TIFTON — Mike Chason, Director of Public Relations Emeritus at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, was inducted into the Tift County High School Athletic Hall of Fame at the recent ceremony in the TCHS Performing Arts Center.
Named the recipient of the Meritorious Service Award, Chason had previously been inducted into the ABAC Athletics Hall of Fame and the Valdosta State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.
“Thank you very much for this significant honor,” Chason said. “I am fortunate that God has given me the ability to sit in gymnasiums and stadiums across this state and talk about Tift County High School athletes on radio and television.
“I feel like I have won the Triple Crown Hall of Fame with ABAC, VSU, and now Tift County. It’s still a lot of fun.”
Chason continues to be the play-by-play voice for VSU basketball for home games and postseason tournament action. Since 1990, Chason has also called the names of the graduates at the annual TCHS commencement ceremony and at ABAC’s fall and spring commencements.
Hired by Tifton radio station WWGS in 1984 to call TCHS football games, Chason continued to call Blue Devil football on various stations through 2011. He also hosted Blue Devil Review, a half-hour highlights show on the Northside Baptist Church TV channel, which also featured the replay of the TCHS games.
Chason has also called quite a few TCHS basketball games beginning in 1986 and continuing through 2013. He was the voice of ABAC basketball from 1979 through 2008.
Serving as the Director of Public Relations at ABAC from 1979 until his retirement in 2011, Chason received emeritus status in 2012 and still handles a few part time duties with the college.
A native of Lakeland, Ga., Chason is a 1970 graduate of Lanier County High School and a 1974 Valdosta State graduate. He and his wife, Kris, split their time between Tifton and Saint Simons Island.