Travis Hickman receiving the call announcing him as a 2026 inductee to the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame — Photo: Marion Chamber of Commerce

Longtime broadcaster and Tennessee Valley Broadcasting owner Travis Hickman has been selected as an inductee into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame Career Class of 2026, recognizing more than four decades of dedication to local radio and broadcasting across the Tennessee Valley region.

Hickman received the surprise announcement Monday morning during WEPG’s longtime “Swap & Shop” program when Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame inductee, Hall of Fame President, and former Tennessee Volunteers football announcer Bob Kesling called into the station shortly after 8:30 a.m. to personally share the news live on-air.

Many local leaders, friends, family members, and community supporters were also present for the surprise announcement, including Hickman’s children and grandchildren, Marion County Mayor David Jackson, Director of Schools Dr. Mark Griffith, Jasper Mayor Jason Turner, members of local law enforcement agencies, and representatives and members from the Marion County Chamber of Commerce, for which Hickman is a past president. 

Hickman began his broadcasting career at WEPG Radio in 1982, shortly after graduating from Marion County High School, starting as an announcer and board operator. Aside from a brief stint at the former “97 Kicks” (WKXJ-FM) in South Pittsburg during the early 1990s, Hickman has spent virtually his entire broadcasting career at WEPG, serving in nearly every role at the station over the years, including Promotions Director, Program Director, and General Manager, before purchasing WEPG and sister station WSDQ Radio in 2015.

Known throughout the Tennessee Valley for his passion for country music and serving his local communities through radio and public relations, Hickman has spent more than 40 years behind the microphone serving listeners across Southeast Tennessee and the southeast.

Community members join Travis Hickman in the WEPG studios for the announcement on Monday — Photo: Marion County Chamber of Commerce

Hickman grew up in the rural Sequatchie Valley community of “Fish Trap” near the Tennessee River, where country music and the Grand Ole Opry were staples in daily life. Influenced by legendary artists including Bill Monroe, Roy Acuff, and Flatt & Scruggs, Hickman developed a lifelong love for music and radio that ultimately became his career.

The Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame says its mission is to document, preserve, and honor the people and stations that have shaped the art and science of radio broadcasting throughout the state. Tennessee has a rich broadcasting history dating back more than a century, producing legendary personalities and influential stations that helped define radio across the South.

Hickman now joins an elite group of Tennessee broadcasting legends and Hall of Fame members that includes Chattanooga radio icon Luther Masingill, former “Voice of the Vols” John Ward, Nashville broadcasting legend Ralph Emery, legendary WFLI Radio personalities Tommy Jett, Gene Lovin, and Johnny Eagle, former US101 personality Bill Poindexter, KZ106 personality Scott Chase, former Tennessee Titans and current Vols broadcaster Mike Keith, and longtime Chattanooga Lookouts voice Larry Ward.

The Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, Tennessee at 4 p.m. CDT on July 25, 2026.

Tennessee Valley Broadcasting is the owner and operator of WEPG Radio in South Pittsburg, WSDQ Radio in Dunlap, and this publication.