It was Thanksgiving of ’96 or ’97 and I offered to work the midday shift at Rockin’ Country 102.9 (now WBUZ) in Nashville so others whose families were farther away could have the day off. Melissa McDonald (my wife) was working in the newsroom (remember those?) at WSM. Suddenly, the phone rings and the caller was Billy Ray Cyrus. I had played one of his songs in the previous set. He wanted to thank me for playing one of his songs (he was a regular caller to the station). Billy also asked what my plans were for the day. He wanted to know if I would have Thanksgiving. I explained that my wife and I were both working midday shifts and we were planning a traditional meal later in the day. "Oh, good!" was his reply, "Because if you didn’t, I would bring you over a plate. We have a table full and I just didn’t want you to miss Thanksgiving!"
What a nice guy!

Doug Combs
Vice President/ Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame
Vice President/Tennessee Assn.of Broadcasters                               

If you are a voter for the 2014 Class of the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame and you are having difficulty finding the nominee of your choice on the ballot, it may be because you know him or her by an “air name” – an on-air alias that allowed them to conceal their true identity from the listening public and sometimes even from their co-workers. Sort of like a super hero. Or witness protection with less supervision.

Since we are unable to list every nomme de microphone on the ballot, here is a guide to help you cast your votes. Remember, to get more info on any nominee, click on their name on the ballot.

If you are looking for Dude Walker or Johnny Dark, check out John Dougherty;

If you are looking for Jumpin’ Jim, check out James Eikner;

If you are looking for Cousin Tuny, try Doris Freeman;

If you are looking for Gilly Baby, check out Clarence Kilcrease;

If you are looking for Johnny Eagle, try Harold Lloyd;

If you are looking for Dex, try Bill Poindexter;

If you are looking for The Wild Child, check out Bill Berlin;

If you are looking for The Chucker, try Chuck Browning;

If you are looking for Smoochie, try Bill Gordon;

If you are looking for Big Hugh Baby, check out Hugh Jarrett;

If you are looking for Bad Dog, look for John McCormack;

If you are looking for Jerry Phillips, Ed Phillips, Mel Kent, Johnny Holliday, Johnny Mitchell or Sebastian Stone, you may be looking for Gerald Edward Phillips;

If you are looking for Bobby Q Day, you should try Eddie White;

And, if you are looking for Bob Parker, Bandit, or any other name you don’t see on the Career ballot, you might take a look at Bob Anderson.

Your vote for the 2014 Hall of Fame inductees needs to be cast by November 28th.  Check your email for the link to the voting site.  If you haven't received an email link, or if you haven't joined or renewed your membership, there is still time to do so (trhof.org for membership info). 

Thank you, Dave Nichols, for providing this list!     

The 50th anniversary of the JFK assasination is this Friday 11/22. Mike Bohan was featured on a Nashville TV newscast (Nov. 19)with a newly-discovered family 8mm tape of John F Kennedy waving to a crowd from his motorcade. You can watch it at http://www.wsmv.com/story/24014078/nashville-family-finds-rare-footage-of-jfk-motorcade 

Cathy Martindale remembers JFK visiting her hometown of Ft. Worth, Texas as her family parked the car on the shoulder of I-30 when the presidential motorcade passed by, with the president waving out the window. The next day, her father had parked just beyond Dealey Plaza when he witnessed the Presidential limo speeding past him on the way to Parkland Hospital, seeing only Jackie, in her pink outfit, bent over her mortally wounded husband.

--- The Board of Directors will hold their last meeting of the year December 14 to ratify inductee votes.

--- Hall of Famer Luther Masingill featured on a national TV program!  http://timesfreepress.com/news/2013/oct/30/al-jazeera-to-feature-local-radio-personality/?local

--- A committee has been formed to collect and purchase Tennessee radio memorabilia, including old microphones, on-air signage, transmitter parts, and anything related to TN radio stations.  If you have items you'd like to donate (or purchase on Ebay, Craigslist, etc.) please contact Nick Archer at nikarcher@bellsouth.net . Nick also oversees the TRHOF Facebook page which now boasts over 765 members.

--- We are currently looking for TRHOF 2014 BANQUET sponsorships.  Please contact Chip Chapman at cchapman@WDEF.com

--- Looking for a gig or have a spot to fill?  Post it HERE next month! 

NOVEMBER Ben Cagle Ferrand Cumpton ("Lee Stevens") Lee Dorman Earl Freudenberg Fred Moore Bob "Todd" Thurgaland ("Chickamauga Charlie")   DECEMBER Whit Adamson Steve Bowers Joe Case Helen Daniels Sam McPherson Johnny Pirkle Glen Powers Bruce Sherman Austin Stinnett Skip Woolwine

Upcoming joint meetings of the Board of Directors and Advisory Board will be December 14th.

Know of a radio gig?  Share with us and we'll get the word out..fulltime, parttime, vacation....we'll get the word out! 

KEEP 'EM COMING...we appreciate the tremendous response for your personal stories...we will showcase them in our newsletter throughout the coming months and encourage others to send us your stories, trivia, and news.. 

Have a New Year's Eve radio story you'd like to share? 
Email yours to  sbuddy@bellsouth.net

Voting for the Class of 2014 concludes November 30, 2013 at 11:50pm Eastern Time. There is still time to vote, but you must be a member to vote.  If you join online and pay online, your ballot can be on its way via email the next day. Deadline for accepting applications in time for voting is November 28th. Attaining membership and a list of nominees can be obtained by clicking through these links to the website:

2014 Nominees

Join

Match the FACT with the PERSONALITY
(answers at bottom of page)  

SAVE THE DATE:  All broadcasters are invited to a meeting of "Veterans of Radio Wars," December 5th at noon.  The gathering takes place at Wally's Restaurant, 6521 Ringgold Road at I-75 Exit "1" in East Ridge.  All current and former broadcasters are encouraged to attend.  Check with Ralph Vaughn for carpool info.         ralphevaughn@yahoo.com   

MAP TO WALLY'S       

I am the son of a share cropper and  have 5 older sisters. I am the baby of our family. My real name is Harold Loyd, but I changed it to Johnny Dee and later to Johnny Eagle because when I first got started in radio some people would ask me if I was the son of the famous silent film comic actor Harold Lloyd. He spelled his last name with two L’s and was big in the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s.  While serving in the US Air Force, a buddy and I won a contest from a DJ named Teddy Sax on KOOL radio in Honolulu. I was so impressed with him and his show that I decided right then when I got out of the Air Force, I would pursue a career in radio. I got to know him quite well, and when his air schedule worked with my schedule he would let me come to the studio and practice. Once he allowed me to read the news. I later got a part time job after midnight on KIKI in Honolulu. After returning the mainland I attended DJ school and Keegan Technical Institute in Memphis.                

Any news related to our membership is greatly appreciated (along with an associated photo).  Please continue to send us "TRIVIA" about yourself, too!  Our next newsletter will begin FIRST OF THE MONTH publication January 1, 2014 with subsequent article submission deadline on the 25th of each month.  Send your information to any of the newsletter committee members listed below.