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Tonight's GRHOF Banquet

R

RoddyFreeman

As always, the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame banquet was exceptional. Emcee Jay Thomas was hilarious all night long.

One of the funniest moments of the evening was an accident. Jay Thomas was reading the bio of Randy & Spiff before calling them up to the stage to accept their Career Achievement award. Thomas read, at the end of the bio, "They are now on mornings at WYAY-FM," and people began shouting out. A surprised Thomas asked what everyone was trying to say. Randy then yelled, "We were fired." It was classic.

When they got up on stage, Thomas asked them what they did to get fired. Spiff replied, "It's a Cumulus station." Then Spiff put on a different cap for each Atlanta station where they've been.

Some of the other winners tonight were former Z93 program director John Young, the legendary Harley Drew from Augusta, Hawks broadcaster Steve Holman, CBS Radio President Dan Mason and longtime country personality Moby.

The 96 Rock video, created by Steve Mitchell, was extraordinary.
 
Is the 96 Rock video on the GRHOF site?
 
jabba17 said:
Is the 96 Rock video on the GRHOF site?
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Not sure. Steve emailed it to all attendees but requested no one pass it to anyone else. His email said it now belongs to the GRHOF so John Long could very well put it up at some point.
 
One acceptance speech that I found especially interesting was delivered by Jim Wesley, who received the Founders Award. I've been aware of Jim as a top-level executive of Cox Radio and then president/principal at Summit Broadcasting and DKG.

He talked about a phone call that changed his life. He was a young disc jockey at WGLS in Decatur, which I had never heard of. I looked it up and it was the original station on 970, later WERD, WIIN, WKLS-AM and now WNIV. He said he had worked his way through Georgia Tech and was 2 months away from graduation. One weekend, he was on the air at WGLS and the telephone rang. The caller was Elmo Ellis, then PD at WSB. Ellis said, "I've been listening to you, and I like what I'm hearing. Would you want to come to work at WSB?" And that was the start of a stint at Cox that would launch a stellar career.
 
The Story of 96 Rock will be available on a DVD from the GRHOF, details coming soon on their site. He made me promise not to put it on YouTube, so I won't. But I did let a few folks view it online in advance.
 
How funny is it that Rhubarb would be the one to induct Moby into the GRHOF,I'll bet neither thought that would ever happen.
 
I purposely got a photo taken with Rhubarb and Moby. Dunno when's the next time I'd ever have those two in the same room together!
 
Jim Wesley is a name not many know but he had a big impact on Cox Radio. Dan Mason might have been forgotten by some, but he as President of CBS Radio, h e has a huge impact on national radio and Z93 was his station. He replaced himself with John Young who continued the momentum and Jay Thomas introduced him by saying " I used to listen to this guy on KILT when he was 20 or something." Harley Drew is one of those guys who does his job everyday and never misses a beat. Steve McCoy, Leslie Fram, Jerry Blum all there. It's kind of easy to focus on a couple of "current" names we know now or hear everyday or wonder if they'll get "rehired" but when a night like that happens, you realize standing right in front of you, are people whose contributions to Atlanta and GA Radio were unforgetable and each one seemed to touch many lives along the way because so much of the country was watching Atlanta, maybe more before than now. But for all the problems of the business, man does this market have memories.
 
Just a rough count here folks, since 07, GRHOF has recognized 77 men, 6 women and, from what I can tell, less than 5 African American or Hispanic awards. Maybe we should change the name to Ga Radio Hall of Fame for Old White Guys.
 
I agree with Uriah. I personally have nominated a number of women and they never make it into the mix. I don't know if a person has to have a lot of votes to be nominated or what. It seems like a properly filled out nomination form should at least get them on the ballot. Hell, I voted for Connie Gaines this year thinking he was a woman!
 
Uriah said:
Just a rough count here folks, since 07, GRHOF has recognized 77 men, 6 women and, from what I can tell, less than 5 African American or Hispanic awards. Maybe we should change the name to Ga Radio Hall of Fame for Old White Guys.
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How about Royal Marshall?

What about Ron Sailor and/or Ralph From Ben Hill?

Heck, throw Herman Cain in there and maybe get a future POTUS in your honorees.

Maybe I should send in my $25 so I can nominate Kaedy Kiely. THAT is someone who I can't figure out why isn't in the GRHOF.

Belinda Skelton?

Tammy Lloyd? Oh, I forgot, this is not the Georgia Radio Hall of Infamy.
 
RoddyFreeman said:
I'm going to nominate Kate McCarthy next year. She's certainly worthy of being inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame.
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POTW
 
I've been impressed by how the GRHoF originated and how well it has grown considering no one receives any remuneration for all the effort of maintaining the web site (grhof.com) and taking the personal financial risk in producing such a fantastic dinner/program. All that video/sound equipment and productions costs have to mount up. Yet, it is my understanding that it has been in the black every year. Hats off to John Long who selflessly orchestrats the whole affair and all the board members and volunteers who are so supportive.

As to inductees, I, too, have been disappointed at times that my nominee was not chosen. However, reading the instructions one learns that the nominating form must be accompanied by extensive documentation and photos supporting the candidate being nominated. The instructions indicate that, from these nominations, the board selects a group of nominees and the winners are chosen by member votes which are tabulated by an independent accounting firm. Board members are from all across GA and, therefore, not necessarily familiar with the work of an individual in another market, even Atlanta. That is why the nomination has to have the material supporting that candidate.
 
I tried to nominate Frank Ski 2 years ago and he didn't respond. I didn't take it personally but feel he deserves it. But elementary is right, the membership has grown and with diversity in everything from age demos to women and blacks, this is still a young organization with potential because Atlanta has a great heritage. There are a lot of good opinions on the site but while blogging a quick thought is how today's world works, think of this as a term paper that takes work and research and follow up. It's a pain at times but I look at each winner and recognize each one had merit, AND VOTES ...
Hey if James Brown's daughter and one of his wives drove over from Augusta to accept, they sure took it seriously.
 
John Long and others involved in GRHOF. Don't be discouraged by the folks on here complaining. Many of them have probably never organized a yard sale much less an event like the one you do each year. It's easier to criticize than create. You're doing a great job and we appreciate it. Over time, I am sure many of these folks mentioned will be honored. It's nice to live in a state where there are so many deserving radio folks..past and present. Besides trying to please radio people is hurding cats. You can never get it done and the cats are really ticked.


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onetake said:
I tried to nominate Frank Ski 2 years ago and he didn't respond. I didn't take it personally but feel he deserves it. But elementary is right, the membership has grown and with diversity in everything from age demos to women and blacks, this is still a young organization with potential because Atlanta has a great heritage. There are a lot of good opinions on the site but while blogging a quick thought is how today's world works, think of this as a term paper that takes work and research and follow up. It's a pain at times but I look at each winner and recognize each one had merit, AND VOTES ...
Hey if James Brown's daughter and one of his wives drove over from Augusta to accept, they sure took it seriously.
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