Al Kalmbach inducted into Milwaukee Media Hall of Fame

In recognition of his long career as a publisher and business executive, the Milwaukee Press Club inducted company founder Al Kalmbach into its Milwaukee Media Hall of Fame in a ceremony October 23 in the Potawatomi Bingo Casino’s Woodland Dreams Ballroom.

Kalmbach was inducted into the Hall along with eight other new members, all with long careers on local newspapers and in TV news. Kalmbach, who died in 1981 at age 71, was among four posthumous inductees.

The company had 15 representatives and spouses at the ceremony, including Charles Kalmbach, one of Al Kalmbach’s sons and currently a member of the company’s board of directors. Also attending from the board: former President Walter J. Mundschau and former Vice President-Editorial James Slocum, himself a member of the Hall of Fame.

In accepting a Hall of Fame plaque for the company, Vice President-Editorial Kevin Keefe cited Al’s dedication to editorial quality, which began with the founding of Model Railroader magazine in 1934. “Al cared about his readers virtually above all else,” said Keefe.

Organized in 1885, the Milwaukee Press Club describes itself as America’s oldest continuously operated press club.