College commencements - commencing; Blue Sky Concerts returning; Echols recognized

*Commencement time is just around the corner for colleges and universities around the country. Here in northeast Georgia, they begin next weekend. Brenau U., May 2; North Georgia, May 2 & 3; Lanier Tech, May 9; Truett-McConnell, May 16; Piedmont, May 9; North Georgia Tech, May 6; and Georgia Gwinnett, May 10. Check each institution’s website for times and places and other information.

*Gainesville’s Blue Sky Concert Series returns Wednesday May 7 and will be held each Wednesday in May downtown 11:30-1:30 featuring a different local artist each week. The concerts are free and will be held on the square. For more information, including a list of the scheduled performers, go to the city’s website.

*Freshman State Sen. Drew Echols (R-Hall County) was recognized Friday night by the 9th District Republican Party with its Distinguished Legislator Award.

About the Author

Ken Stanford is Online News Editor for GLORY 97.5, a position he has held since August 2022.

Ken was born in Moultrie, Georgia, and says he knew from the time he was 5 or 6 he wanted to be a “radio announcer.” That dream was realized when he was hired by Moultrie radio station WMTM in 1960 at the age of 15 as a weekend disc jockey. A 1963 graduate of Moultrie (now Colquitt County) High School, he has spent his whole career in Georgia working for stations in Atlanta, Marietta, and Gainesville – most recently as News Director for 40 years at WDUN in Gainesville. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force Reserves.

Ken retired in 2011 but came out of retirement last year to help GLORY, on a part-time basis, beef-up its online news presence.

He is the recipient of many Associated Press awards and is a former judge of state and national Associated Press broadcast news contests. In 2005, he was presented with the Georgia Associated Press Broadcasters Association’s President’s Award for Excellence in Journalism and in 2019 was inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame.

He lives in Gainesville with his wife of 52 years, the former Sandra McKnight of Clio, Alabama, and they have one child, a daughter, Lisa, who lives in Cumming with her family.