Huck Boyd Institute names annual winners

Two long-time Kansas journalists were honored as Huck Boyd Leaders of the Year for Community Journalism on Feb. 14.

The winner in community newspapers is the late Dick Boyd and family from Norton, and the winner in community radio is Kelly Lenz of Topeka. They were recognized at an online meeting of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development and the Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media at K-State.

The awards were presented virtually on Zoom following the annual Huck Boyd Lecture in Community Media, which took place on the K-State campus in Manhattan.

“McDill ‘Huck’ Boyd was a believer in preserving small towns and small-town media,” said Gloria Freeland, director emerita of the Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media. “We seek to highlight the importance of community journalism in Kansas and across the nation.”

Dick and Mary Beth Boyd

Dick and Mary Beth Boyd were owners and publishers of the Norton County Telegram for 32 years. The son of Bus and Mary Boyd of Mankato continued to cover sports for the Norton Telegram after that. He won numerous state and national journalism awards and served as president of the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas in 2006.

A nephew of newspaper icon Huck Boyd, Dick Boyd died on June 25, 2020, at age 83.

“As publisher of the Norton Daily Telegram, Dick Boyd was a community booster who had a lot of pride for his paper and his town,” Freeland said. “He also covered nearby communities in the county with the same level of enthusiasm and positive energy.”

Kelly Lenz

Kelly Lenz retired in 2019 after nearly 50 years as a radio broadcaster, including 41 years as farm director at WIBW radio in Topeka. He also served for 20 years as host of the Mid-Day in Kansas television show on WIBW-TV.

A winner of numerous awards, he was inducted into the Kansas Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2016.

“Kansans depend on the important information Kelly Lenz has provided to the state’s agribusiness industry. Kelly’s constant coverage of farm news has been a hallmark of WIBW radio’s service to the people of Kansas,” said Steve Smethers, director of K-State’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications.