Earl Wade "Bud" Wendell (born 17 August 1927) is an American country music executive. Wendell was the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

and president of

Gaylord Entertainment Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. () is a hotel, resort, entertainment, and Mass media, media company named after National Historic Landmark the Ryman Auditorium, built as a tabernacle by Captain Thomas G. Ryman in 1892 and later the home of the ...

from 1991 until his retirement in 1997. He was awarded the

Silver Buffalo Award The Silver Buffalo Award is the national-level distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America. It is presented for noteworthy and extraordinary service to youth on a national basis, either as part of, or independent of the Scouting pro ...

from the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

in 1996 and inducted into the

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...

in 1998.

Early life and education

Wendell was born on 17 August 1927 in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...

. During his childhood, he was a member of the

and became an assistant scout leader. As an adult, Wendell served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. For his post-secondary education, he completed a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

at the College of Wooster in 1950 specializing in economics.

Career

Wendell started working with the

National Life and Accident Insurance Company The National Life and Accident Insurance Company is a former life insurance company that was based in Nashville, Tennessee. National Life and Accident began in 1900 as the National Sick and Accident Association, a mutual company. It was reorgan ...

in 1950 selling insurance. In 1962, he moved to work at the insurance company's main location in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. Wendell changed his career in 1965 when he became an executive assistant at WSM. Years later, he was named manager of the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

in 1968. His positions at the Opry and WSM changed in 1974 when he was named general manager of the Grand Ole Opry and WSM's vice president in the same year. In 1978, Wendell held his first leadership positions as

and president of WSM. He was appointed these same positions when he started working for

in 1991. As Gaylord's president, Wendell expanded the

Country Music Television Country Music Television (CMT) is an American pay TV network owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched on March 5, 1983, as Country Music Television, CMT was the first nationally available channel devoted to coun ...

channel's broadcast globally into parts of Latin America and Asia in the early 1990s. He also launched the

Wildhorse Saloon The Wildhorse Saloon is a country/western-themed restaurant, live music venue, and Nightclub, dance club located in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. It is managed by Marriott and owned by Ryman Hospitality Properties (formerly known as Gaylord En ...

in Nashville and Opryland Music Group before retiring in 1997.

Awards and honors

Wendell was inducted into the

in 1998 and the

Music City Walk of Fame The Music City Walk of Fame in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, is a walk of fame that honors significant contributors to Nashville's musical heritage and significant achievements in the music industry.Silver Buffalo Award The Silver Buffalo Award is the national-level distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America. It is presented for noteworthy and extraordinary service to youth on a national basis, either as part of, or independent of the Scouting pro ...

in 1996 from the

Personal life

Wendell is married with four children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wendell, Bud 1927 births Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Living people