasters Association’s annual convention at the Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff, joining four other Arkansas broadcasting veterans in the 2026 Hall of Fame class.
The other inductees are Richard Benson, Dr. Larry Foley, Mike Horne and Scott Siler.
The Arkansas Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to broadcasting in Arkansas and to the viewers, listeners, advertisers and communities they serve.
For Stafford, the honor represents the culmination of a broadcasting career that began when he was just 9 years old, reading school news on KPCA-AM in Marked Tree.
By sixth grade, Stafford had his own radio program. He began his first paid radio job at age 14, and after graduating from high school in 1979, became general manager of KPCA just three months later. He eventually moved to Jonesboro, helped build what became the Jonesboro Radio Group, and later became president and general manager of Jonesboro Media Group following its acquisition by Saga Communications.
Today, Stafford oversees six Jonesboro radio stations and JonesboroRightNow.com while continuing to work on the air as co-host of the Stafford and Frigo morning show on 104.9 The Fox.
The ABA says Stafford’s career spans 55 years and notes his continued service to the Jonesboro community, his previous work as a weekend television weather anchor at KAIT-TV and his leadership of Jonesboro Media Group. Under his leadership, the company has raised more than $10 million for charitable causes.
Stafford’s career has also included service to the broadcasting industry through the Arkansas Broadcasters Association, including serving as president and on its board of directors. He has also served on the National Association of Broadcasters’ Small Market Radio Committee.
A family nomination
Stafford’s nomination for the Hall of Fame came from his daughter, Ellie Stafford Smith, who is also a broadcaster at Jonesboro Media Group.
In a video presented during Sunday’s ceremony, Smith described growing up around her father’s radio career and eventually joining him in the business.
She said that while listeners may know Stafford as one of the recognizable voices in Arkansas broadcasting, to her he has always simply been “Dad.”
Smith also focused on what she described as her father’s leadership and his commitment to the people who work for him and the communities his stations serve.
“Leadership isn’t about having the title,” Smith said in the video. “It’s about being the first one to jump in when something needs to be done.”
She also credited her father with encouraging employees to pursue opportunities they might not have believed they were capable of achieving and with emphasizing community service, consistency and integrity.
Stafford has said the Hall of Fame honor was particularly meaningful because of the people who helped shape his career along the way. In remarks following his induction, he acknowledged former managers, broadcasters, business partners, colleagues, family members and others who influenced his 55-year journey.
He specifically recalled the moment, as a 9-year-old boy, when Bill Lawson and Jerry Ashlock handed him a microphone at KPCA and allowed him to read school news on the air.
He also credited former KPCA manager Dewitt Waites with teaching him an enduring lesson about local broadcasting: “If you’ll super-serve your community, the rest will take care of itself.”
That philosophy, Stafford said, has influenced many of the decisions he has made throughout his career.
Five broadcasters honored
Stafford’s induction came alongside four broadcasters whose careers have also had a significant impact on Arkansas media.
Richard Benson began his broadcasting career in Forrest City in 1973 and continues to call high school football games. The ABA describes him as the “Voice of East Arkansas.”
Dr. Larry Foley began his career at KATV in Little Rock before moving to Arkansas PBS and later joining the University of Arkansas faculty. He founded the university’s campus television station and played a role in developing the broadcast journalism program into the School of Journalism and Strategic Media.
Mike Horne spent decades as a broadcaster, station owner and industry leader. A former ABA president, Horne owned and operated radio stations in several Arkansas communities and was recognized for mentoring broadcasters who went on to successful careers.
And Scott Siler, currently chief operating officer of EAB Media Group, was also inducted.
Siler’s career has included nearly four decades in Arkansas broadcasting. He is a graduate of Arkansas State University’s Radio/TV Department and has held numerous on-air and management positions with East Arkansas Broadcasters, eventually becoming a key part of the company’s growth into EAB Media Group.
Siler has been particularly involved in the development of statewide radio networks, including the Arkansas Now News Network, EAB Agriculture Network and EAB Sports Network.
Siler and Stafford have known one another for decades, dating back to their early years in Arkansas broadcasting. Stafford recalled during his acceptance remarks that Siler’s father, Glen Siler, was one of the sports officials Stafford looked up to when he was young. He later met Scott while broadcasting a high school baseball game in the early 1980s.
The two eventually became competitors in the Jonesboro radio market, with Siler now serving as COO of the company that operates competing stations in the market.
“They do the work”
Stafford’s acceptance remarks ultimately returned to the people who have shared his career.
He specifically recognized longtime Jonesboro broadcasters Christie Matthews and Jim Frigo, each of whom has been part of his career for nearly three decades, as well as Director of Content Mitch Mahan and the many other employees who have worked alongside him through the years.
“I am their cheerleader. Their traffic cop. Their school principal. That’s it,” Stafford said of his employees. “THEY do the work. And the sweat.”
He also thanked his parents, his sister Paula, his wife Jenna, his children and the many people in the Arkansas broadcasting industry who helped him along the way.
For a broadcaster who first stepped behind a microphone as a 9-year-old boy in Marked Tree, Sunday’s induction marked another milestone in a career that has now crossed the 55-year mark.
And Stafford isn’t finished.
He’s still on the radio every morning.