New “Voice” Determined for Purdue “All-American” Marching Band

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – John Hultman, a Purdue Band Alum and speech major who graduated from Purdue in 1958, will be the next “Voice” of the Purdue “All-American” Marching Band. The announcement was made at the annual Purdue Bands & Orchestras banquet held Sunday, April 24. The appointment comes after Roy Johnson’s decision to retire as the announcer of the Purdue “All-American” Marching Band following this academic year.
John has spent his entire career in broadcast media. After graduation from Purdue, he did a brief stint as “Uncle John” on a kids’ TV show in Fort Wayne, then moved to Detroit where he ran the gamut from disc jockey to reporter to weekend anchor. In 1968 he returned to his hometown of Chicago and joined the staff of WBBM Newsradio, Chicago’s all-news radio station. While working for WBBM, Hultman rose to the position of News Director, a role he filled for ten years.
For years, John Hultman’s voice was recognized by hundreds of thousands of Chicagoland residents. He anchored the WBBM “morning drive” for eighteen years of his career and continues to work there part time. Correspondent, he covered many big stories including Pope John Paul’s visit to Chicago, the tragic crash of Flight 91 near O’Hare in 1979, and joined former Governor Jim Thompson on trade missions to Budapest, Warsaw, and Moscow.
John is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Chicago Headline Club. He is the past president of the Illinois News Broadcasters Association and was named Illinois Journalist of the Year in 1994 by the Northern Illinois University Department of Journalism. He is also a retired major in the United States Army Reserve.
John has performed on stage at Orchestra Hall as narrator with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and at Pick-Staiger Hall at Northwestern University with the North Shore Concert Band.
Of his three children, two have attended Purdue and have played in the band. In 2009, 2011, and 2013, John and his two children marched on the field together during Homecoming as members of the Alumni Marching Band. John has also served as the “go to” substitute announcer for the band on several occasions. “Being in Purdue Bands & Orchestras can lead to a lifetime of music and I am happy to be back to support an organization that meant so much to me,” said John. He and his wife Wilma live in Northbrook, Illinois. In addition to their three children, they have six grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. John enjoys sailing, singing in the church choir, and baking hundreds of loaves of bread each year, most of which he gives away!
We look forward to welcoming John Hultman as the “Voice” of the Purdue “All-American” Marching Band at our first home football game on September 3, when Purdue takes on the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at Ross-Ade Stadium.