Georgia Radio Hall of Fame: 2016

Ron Arnold was born in Shelbyville, Tennessee. He was an announcer at WFLI in Chattanooga before serving in the Marines assigned to the Armed Forces Radio and Television Network in Okinawa. After his discharge in 1968, Ron came to Dalton and was hired in a sales and marketing position at WTTI. Ron quickly was promoted to Station Manager of the radio station and the co-owned upstart cable company. Ron was active in the community and served on various boards during his nearly 20 years at the helm of WTTI.

Roland Brooks was born in Pendergrass, Georgia. He graduated from Jefferson High School, attended North Georgia College, then graduated from the University of Georgia in 1955. His radio career began at WBHF in Carterville. In 1960 he became the radio editor for the UGA Cooperative Extension Service and held that position until 1990. The voice of Roland Brooks was known across the state of Georgia and the Southeast for his early morning 5 AM farm and garden reports that aired on WSB radio, and other stations across the state of Georgia. Brooks won many local, state, and national industry awards.

Richard Lockerman, aka "Phil Clark", was born in Byromville, Georgia. He worked at a variety of stations including WMNZ in Montezuma, WRBN in Warner Robins, WCOP in Warner Robins, and WFPM in Fort Valley. Most of his career was with WPGA radio first in Perry, then eventually in Macon. Phil loved all things sports-related including the Braves, NASCAR, and golf. He was the "Voice of the Lady Hornets" and did play by play for the Westfield School's sports teams. Radio was his lifelong passion and career.

Connie Flint was born in Atlanta and began her broadcasting career in Atlanta. She worked at WAOK as a personality and eventually became Atlanta’s first female Program Director. Connie helped guide V103 and WAOK to become the top urban revenue and ratings duo in the country.  When Radio One decided to put an FM gospel station on the air, they called Connie. Her dream of programming an FM Gospel station had come true. Praise 97.5 was the first major market Gospel FM in the country. Flint won many awards including The Gospel Choice Awards Lifetime Achievement Award.

Jack Gibson’s first experience in radio was as an actor in short dramas. He finally got his turn at the microphone playing R&B records and ad-libbing between records as “Jockey Jack”. His fast-talking persona attracted the attention of Ken Knight, program director of WERD, a new radio station targeting the black audience in Atlanta. In 1949, WERZD hired Gibson to be Atlanta’s first black disc jockey. Gibson went on to become the publisher of Mello Yello, an influential black trade magazine. He also founded and produced “The Family Affair” black radio and music convention held in Atlanta for 22 years.

Charlie Gwyn was fascinated by radio from an early age and repaired and built crystal radio receivers. He served as a Navy corpsman during World War II and acquired his FCC First Class Engineering License. He found his first radio job in South Carolina first as an announcer, then in sales. The owners sent Gwyn to WLFA in LaFayette, Georgia as GM and partner. He eventually bought out his partner’s interest. Gwyn devoted his life to serving the LaFayette community and won many awards for his community service. Two of his children got into radio.

Ben Lucas grew up in Augusta. In his youth, he "played radio". One of his teachers arranged for him to be an intern at WRDW. In 1936, he was hired to work there after school. In 1939, left for WRBL and WDAK in Columbus where he originated the "Talk of the Town", originally a request program for teens, which he continued when he moved to Rome to work at WRGA. Lucas stayed at WRGA until 1961 then moved to WROM. In 1970, Lucas left WROM and radio to enter real estate. and remained active in community organizations.

Johnny Murray was born in Glen Cove, New York. He graduated from Glen Cove High School. Murray learned to play piano and entertained his family, friends, and audiences on the Armed Services Radio Network during World War II. Upon discharge, he worked at KLIF in Dallas, WDSU in New Orleans, and WMOB in Mobile. In 1956 he moved to Atlanta to work at WQXI. Later he moved to WGST where he worked for 16 years. He hosted "Johnny's Hideaway” on WGST and in person at a club by the same name. After WGST, Murray worked at WBIE in Marietta.

Ed Shane was born in Atlanta and began his radio career in Griffin at WRIX. While attending Georgia State University he worked as an announcer and newsman at WQXI. After joining WPLO in Atlanta, he convinced the management to allow the Georgia State students to operate WPLO FM as a student station. Shane became program director, and the station became Atlanta's first (and one of the nation’s) first rock FM stations. In 1977 he founded Shane Media; a consulting firm based in Houston. He also founded “Best in Texas" music magazine and authored several media books including a college textbook.

Rhett Turnipseed, III was born in Gainesville and grew up with a love of radio. His first job as a teenager was putting remote amplifiers and microphones in churches for Sunday morning broadcasts on WGGA. He studied broadcast journalism and earned his masters at the University of Georgia. His thesis was a history of Georgia radio from 1922 to 1959. After serving in the army in Korea, Rhett joined Voice of America and described live events worldwide, such as NASA's Mercury through Apollo space flights and President Kennedy's funeral. His Apollo 11 coverage (with worldwide listeners) earned Voice of America's 1968 Peabody Award.

Larry Zachery, aka "Larry Lane”, graduated from Turner High School in Atlanta and then attended radio broadcasting school there. During his 42 years in radio, he worked at WIGO, V103, WQXI, and WSB FM. He used several names on the air including “Night Train Lane", "Larry Darnell", as well as "Larry Lane". He is said to have been the inspiration for "Venus Fly Trap" on the television series "WKRP in Cincinnati”. He volunteered his services to the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army as well as coaching little league baseball.

As a teenager in Atlanta during the 1950s, Vic grew up listening to the likes of Bob McKee, Johnny Murray, Bill Drake, Paul Drew, Hank “The Prank” Morgan, John “The Farmer's Boy”, and Bob “Cousin Lem” Corley and others. He wanted to be like them, on the radio and with people listening to him. Aderholt’s dream came true. He was a jock at WAKE, WQXI, and WPLO. After spending three years in the U. S. Army, he got into radio sales, and sales management and spent 15 years as a general manager in Oklahoma, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida.  He owns Vic Aderhold Concepts.

Harry Beadle’s work in radio spanned stations in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia and included WGST in Atlanta as a news anchor and investigative reporter. There, his work was honored some two dozen times at the state and regional level by news agencies and professional journalism and broadcasting organizations, and he received national honors from Investigative Reporters and Editors. In 1997, Harry was hired as a news anchor by the CNN Radio Network where he shared two Peabody Awards and an Alfred I DuPont-Columbia University Award. Harry retired in early 2010 after 42 years in radio.

Matt Caesar was born in Philadelphia in 1950. Due to vision problems, he listened to the radio as a child. He attended Career Academy in Washington and then went to WQAL Philadelphia. In 1973 while working for WIFI, he was transferred to WZGC in Atlanta. In 1973, Matt moved to WRFC in Athens, then WGAU. Matt went to WSB in 1978. He was hired as PD of WPEZ in Macon in 1982. In 1987, he went back to Athens and WGAU. Due to complications from vision surgery, he is currently on temporary disability but still employed by Cox Media in Athens.

Johnny Gray began his 43-year broadcasting career in 1963 in Alabama, spending 14 years at Birmingham's country WYDE on-air and as Program/Music Director.  In 1980, Johnny joined Atlanta's WPLO on-air and became Program/Music Director. In 1985, Johnny began on-air at WKHX (KICKS), becoming Music Director for 20 years, Assistant Program Director, and Music Director for sister station 106.7. Throughout his career, Johnny received numerous awards acknowledging his contributions to broadcasting. Johnny retired in 2006.

Bob began radio at 15, mentored by GRHOF Legacy honoree Bill Hoopes at WSFB, Quitman.  Following College Bob began full-time radio in Valdosta at WVLD as Program Director, Station Manager, and later a station owner and Television Sports Anchor. Bob served as Chairman of the Turner Center, Rotary President, and Rotary Assistant Governor. He also served on the Board of Trustees with Wiregrass University. Bob served on the Board of Directors with the GRHOF including Host Presenter at The Annual GRHOF Awards in Atlanta. Bob is an Ordained Deacon and he and his wife Leah live in Valdosta.

Bobby Pope's radio career dates back to 1958 when he served as play-by-play announcer for Little League baseball at WSFT in Thomaston. In 1964 he joined WMAZ Radio and worked in the Macon market until November of 2014. His most lasting involvement was a 39-year tenure as host of the Saturday Football Scoreboard. Over the years he also did daily sports shows, as well as play by play for high school football and basketball games, Mercer University basketball, and Macon Braves baseball.

Condace Pressley is an accomplished, award-winning broadcaster. This UGA alum and Marietta native started at News 95-5 and AM750 WSB as a weekend anchor. Today she manages Programming Operations and Community Affairs, and she hosts Perspectives. Her career stops include WFOM-AM, WUOG-FM, WGAU-AM/WNGC-FM, WRFC-AM, and WGST-AM/Georgia Radio News Service. Profiled in 2014 by The History Makers, Condace is a former NABJ President and the AABJ 2012 Pioneer Black Journalist. Her community service includes work on the boards of Hosea Feed the Hungry, Georgia Ballet, YWCA of Northwest Georgia, Atlanta Press Club, RTDNA, and the University of Georgia National Alumni Association’s Executive Committee.

Bill Sanders enjoyed a fifty-year career in Georgia broadcasting beginning at WKLY in Hartwell, Georgia in 1957 as a teenage DJ. Over the years, Bill worked at WSB radio in Atlanta and WDUN in Gainesville. He was the founder and director of the Northeast Georgia Radio News Network. When Bill retired, he was President and CEO of the Georgia Association of Broadcasters, a position he held for twenty-eight years. He and his wife, Marlene, have been married for fifty years and have one daughter and two grandsons. They live in Roswell, GA.

Since 1971, Ben Sandifer’s radio career has included on-air work, programming, and sales, at stations in Macon, Augusta, Thomasville, and Tallahassee. He earned the CRMC designation from the Radio Advertising Bureau in 1987 and is a six-time Gabby winner from the Georgia Association of Broadcasters. Ben served as secretary on the board of the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame and is the owner of GMS Productions. His syndicated program “Solid Gold Sock Hop” now runs on stations worldwide. He does mornings on The Fox 97.7 in Macon.

It began at WIMO, Winder. Middays. Scared, but determined. Then to NC to marry his high school sweetheart - 45 years ago and the best decision ever made.  Another best decision was a career in radio. WSGA Savannah was his dream; He was at WSSB Durham when the call came, it was the overnight show, and the turning point in his career. His daughter was born in Savannah. On to other markets, and eventually consulting stations in Georgia. In 2011 Dan began the National Radio Talent System. GAB voted to do the Radio Talent Institute at UGA to bring young people into radio. Minutes from Winder…seems appropriate.