Georgia Radio Hall of Fame: 2017

Born in Americus, Jim's first job in radio was at WENC and WDEC there. He moved to Atlanta after serving in the US NAVY to work at WJTL. He moved to WSB in 1936, then went to Augusta to WRDW. Davenport accepted a job at WRBL in Columbus in 1941, then moved back to WATL in Atlanta.  He also worked at WAVO, Avondale, WCPO in College Park, and WTJH in East Point. He is the father of 2007 Legacy inductee Jim Davenport, III.

Jack DeHaven was born in Allentown, PA, and attended the University of Pittsburg and Wharton School of Business. He served in the US Navy in World War II. His first job in radio was at WWSW in Pittsburgh. He joined Susquehanna Broadcasting and came to Atlanta to manage their WLTA in 1974. DeHaven worked for Regional Reps in Atlanta from 1987 until 1996.

Walter Flint was born in East Orange, NJ. He joined the Army and built three radio stations for the Armed Forces Radio Network. After the war, he attended and graduated from Kean University. In 1948, Army buddy and 2012 Legacy Inductee Milt George offered him a job at WGPC in Albany. His second career was providing sound systems to churches and theaters in Southeast Georgia. His third career was as Reverend Walter Flint; he was a Presbyterian minister. He also made many philanthropic donations to the Albany community.

Art Gillham was born in St. Louis on January 1, 1895. After attending Central High School he enrolled at Washington University. His first radio job was at WDAP Chicago in 1923. He was pianist accompanying singers promoting Ted Browne Music Co songs.  From 1937 to 1954 he played on Atlanta radio stations WSB, WGST, WRNG, and made guest appearances on NBC's Monitor. He received his moniker as the Whispering Pianist at WSB.

Keith Kalland was born in Ohio in 1951. He began his radio career at WGST in 1987. He later branched into television, working for several years at 11Alive News until moving to WAGA-TV. At the same time, he continued his work in radio, filing traffic reports for 96 Rock and Peach 94.5 radio stations, in addition to WGST. While he could not make the traffic woes go away, he helped keep listeners laughing while stuck in it with phrases like, "stick a fork in it, it's done!"

Ken Knight was born in Headland, Alabama. His family moved to Daytona Beach, Florida when he was a child. He graduated there from Campbell Street High School and earned a college degree at Virginia's Hampton Institute. His first radio job was at WROD in Daytona Beach in 1947. In 1929 when Jesse Blanton launched America's first Black-owned station WERD in Atlanta, he hired Knight to be the program director.

Oscar Leverette's career in radio started in 1964, at WNEX in Macon, while he was still in high school. Except for three years serving in the U.S. Navy, Oscar spent his entire career in the Macon market at WNEX, WBML, WMAZ, WAYS, WPEZ, WDDO, and WMGB. While he did everything from announcing to engineering, Oscar's greatest accomplishment came as a program director, when he guided 99 WAYS to the highest overall ratings, a 27 share, in the history of Macon radio. Oscar and partner John Timms launched The Fox 94.7 in 2016.

Esmond Patterson was born in Atlanta in 1927. His radio career began at WERD in 1950 and lasted for 38 years. In 2001 he moved to WTJH in East Point. Some of the highlights of his career include the March of Dimes Lifetime Achievement Award, Induction into the NAACP Hall of Fame, and a radio announcer of the year Stellar Award. His concerts and caravans featured Rev. Jasper Williams, Jr., Rev. C.J. Franklin, Rev. W. Leo Daniels, and others.

Bill Phippen was born in Long Island, NY and he attended Hofstra College and served in the Army during the Korean War. He was an account executive for WINS and WNEW in New York before coming to Atlanta to be General Manager of WQXI. He then became general manager of KOPA in Phoenix, station manager of WRC in Washington and WSB in Atlanta, and vice president/general manager of WZGO in Philadelphia. His last position was general manager of WAPW in Atlanta. The Atlanta Radio Association created the Bill Phippen Scholarship at the UGA.

Jane Willingham was born in Millen. She became interested in drama and acted in plays and spent a summer at Priscilla Beach Theater in Plymouth, Massachusetts studying acting and performing in theatrical productions. In 1939 she heard her name announced on the radio as the winner of the School of the Air contest sponsored by the Atlanta Journal. She attended and graduated from the Georgia State College for Women. In 1944, Willingham joined WSB as its second female announcer. She developed a weekly program of stories for children and was WSB Women's Director.

Mark has been a member of Triple Team Traffic since September of 1997. In addition to anchoring B98.5FM traffic coverage, he also lends his voice to traffic reports on WSB. His talk show became part of WSB’s weekly line-up in 2014. Previously, he worked as a sportswriter in New York and Connecticut before moving to Atlanta. Mark graduated from Marist College in New York with a degree in journalism and public relations in 1996.

Dave Cohen is currently the longest-tenured Division One radio play-by-play voice in Georgia. 34 years as the radio play-by-play announcer for Georgia State University Panther basketball, baseball, and football and host of the coach’s radio shows. Cohen is a Georgia State alumnus. He started in radio at GSU’s WRAS-FM. For thirteen years he worked as a sports reporter and announcer at WGST-AM, WCNN-AM, WGUN-AM, and WSB-AM before joining Georgia State full-time.

Gail Daniels has been on the radio in Georgia since 1994. She was a midday personality at WDEN in Macon, for 14 years. She has been a part of The Fox 94.7, a local startup in Macon since it went on the air. Prior to her move to Georgia, Gail worked in several small/medium markets in Michigan, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, and Ohio. Gail also hosted and worked on-air at television stations in those markets.

Shirley L. Ellis is a native of Detroit. She graduated from the University of Detroit with a B.A. in Mass Communications. She obtained a Master of Public Administration from Georgia College & State University. Shirley began her radio career in Macon at WIBB. She is station Manager for the Fort Valley State University campus television & radio stations. Ellis received the Black College Radio Station Manager of the Year award and several National Black Programmers Coalition Women in Radio Awards. On weekends, she is "Mama Mia” on WRVB FM in Macon.

Tom Giglio began his radio career in 1961 as a transmitter operator while attending Georgia Tech. He became full-time in 1964. In 1967, he built WKXI FM (now WSTR FM). After serving in the Army, he returned to WQXI and became chief engineer in 1971. In 1996, Giglio was promoted to Vice President of Engineering for Jefferson Pilot. After 45 years in radio, he retired in 2006. Giglio is a ham radio operator and helps coordinate volunteer efforts for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.

Chip Lyness is from Baltimore, attended the University of Georgia, and began his radio career at WLOV in Washington, Georgia. After graduating he worked in sales for WNGC, then co-owned a station in Athens. He then becomes a partner and manager of WDDK/WULK in Greensboro. He does sports play by play for the stations and is active in the Lake Oconee community.

Sutton was born in Clio, Alabama. He attended high school and community college in Florida before entering professional baseball. Sutton entered broadcasting after his retirement as a player. He has worked in this capacity for several teams, the majority being with the Atlanta Braves, a position he currently holds. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.