GAINESVILLE - The year 2011 is not the only thing coming to a close...WDUN's longtime news director is also retiring. After more than four decades leading the news department for Jacobs Media, Ken Stanford had his last day on the air Friday.
Stanford told the Bill and Joel Morning show he wasn't sure just yet how he feels about his retirement.
"There's mixed emotions about it because you're moving into the next big phase of your life," said Stanford.
Stanford, who grew up in Moultrie and Tifton, recalled during his last news meeting Friday that he first became enamored with the radio business when he took an elementary school field trip to WWGS radio in Tifton and witnessed an announcer by the name of Joe Beaumont work his magic on the air.
Once he got a taste of the business, he made it a goal to work at his hometown station WMTM in Moultrie. He had to wait until 10th grade for his first job, though, when he was allowed to type the on-air schedules, known in the business as logs. Stanford said his first on-air opportunity came when he was allowed to voice a commercial, or spot, for some rental houses that sat on the WMTM property. He even remembered the phone number.
"985-1300," he said. "1300 for the dial position of the station, and 985 was the only exchange we had in town."
And, he remembered that he originally wanted to be a disc jockey, falling by pure fate into the news business.
Stanford will return to Jacobs Media on a part-time basis after a 90-day hiatus for election coverage and other special assignments.
Ken Stanford's radio career is outlined in our latest Access On The Go feature on the accessnorthga.com home page.
Tuesday
November 26th, 2024
7:26PM
