Ten radio professionals who all left their mark on San Antonio were honored Saturday at the 15th annual San Antonio Radio Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Among them was the late Ruben O. Garcia, who was Texas Public Radio’s vice president of technology and operations until his untimely passing on Feb. 3, 2026. Garcia’s time in radio went all the way back to the 1970s, and included stints on KZ100, KONO-FM and Y100.
Accepting the award on his behalf was his daughter, Amanda Garcia, who said her father loved “connecting with people through the microphone.”
Garcia remembered spending time with her father at the KONO studio.
“I would just be hanging out in the studio, with him in the chair, playing my Game Boy,” she said, oblivious to the fact that thousands were listening to his voice.
Friends would ask her, “How does it feel, your dad being famous? To me, he was always just my dad.”
Among the other honorees was KTFM's “Hot” Henrietta Hernandez, who recalled being an insecure Latina teenager who loved to argue with her parents, so she thought, “Why not do radio?”
Hernandez said it was always meaningful to meet listeners who benefitted from station giveaways.
Longtime community voice Milton Glueck (KLUP) was also inducted into the San Antonio Radio Hall of Fame, and echoed the sentiments of many who spoke, saying radio is a powerful medium for connection. He described one listener who told him, “I hated being alone … but I listened to you ... on the music show ... on the garden show, and you were my companion.”
For Amanda Garcia, radio is still a meaningful way to connect with her late father.
“If y’all tune in to Texas Public Radio, he’s still on air. I tune in to him every night. … It brings me comfort.”
