Don Backus

Don Backus, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, ENCO Systems

Don Backus met his soon to be wife and began a career in radio in the same year, 1972, and both have become lifelong passions.  After studying Radio-TV at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI, Don took a number of on-air and production jobs in radio, including stops in St. Joseph, MI, South Bend, IN and at three different stations in Lansing, MI.  During his tenure at WVIC-FM in East Lansing, Don co-founded a commercial recording studio and performed award-winning voice work resulting in a number of Detroit Addy awards for various ad agencies.

1982 brought an opportunity to purchase a struggling FM radio station in Northern Michigan.  After a great deal of painful negotiating, Don and his partners closed on WDBI-FM in Tawas City in May of 1983.  During the ten years that Don managed the station, it developed into a vital community resource providing local news and sports coverage as well as a mix of music and personalities that grew listeners and provided results to local and regional advertisers.  While in the area, Don was elected to two terms on the Tawas Area Chamber of Commerce and was a member of the Iosco County Local Emergency Preparedness Committee. In 1992, the station was awarded 4 awards from the Michigan Associated Press, including an Award for General Excellence, the only station outside of Grand Rapids and Detroit so honored.

When the local Wurtsmith Air Force Base was closed in 1993, economic pressures force the selling of the station and Don accepted a position with Williams Communications in Longview and Tyler, Texas as Group General Sales Manager.  While there, Don earned the Certified Radio Sales Manager designation from the Radio Advertising Bureau.  Wanting to move back to Michigan, Don was invited to Join Audio Broadcast Group in late 1994, an equipment dealer specializing in servicing the broadcast industry based in Grand Rapids.  At ABG, Don was Digital Systems Manager dealing with many new and innovating technologies changing the way broadcasters did their jobs.  In 1995, Don was appointed to the Engineering Committee for the Michigan Association of Broadcasters (MAB), a role he has continued in.

In 1999, Don joined ENCO Systems as Sales manager, moving to the position of Vice President of Sales and Marketing in January of 2000. ENCO Systems is a manufacturer of digital audio playout and automation equipment for the radio and television industry and with over 8000 units installed, is one of the larger providers in the industry. In 2002 Don was elected to the first of two terms as an associate director of the MAB and in March of 2009 was honored as Associate of the Year by the MAB.