Award-winning Kansas City broadcast news anchor John Holt will emcee the Jack Kilby sculpture unveiling ceremony on Saturday, April 28. A native of Great Bend, Holt returns to his hometown for the ceremony, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in the courthouse square in downtown Great Bend.
“We are honored and excited to have John Holt as our emcee for this special event,” said Glenn Opie, who chairs the Committee to Honor Jack Kilby. “Hailing from Great Bend, he understands the significance of Jack Kilby to our community and he eagerly agreed to volunteer his talents for the ceremony.” Kilby, a graduate of Great Bend High School, invented the integrated circuit – the microchip. He received the Nobel Prize for physics in 2000.
Holt co-anchors Fox 4 News-Kansas City at 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Joining the station in 1994, he also serves as an investigative and special projects reporter. He’s earned several Regional Emmys for reporting and in 2007, he earned a Regional Emmy for anchoring. Media Mix, a media professionals group in Kansas City, has named Holt its TV Personality of the Year three times in the past dozen years.
Holt graduated from Great Bend High School in 1977, where he participated in speech and debate. He went on to the University of Kansas where he earned journalism and law degrees. After graduating, Holt worked at WIBW-TV in Topeka, and then moved to Wichita where he anchored and reported for the Kansas State Network.
He began his broadcasting career in Great Bend at KVGB AM-FM during high school and while on summer breaks during college.
John is married to Suzy. They are parents of Jack, a 2011 graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, and Katie, who is expected to graduate from Creighton University next year.