Brigadier General Everett Hughes Holle had a broadcasting career as an announcer, director, writer and producer with NBC’s WVTM-13 in Birmingham, Alabama that spanned over four decades (1950-1991). A 1950 graduate of the University of Alabama, he served in the US Army and headed their Radio, TV, and Motion Picture Department. He was a member of the Alabama Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame and the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences Hall of Fame. 

Brigadier General Holle envisioned and funded the Holle Awards for Excellence in Creativity and Communication to celebrate student excellence. He is also the namesake of the interdisciplinary Holle Center for Communication Arts at The University of Alabama, and the National Communication Association’s “Everett Hughes Holle Award for Social Justice and Community Engagement.”

Known for his vision, compassion, and generosity, Brigadier General Holle understood the importance of creativity and the value of interdisciplinarity in communication while championing public service, servant leadership, and the arts. He understood the importance and value of the written and spoken word, and is fondly remembered as “a renaissance man, versed in the classics and fully conversant in the contemporary.”

He dedicated his life to the principles instilled in him by his family to make every effort to improve the lives and conditions of those around him and leave the world better than he found it. He passed away in 2017.

All photos courtesy of the Holle Family Foundation