Ray Cole Email & Phone Number

Ray Cole is a Hall of Fame broadcaster whose executive career spanned five decades. Prior to his retirement in October 2023, Ray served as president and chief operating officer of Citadel Communications LLC. He also held leadership positions on the boards of the ABC-TV Affiliates Association, National Association of Broadcasters, Television Bureau of Advertising and Broadcasters Foundation of America. Ray has been recognized for his leadership in the broadcasting industry and his contributions to the community at large. He has been inducted into three Halls of Fame: the Iowa Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2015, the prestigious Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame in 2023 (joining the iconic Johnny Carson as only the second Iowa-born broadcaster to be so honored), and the Iowa Business Hall of Fame in 2024. Ray is the co-author of "Hangin' with Winners" published in October 2021. All of the book’s proceeds have been donated to a few of the "winning" organizations mentioned throughout the book. Ray continues to serve on the board and executive committee of the Broadcasters Foundation of America, and on the marketing advisory board for The V Foundation. Ray’s service to the broadcasting industry has long been matched by his deep involvement and contributions to local communities and the state. While working in Sioux City, he served as chairman of the board of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce. He also sat on the boards of United Way of Siouxland, Ronald McDonald House and Briar Cliff University. Since moving to Des Moines in 1994, Ray has served on the boards of the Principal Charity Classic, Iowa Hall of Pride and Partnership for a Drug-Free Iowa. He served as honorary chair of the 2012 Variety - the Children’s Charity telethon, the 2013 Easter Seals Camp Sunnyside Raft Regatta, the 2014 All-Star Evening to benefit Character Counts!, the 2019 Blank Children’s Hospital Festival of Trees & Lights and hosted the Coaches vs Cancer Gala in 2020, 2021 and 2022 alongside the state’s four Div 1 men’s basketball coaches.A 1977 graduate of Briar Cliff University, Ray was recognized as the school’s “Distinguished Alumnus of the Year” in 2006, and honored at their 2021 commencement ceremony with the “Presidential Distinguished Leadership Award.” He was recognized as a “Father of the Year” in 2013 by the Iowa Chapter of the American Diabetes Association. In 2019, Ray was presented the “Robert D. Ray Pillar of Character Award” from the Governor Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University.

Listed skills include Television, Digital Media, Broadcast, Advertising, and 9 others.

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  Briar Cliff University

  General