Grady Fellowship Profile: Sanders Hickey

Congratulations to Sanders Hickey, an honoree who will be inducted into the Grady College Fellowship during Grady Salutes on April 25, 2025.

Hickey has been working in radio more than 50 years, having successfully owned and/or managed nearly 23 radio stations in Georgia, Texas, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina.

He is a managing partner of the Brunswick, Georgia-based Golden Isles Broadcasting, LLC, which owns and operates four FM Radio stations; and the Huntsville, Texas-based HEH Communications, LLC, licensee of four radio stations, serving Huntsville and suburban North Houston, Texas.

During his career, Hickey has served as the president and chief operating officer of Southern Broadcasting Companies, Inc. As the southeastern regional vice president of Radio Station Services for the Arbitron Company, Hickey had oversight for audience ratings products and services to 350+ clients in 46 Southeastern markets.

In addition to his professional career, Hickey was instrumental in establishing the GAB’s Radio Talent Institute held annually at Grady College.

He has served as the board chair of the Georgia Association of Broadcasters (1997-1998), and continues to serve on the board in an emeritus capacity. Additionally, Hickey is a 2019 inductee into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame, a 2020 inductee into the Georgia Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame and founder of the Friends of Georgia Radio Hall of Fame.

Following are excerpts from an interview with Hickey. Some responses have been edited for length.

What does this recognition mean to you?

In my broadest, wildest imagination, I would never have conceived of the notion of my ever being considered for an honor of such magnitude as a Grady College Fellowship.  

I am incredibly humbled. To say that I was taken aback, and completely speechless, is the understatement of my life. I remain truly flattered and grateful beyond words.

What would you tell your 20-year-old self?

Sanders, do yourself a favor: be honest. Love God. Love others and tell them so – no matter who they are. Have fun. Be fair. Comport yourself with dignity and always afford others the same.  Know your passion and live it. Know that you’ll stumble; get right back up. Respect others by the manner in which you present yourself. To every extent possible, do your best to emulate successful people. Major in minor things; study the little things that make them great and make them your own.

What are the most important skills communicators should master?

Relationships, relationships, relationships! No matter the continual paradigm shifts in business and advancements in technology, people skills – those based on personal integrity, character and honesty – will always be the underpinning and ultimate difference in personal happiness and professional success.

Beyond this, please put your phone down. Be great in person. Make eye-contact in everything you do – be it in-person, on the phone or in your written communication. Be relentlessly inquisitive. Be a great listener. Become the best writer you can. Write clearly, concisely and always consider your tone. 

What motivates you?

Being a broadcaster for 51 years, I am known to say that “I still get to get up every day and do my best to craft better radio stations and digital platforms than we had the day before.”   I have felt that way my whole career.

Why radio?  What made you want to get into broadcasting in the first place?

I will admit that, as a 17-year-old, I never viewed radio as a real for-profit business, and an essential asset to the community in which it is licensed to serve, for local news and information and especially in times of emergency and public service. Instead, I saw it as the coolest, most amazing after-school job ever. It was the ultimate alternative to the jobs that my closest friends had. The allure of working around some of the most creative and entertaining people whom I’d ever come to know was irresistible. And then, there was the music. I felt that I had hit the lottery and simply couldn’t believe that I could actually earn a paycheck doing something that was that much fun. 

With education and maturity, I came to realize that broadcasting and radio is an essential component in the framework of every local community, and one in which people rely for important news and lifestyle information, as well as essential life-saving information. It remains a point of pride to me know that we continue to be able to go on the air, turn to our audience(s) and quickly raise untold amounts of money for various worthwhile charitable, civic, medical and emergency relief endeavors.  

The success of both the Georgia Association of Broadcasters Radio Talent Institute, held annually here at The Grady College, as well as the Friends of Georgia Radio and Hall of Fame mentoring and scholarship programs with relationships in every college and university across Georgia, are particular points of pride for me.

What skills and/or values, and/or circumstances do you attribute to your success?

I gave this question a great deal of thought and realized that it’s simple, really: I’ve been truly lucky over these past fifty years. And, by the way, I do believe that one can do much to create his/her own luck.  I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up when I was twelve years old. It was always going to be broadcasting – more specifically, radio broadcasting.  There was never a question. Born with two inherent problems – a lack of a great voice and something of a prominent Southern accent – I knew there was a bit to overcome, but heart was never in question. My passion would ultimately drive me. 

At 19, I met a man who would change my life, both personally and professionally. One of the most prominent broadcasters in America at the time of his death, Charles E. Giddens (ABJ ‘67), saw something in me. He told me that if I worked honestly, and extremely hard, pushed through my trepidations and followed good advice, he would mentor me in the ways of broadcasting. But his lessons didn’t stop at the office; they shaped many other aspects of my life. Over 25 years, we became business partners in radio station ownership and close friends.

I attribute my success to the values that my parents and grandparents instilled in me, the love and patience of my family, a willingness to relocate to the next opportunity when appropriate, a compulsion to continue to learn and evolve with the medium that I have always loved and my enduring passion for the profession of broadcasting.

The 2025 Fellowship Inductees will be recognized along with the 2025 Alumni Award recipients during the annual Grady Salutes event. This year’s Grady Salutes will be a luncheon on Friday, April 25. Details about sponsorship information and reservations can be found on our Grady Salutes registration page.

Editor: Sarah Freeman, freemans@uga.edu