Bruce Rader
Bruce Rader
Bruce Rader's dedication to the community of Hampton Roads is well documented over the past two decades.
Known more for his position as the long time Sports Director of WAVY-TV and WVBT-TV for the past 29 years, Bruce's work with various charitable organizations, as well as his own Bruce Rader Charities Foundation , has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in the Hampton Roads area.
Several Hampton Roads institutions over the years have honored Bruce. Hampton University President William R. Harvey presented Bruce with "The Presidential Award for Outstanding Citizenship", recognizing him for virtues of decency, dignity, and human rights. In 2005 Bruce was inducted in the CIAA Hall of Fame. In 2006 Bruce was presented the Abe Goldblatt Memorial Award by the Norfolk Sports Club.
Bruce Rader Charities has provided hundreds of area young people the opportunity to attend local sporting events. The Foundation also helped organize the Peninsula All-Star Football Camp featuring top stars from the National Football League. Bruce Rader Charities has also supported the Union Mission, and other outstanding organizations.
The annual Bruce Rader/St. Jude Golf Tournament in May hosts a sell-out field, including stars from professional sports and Hollywood, and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for St. Jude Children's Hospital.
Bruce is one of the top Olympic reporters in the nation, working with NBC News covering the past three Summer Olympic Games: Atlanta, Georgia, in 1996, Sydney, Australia, in 2000, and most recently the 2004 games in Athens, Greece. In both 1996, and 2002 Bruce was selected to carry the Olympic Torch. In 1996, he carried the torch through Charlottesville, Virginia, during its worldwide trip to the Atlanta Games, and in 2002 he carried the torch in Arlington, Virginia in the shadow of the Pentagon.
Since 1980, Bruce has hosted the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon, which has helped raise millions of dollars for the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation in Hampton Roads.
The Tall Cedars of Lebanon of North America recognized Bruce for Outstanding Service. He was also honored for Outstanding Community Service by the Virginia Beach chapter of the Norfolk State University Alumni Association, and helped with major fund raising events for United Cerebral Palsy of Southeastern Virginia and the Virginia Beach SPCA.
Bruce also speaks to groups throughout Virginia and North Carolina encouraging volunteerism in our nation. Bruce is a multiple winner of the "CIAA Sportscaster of the Year" award, the Chesapeake Athletic Club has honored him twice as "Tidewater Sportscaster of the Year", and the Virginia Beach Alumni Chapter at Norfolk State University honored him with an award for Excellence in Sports Media.Other honors include "Best Sports Award" from the Associated Press, "Sportscaster of the Year" from Virginia's United Press International as well as a "District Leadership Award" from the United Negro College Fund. Bruce has also been inducted into the Peninsula Baseball Hall of Fame.
Bruce can be seen weeknights on WAVY-TV, and is the host of the Fox 43 Sportswrap every night at 10:43 on Fox 43.
Under Bruce's leadership, WAVY-TV's Sports Department was honored by the Associated Press as having the "Best Sports Department" in the State of Virginia several times. Also, in numerous years Bruce has been named Hampton Roads' "Sportscaster of the Year" by the readers of Portfolio Magazine.
Bruce was born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area, but for the past 30 years has lived and worked in Hampton Roads. He resides in Virginia Beach.
You can send Bruce an email at: bruce.rader@wavy.com