Presenting the first-ever class of GEORGIA RADIO LEGENDS from the Friends of Georgia Radio. These five broadcasting professionals, honored for their significant contributions to radio and service to listeners across Georgia, will be honored during a gala hosted by Jeff Foxworthy on Saturday, August 27th, at the Metropolitan Club in Alpharetta.

The GEORGIA RADIO LEGENDS Class of 2022 comprises the following five broadcasting professionals.

The late Charles Giddens / Media Venture Partners

In the 1970s, Giddens led to market leadership WRFC/Athens, the flagship station of the University of Georgia Sports Network; WFOX-FM/Gainesville “The Fox”; WAGQ-FM/Athens “Q-105,” and WCGQ/Columbus, all dominant stations in listeners and sales. “The Great Oconee River Raft Race” was his creation. Giddens went on to First Media Corporation’s KOPA/Phoenix, KFMK/Houston, and WPGC/Washington, D.C. In 1987, he became co-founder and Managing Director of Media Venture Partners in Washington, D.C. Charles and his wife, Joanne, along with daughters Kelly and Cassandra, moved to Naples, Florida. He continued in the MVP station brokerage operations and developed stations in Athens, Gainesville, and Rome, Georgia. He died unexpectedly at the peak of his career in Florida on September 12, 2001.


Bob Houghton / Georgia Association of Broadcasters

Houghton has been the President of the Georgia Association of Broadcasters
(GAB) since 2012 and most recently became the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations (NASBA) President for 2022. Before coming to the GAB, he was the General Manager of Georgia Public Broadcasting. Before moving to Georgia, Houghton spent 16 years with CBS Radio. He was a national sales representative in Chicago and New York and a Sales Manager in Minneapolis (WCCO), Dallas (KRLD), and Chicago. In 1992, Houghton moved to Atlanta to serve as the General Manager of WGST Radio, the Braves Radio Network, and the Georgia News Network. He also managed the sports networks of Georgia Tech, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Atlanta Falcons while at WGST. In 2001, he became an investor and eventually the Vice President of Strategic Development for Big League Broadcasting. Houghton was an Instructor at the University of Georgia from 2015 – 2022. He is a member of the Grady College of Journalism Advisory Board and was most recently inducted into the Grady Fellowship in April 2022.


Sandra Parrish / WSB AM Atlanta

Parrish joined the staff of WPLO, Lawrenceville, in 1991, as a general assignment news reporter. Less than two years later, she was recruited by Randolph Holder’s Clarke Broadcasting to join the news staff of WGAU and WNGC, Athens, as Assistant News Director and drivetime anchor. In October 1994, Parrish joined NewsTalk 550, WDUN, Gainesville. And in 1995, she was appointed Legislative Reporter for WSB Radio, a position she has maintained since 1998. In this role, she has earned a reputation as one of the most highly respected political reporters in Georgia Radio news history, having covered twenty-four consecutive sessions of the Georgia General Assembly under four different governors. She is also an anchor in various dayparts on News 95.5, WSB. Over the past twenty-seven years, Parrish has received more than a dozen regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for “Best Use of Sound,” Best Series,” and “Best Sports Reporting.” She has also received numerous awards from The Associated Press, The Georgia Association of Broadcasters, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the National Association of Black Journalists. Parrish is also a former member of The Georgia Associated Press Broadcast Association.


Lois Reitzes / WABE FM Atlanta

Reitzes’s distinctive voice has been heard over WABE’s airwaves since 1979. Starting in 1982, Lois has hosted the weekday morning program Second Cup Concert, which can now be heard on the WABE Classics HD channel and streaming online. Since January of 2015, Lois has hosted City Lights with Lois Reitzes, a ground-breaking weekday arts and culture program with a specific mission of amplifying Atlanta's arts scene. In addition to City Lights and Second Cup, Lois supervises and hosts WABE’s Atlanta Symphony Orchestra broadcasts weekly. As a leader in WABE’s content department, she serves as executive producer of the arts & culture team.


Neil “Hondo” Williamson / WSB Atlanta

Williamson is a longtime voice of the University of Georgia Bulldogs football broadcasts and a veteran executive at WSB radio. “Hondo” launched his broadcasting career at UGA’s campus radio station, WUOG-FM. After graduating, he eventually covered all major league sports for top-rated WQXI-FM/94Q and WQXI-AM, also serving as an on-air personality on the morning show. At Cox Media Group for nearly 30 years now, Neil has served as Director of Sales, Marketing, and Research roles as well as director of sports marketing for the Bulldogs, Braves, Hawks, Falcons, and Yellowjackets radio networks. He is co-architect of WSB Radio's annual Care-a-Thon to cure childhood cancer, raising more than $25M for the AFLAC Cancer Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. He was also instrumental in launching Clark Howard’s mega-builds for Habitat for Humanity.


An outstanding independent panel of judges selected the five honorees from over 30 nominees for their contributions to the radio industry. This year's judging panel includes:
Mr. Charles Davis, Ph.D., Dean, The Grady College of Mass Communications & Journalism UGA
Mr. John Clark, General Manager, Georgia News Network I Chairman, GAB
Mr. Val Carolin, Regional Vice President, General Manager, Salem Media Group, Atlanta
Mr. Don Benson, President and CEO, Lincoln Financial Media Company {Retired)
Mr. Ron Parker, Program Director I Talent, Sirius XM Satellite Radio I TGC Radio
Mr. Jeff Winter, Voiceover Talent I WKXI-FM/WQXI-FM Program Director (Retired)

The five GEORGIA RADIO LEGENDS will be honored at the inaugural Friends of Georgia Radio GEORGIA BASH, hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, at the Metropolitan Club in Alpharetta on August 27th. Tickets to the event are available on the Friends of Georgia Radio website at friendsofgeorgiaradio.org.

Friends of Georgia Radio is a non-profit 501c3 organization whose mission is to help develop the next generation of innovators in audio through scholarships and mentoring and to celebrate those Georgia radio legends who have served listeners across the state.