September 25, 2010 Red Neckerson Will Be Missed

The alarm clock went off at 5:50 a.m. as it always does on Mondays and Wednesdays so I can be at Kennesaw State University by 7 a.m. and be ready for my sleepyheads that stumble in just before 8 a.m. to learn all they can about contemporary issues in media. I have found that college students don't follow television news or even programs the way Baby Boomers and Generation Xers have over the years. They had never heard of Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, Red Skelton, or Jack Benny until I enlightened them to the fact that there was a time when show business was truly entertaining. On the morning of the 15th I was excited because this was the day when former Georgia Bulldog legend Vince Dooley along with President Dan Papp were going to announce that Kennesaw State was launching a football program in 2014. Growing up in Tallapoosa meant you were for either the Dogs or the Jackets of Georgia Tech. Bobby Sanders and Stevie Adams were the biggest "Dooley's Dawgs" supporters I ever knew. I see Coach Dooley about every day at KSU since he was tapped to be the head of the committee to figure out if Owl football was going to happen. I am delighted that it did. Think about it, many people don't know that the University of Georgia has a world class school of veterinary medicine or the University of Alabama has a great law school. People do know "Go Dogs" and "Roll Tide." People will be made aware in the future that Kennesaw State has a great school of nursing turning out more nurses for Georgia than any other college or university in the state and that our college of education graduates more educators than any state school to teach Georgia's children. From my front door in Tallapoosa it is 52 miles to the campus in northern Cobb County. The day of the football announcement was marred by the sad news that Gary Corry, radio's Red Neckerson had passed away the night before. Red Neckerson was a big part of the success of the Gary McKee Morning Show on WQXI and 94-Q. He was also a big part of the success of Rhubarb Jones and the Morning Zoo Crew on Y-106.7 and Y-104.1. He was hands down the most talented person I ever worked with. His creativity and sense of humor could never be measured. He made the audience laugh. Red Neckerson was always sharing his experiences in radio that went from his roots in Southern Illinois to Cincinatti to Atlanta. He was a broadcast comedic genius. Most recently he contributed to the racing talk show hosted by Captain Herb Emory on News/Talk WSB. He will be remembered for making us laugh so hard in the control room we could not talk. He once made coffee come out of my nose I was laughing so hard. The morning drive was made easier by the laughs and pearls of wisdom he provided. He was a giver and he always did things to make the other members of the ensemble look good. He had just released a book on his life in radio. You can get it at Amazon.com. Red's book "Keep the Needles Peaking" is full of insight into a career that spanned decades. Kennesaw State on the 15th announced that the Owls will be fielding a football team come 2014. Georgia Bulldog legendary coach Vince Dooley is heading up the program that will surely raise the profile of Georgia's 3rd largest university.