About the Bader Award

The BADER Award will be given annually for a single stunning innovation or a lifetime of vital contributions to Community Radio. This award honors individuals or groups whose work has advanced the vision and values of Community Radio, whether in programming, management, infrastructure development, technology or development of the field.

Nominations come from any NFCB member—including people from member stations, other member organizations, and individual members. Nominees do not have to be members of NFCB.

There is no fee to enter.

The winner will be chosen by the Board of Directors of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters.

The Bader Award will be presented at the 2008 Community Radio Conference, March 26-29 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Current members of the NFCB Board and staff are not eligible. Deadline for entry is
October 15th, 2007.

The 2007 Bader Award Recipient is Ellin O’Leary, Youth Radio.

About Michael Bader

Lorenzo Milam, a Johnny Appleseed of community radio, dedicated The Radio Papers, his essays on community broadcasting, to two lawyers: Al Kramer, "who told me to raise hell in radio," and Michael Bader, "who showed me how." That's how Mike would like to be remembered, as the man who showed clients how.

Mike was a shrewd, hardworking, tirelessly detailed attorney, who lived a larger life through his clients. He wasn't by nature a hellraiser. He couldn't be and be the kind of lawyer he was; but he loved clients who were. If clients didn't want to make the world spin a little faster on its axis, he treated them with professional respect. If they wanted to move the world, they had his complete devotion.

He loved NFCB and community stations because he knew that while they sometimes struggled to survive, they would not be satisfied with survival. They wanted to make something happen. Mike helped many of the pioneering community stations get on the air and he protected them like a terrier from all threats. He didn't have to agree with them. In fact, he preferred clients who were quite different from himself. But if a station had something to accomplish, Mike was eager to show it how.

Mike not only defended community stations, he also supported them with time, attention and money. He drew no distinction between the needs of large or small clients for his services. If you retained Mike Bader, he was your man for the duration, and often well after that.

Mike was a partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Haley Bader & Potts, which later affiliated with Garvey Schubert Barer. He died in November 2001 at the age of 72.