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VOICE OF B-SENS NAMED WINNER OF 2010-11 JAMES H. ELLERY MEMORIAL AWARD

07/19/2011 10:17 AM

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - The Binghamton Senators, in conjunction with the American Hockey League, announced today that Grady Whittenburg, director of broadcasting and voice of the B-Sens, has been awarded the 2010-11 James H. Ellery Memorial Award in recognition of outstanding media coverage in the category of radio.

Well-respected throughout the American Hockey League for his knowledge, dedication and passion at the microphone, the Newark Valley, New York nativerecently completed his eighth season as the Binghamton Senators’ radio play-by-play voice by calling the city’s first-ever Calder Cup championship.

Whittenburg produced all aspects of Senators game-night broadcasts along with “Sens Game Day,” a two-minute preview which aired on game days, and “Sens Rewind,” a 60-second highlight piece for the following morning’s drive time.

At the beginning of the season, Whittenburg spearheaded the creation and production of a weekly audio highlights package which aired on radio broadcasts across the league as well as on SiriusXM satellite radio’s NHL Home Ice channel.

Whittenburg also provided the radio call of the 2011 AHL All-Star Classic and coordinated the addition of TEAM 1200 in Ottawa to the Senators Broadcast Network for the 2011 Calder Cup Playoffs.

In the fall, Whittenburg will enter his 29^th year of broadcasting sports (his 23^rd in hockey) in a career that has included play-by-play of high school football and basketball in the Southern Tier, collegiate football, hockey, lacrosse and basketball at Cornell University, as well as professional hockey with the B-Sens and the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL.

Whittenburg currently resides in Lansing, New York, with his wife Vonnie and their children - Jenna (26), Stefan (25) and Marc (21).

Sportswriter Tim Leoneof the Harrisburg Patriot-News (in the newspaper category) and sports director Jamie Staton of WMUR-TV in Manchester, N.H. (television) have also been recognized as recipients of the James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the 2010-11 AHL season.

The James H. Ellery Memorial Awards, which were first presented in 1964, honor the late Mr. Ellery, who served the American Hockey League for 17 years as league secretary and publicity director.

In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 87 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the 10^th year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2010-11.

-Go B-Sens Go-