Veteran Middle Georgia broadcasters Bobby Pope, Ben Sandifer and the late Richard “Phil Clark” Lockerman were inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame, Saturday, October 22, during the annual awards ceremony at the Stand Theatre in Marietta.

Pope spent more than 50 years behind the microphone and holds the record for Macon’s longest-running radio program.  When the “Saturday Scoreboard” ended in 2014, it had been on radio for 39 football seasons.  Pope’s radio career included play-by-play broadcasts of high school football, Mercer Bears basketball and Macon Braves baseball.  He served as sports director for WMAZ-TV, athletic director at Mercer University, and now writes a weekly sports column for The Telegraph and macon.com.

Sandifer is a Macon native, whose radio career started in 1971.  He has served as an on-air personality, in programing and in sales at several Macon radio stations, as well as stations in Thomasville, Augusta and Tallahassee. He recently returned to radio, as the morning show host at The Fox 94.7, a new locally-owned classic hits radio station in Macon. He is also producer and host of the internationally-syndicated “Solid Gold Sock Hop” radio show, through his company, GMS Advertising and Productions. And through a partnership with Macon-based Double Eagle Associates retirement communities, Sandifer hosts and produces a monthly podcast “The Greatest Memories.”

Lockerman, who was known as “Phil Clark” on the radio, most recently worked at WPGA radio and television, until his death in 2015.  His Middle Georgia radio career also included stops at WRBN and WCOP in Warner Robins, WFPM in Fort Valley and WMNZ in Montezuma.  Lockerman was a native of Byromville, Georgia, and may be best known as the voice of the Westfield School athletic programs.  Lockerman broadcast state football championships for the Westfield Hornets in 2013 and 2014.

Lockerman, Pope and Sandifer join 17 other Middle Georgia broadcasters inducted in the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame in previous years: Helen Popejoy (2007); Del Ward and Bill Powell (2008); Don King (2009); Ben Porter (2011); Bill Elder, Hamp “King Bee” Swain, Charles “Big Saul” Greene, Ray “Satellite Papa” Brown, Jim Popwell, Bob Saggese and Gene “Uncle Ned” Stripling (2012); Mike Roberts, Charlie Hill and Palmira “Honey Bee” Braswell (2013); Thomas Maxwell (2014); Paul Reehling (2015).