Happy Bob Knight Day!Mountain Home Mayor Hillrey Adams has declared Thursday as Bob Knight Day in recognition of the longtime radio broadcaster and his unyielding support of the Twin Lakes Area.City officials surprised Knight with the declaration at a Mountain Home City Council meeting on July 1. The city chose July 15 as the date for Bob Knight Day because that is the broadcaster’s 76th birthday.Knight is one of the co-owners of Mountain Lakes Broadcasting Corp. and serves as president and general manager of KTLO-AM 1240 and KTLO-FM 97.9, Classic Hits 101.7 and 99.7 The Boot. He also hosts the KTLO-FM morning show, helping thousands of area listeners get out of bed and get their days started.
The city’s proclamation reads in part, “We have been waking up to Bob’s voice in the Twin Lakes Area on KTLO for over 40 years. Not only is he that familiar voice on the radio, but he is a pillar in this community that we want to recognize.”
Knight currently serves as president of the Mountain Home Education Foundation Board of Directors, a distinction he has held for the past 16 years, and was inducted into the Mountain Home Education Foundation Hall of Honor in 2009.
He has previously served as president of the Mountain Home Lions Club, the Baxter County Razorback Club, the Mountain Home Industrial Park Board, and the Mountain Home Planning Commission. He is a past board member of the Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce, the Baxter Regional Hospital Foundation and the Arkansas State University-Mountain Home Advisory Board. He has also served as a commissioner on the Arkansas Parks Tourism and Travel Commission and is a past president of that organization.
Over the years, Knight and the KTLO staff have collected items for the Food Bank of North Central Arkansas, worked with the Salvation Army for the Angel Tree program and collected school supplies and coats for area children. Radiothons and concerts have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local entities like Arkansas State University-Mountain Home, Baxter Regional Medical Center, the Christian Clinic, the Mountain Home Education Foundation and more. Knight also helped raise $12,000 for the Girl Scouts of America to bring the Vietnam Moving Wall to Mountain Home.
The city’s proclamation states, “Bob has been a vital part in this community and has served as a mentor to others about giving back to the Mountain Home area. (He) has kept this community at the center of his life and career and the importance he places on service to the community is second to none.”
Knight was born in Gassville in 1945. He graduated from Mountain Home High School in 1963 and the Wichita School of Broadcasting in 1965. He served four years in the U.S. Navy from 1965-1969 and was stationed in Morocco and aboard the battleship U.S.S. New Jersey.
Knight became a co-owner of KTLO in 1973. Under Knight’s leadership, KTLO and its affiliates have broadcast all things local — news, sports, weather and more — for almost 50 years. Community events like school band concerts, Christmas tree lightings and veterans ceremonies all found a home on the airwaves thanks to Knight.
In 2011, KTLO and KCTT were inducted into the Mountain Home Athletic Hall of Honor for the stations’ coverage of all things Bombers.
KTLO and its affiliates have been recognized five times by the National Association of Broadcasters as one of the top Small Market Radio Stations of the Year. Knight is a past president of the Arkansas Broadcasters Association and currently serves as president of that association’s Political Advisory Council. He has been awarded the Silver Mike Award for leadership in the broadcast industry and received the Community Service Award from the Arkansas Broadcasters Association.
Knight and his late wife, the former Sue Hightower, were married for 48 years. The Knights have one daughter, Heather Loftis (Chris), and two grandchildren, Mia and Zane Loftis.
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