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At the NAB Radio Show in San Diego I
hope to shake hands with an old friend. His name is Howard
Kalmenson.
Howard is president (and owns the
majority of the stock) in Lotus Communications. Howard
headquarters and lives in the Los Angeles area. I am quite
familiar with Lotus because our consulting firm advised them
for more than a decade in the 80’s.
Specifically we were involved with
some of his stations in Las Vegas, Tucson, and Reno. Howard
and I discovered that we have a lot of things in common
regarding operating a group and family values. I distinctly
remember a three hour luncheon about ten years ago at the
Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills discussing varied subjects.
This guy is smart…..VERY SMART about
most any subject. Smart enough to hire good people to run
his stations. I know because I WAS THERE and met his GM’s,
PD’s, etc.
As I recall Howard was once an
off Broadway director…and a good one. But, there wasn’t
enough money to raise his family the way he dreamed. So, he
moved to Las Vegas and became involved in television and
radio.
It was there that he became very good
friends with another smart guy, hotel owner Steve Wynn. They
developed a friendship that lasts to this day. Matter of
fact, I believe that Steve is the Godfather to one of
Howard’s kids.
I sat next to Steve on a board and he
had only the greatest things to say about Howard. One day
Howard mentioned that his daughter Cynthia was a very good
poet, composer, and singer. He asked me to give a listen to
a few of her demos.
Yep, he was
right. I advised her to move to Nashville to continue her
music career. I met with Cynthia there and introduced her to
Barry Beckett, a very honest music man. He listened to the
demos in his office, and turned around to both of us and
said to her “you can write”!!! He suggested several other
writers for her to team with. I understand she is still in
Nashville moving her career forward.
What more can one say about
Howard….honest, sincere, family man, and a very fine
broadcaster!!!! As I began, I hope to see him in San Diego.
e-mail Kent
kent@kentburkhart.com
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