KXCV veterans joining broadcasters hall of fame

Two Northwest Missouri State University alumni and longtime staff members of its award-winning National Public Radio affiliate will soon be members of the Missouri Broadcasters Association (MBA) Hall of Fame.

John Coffey and the late Sharon Bonnett will join the MBA Hall of Fame during the organization's induction banquet in June.

Bonnett, a 1965 Northwest graduate, served as a producer, program director and general manager of KXCV-KRNW for more than three decades, winning multiple MBA Awards and national Corporation for Public Broadcasting Awards. She died in 2023, and Northwest renamed its radio studio in her honor last year.

Coffey graduated from Northwest in 1982 and began his career as the news director for a radio station in Fairbury, Nebraska, before returning to Maryville in 1983 to join KNIM as its news and sports director. In 1999, he moved to KXCV and, with Bonnett's leadership, helped launch the Bearcat Radio Network, for which he provides play-by-play on all Bearcat football and basketball games. He has served as KXCV-KRNW general manager since 2019 and marked a milestone last fall by calling his 500th consecutive Bearcat football game.

"I'm humbled to go into the Hall of Fame with such a great induction class but what makes this incredibly special for me is to go in with Sharon," Coffey said. "She has had such huge impact on so many Northwest students who have worked at KXCV, including myself. I benefited from her guidance as a student and later when she hired me to be a part of her staff. She was also a great mentor for me after I was promoted to station manager at KXCV."

Coffey and Bonnett join John Beck, Dan Dierdorf, Les Garland, Denny Matthews and Lisa Rose as the newest inductees of the MBA Hall of Fame. The June induction event will be emceed by John Rooney, a member of the MBA Hall of Fame and the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals.

"These are individuals who made a real impact on people throughout their broadcasting careers," Chad Mahoney, the president of the Missouri Broadcasters Association and its chief executive officer, said. "I commend the selection committee on identifying an outstanding Class of 2026."

The MBA Hall of Fame was established in 2011. Past inductees and 2026 banquet information is available at https://www.missouribroadcasters.org.