Murrow Graduates Ron Carter and Dick Warsinske
to Receive Outstanding Volunteer Award
PULLMAN, Wash. – Ron Carter ‘66 and Richard “Dick” Warsinske ’73—two graduates of Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication—will receive the WSU Alumni Association (WSU AA) Outstanding Volunteer Award on April 7 in Pullman.
The Outstanding Volunteer Award recognizes exceptional service to the WSU AA and the University. Both recipients made outstanding contributions to WSU while building distinguished careers in broadcasting.
Carter, a 1966 broadcast communication alumnus, began his broadcast career in Seattle in entry-level sales at KIRO Newsradio in 1974. He was promoted to assistant sales manager at KIRO before becoming general sales manager at Seattle’s KPLZ-FM in 1978. He returned to KIRO in 1981 as vice-president of sales. In 1997 he was hired to manage Fisher Broadcasting’s radio properties in Portland, Ore. One of his proudest moments was receiving the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Crystal Award in 2002, honing KWJJ as one of America’s top-ten stations for community service. After a 30-year career in broadcasting, Carter retired in 2004 and has worked in consulting for major law firms.
Carter and his wife, Louise, have been involved with the WSU Foundation, serving as both trustees and trustee ambassadors. He has also been a member and president of the WSU Edward R. Murrow College of Communication Advisory Board and has served on numerous Murrow task forces. Additional service leadership includes terms as president of Missouri Broadcasters Association, and president of Puget Sound Radio Broadcasters Association.
Warsinske, a 1973 communication graduate, produced and directed children’s programs for Seattle’s KING TV until 1982, when he took a position as executive producer at KPIX TV in San Francisco. He returned to Seattle as program manager for KOMO in 1985 and become executive vice-president and general manager in 1992. In 2007, he became vice-president and general manager of Seattle’s KCTS 9. During his tenure, the station's Ken Burns World War II series "The War" was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for its time period, and the series raised the most dollars from individual donors of any PBS station.
Warsinske earned a 1996 Peabody Award for excellence in local broadcasting with KOMO, and six Emmy awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. His volunteer leadership includes service on the ABC Television Network Board of Governors and a 12-year term on the Murrow College advisory board. As a board member, he helped to facilitate College’s award of the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award to Sam Donaldson in 1995 and Peter Jennings in 2003.
The awards will be presented to Warsinske and Carter during the Scholarship and Awards Banquet in Pullman on April 7, to be held in conjunction with the thirty-fifth Edward R. Murrow Symposium. The banquet begins at 4:15 p.m. For more information about Murrow Symposium events, please visit www.wsu.edu/murrow/events.