The Society of Broadcast Engineers has elevated SBE member Fred Willard of Dunkirk, MD, to the membership rank of Fellow. The SBE Board of Directors elected him at a meeting held in April 2026.
Fred Willard, CPBE, 8-VSB, ATSC3, CBNT, senior RF engineer for Televisa Univision in Washington, DC, joined the SBE in 1985. He is serving his third term on the SBE Board of Directors, first elected in 2020. He has served SBE Chapter 37 as secretary from 2016 to 2019, and treasurer since 2019. His work with bringing new people into broadcast and media technology includes working on the Media Forward student outreach with his local chapter, mentoring students at Montgomery Community College and Kent County High School, and working with the Maryland Board of Education to include the SBE Certification Handbook for Radio Operators and SBE Television Operator’s Certification Handbook into the official state curriculum.
Willard has been a co-organizer of the SBE Ennes Workshop at the NAB Show for the past three years. He has also been the program chair for the annual Bits by the Bay two-day symposium in the Washington, DC, area. He has also helped with arranging technical presentations for the AES Convention.
Willard’s career spans 50 years, starting with operating an ENG camera in college. He has worked in radio production and engineering, transitioned to Maryland Public TV (PBS) as an editor, audio specialist, ENG truck operator and trainer, and finally high-power RF specialist as transmission supervisor. He has worked as a facility integrator in many countries, and he has worked on special projects for NASA. He has B.S. in Communications from Towson University.
The Fellow honor is the highest membership level in the SBE. Members must have made significant contributions to the broadcast engineering field or the SBE. Candidates are nominated by their peers. Since the Society‘s founding 62 years ago, 95 members have been honored with the Fellow rank.
Willard was recognized during the SBE Membership Meeting held on April 20 during the 2026 NAB Show. He will also be recognized at the SBE National Meeting, which will be held in September in Madison, WI. A list of all those who have been named SBE Fellows is posted on the SBE website at sbe.org/fellows.
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