The Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame will officially induct its second class of broadcast honorees on May 4 during a gala event, including two with local connections.
Sixteen broadcasters – seven in the Career category and nine in the Legacy category – will be honored.
A Legendary Radio Station will also be named at the event.
Tommy “Jett” Reynolds, a Smithville native and one of the original “Jet-Fli” guys on 50,000-watt WFLI in Chatta-nooga, will be inducted.
Reynolds’ name has been synonymous with top 40 rock in the Chattanooga area for more than 50 years.
He has hosted country and oldies shows on several stations and can now be heard on his website, TommyJett.com. He also emcees shows and is active in charity events and high school reunions with his “Tommy Jett Music Machine.”
Reynolds is the son of the late Jim Brady and Annie Reynolds of Smithville.
“The Old Pea-Picker” Tennessee Ernie Ford will be honored as a Legacy inductee.
Ford’s daughter-in-law is Murphy Cook Ford, local attorney Butch Cook’s sister.
Ford grew up in Bristol and studied music at the Cincinatti Conservatory of Music before enjoying a long career in country music.
“These broadcasters have all distinguished themselves in the industry and in this state,” said Hall of Fame President Ralph Vaughn.
“Some have entertained you locally. Some have become prominent on the national stage. Some brought radio to your communities for the first time and some have helped build their communities. But all have made a significant contribution to the broadcast industry,” Vaughn noted.
Other inductees include:
• Les Acree, a  legendary country programmer and consultant who worked at stations in Memphis (WMC, WGKX and WMQM), Nashville (WKDA), and Knoxville (WIVK).
He was named Program Director of the Year by Billboard in 1991, 1994 and 1997 and by the Gavin Report in 1998.
• Charlie Chase, best known as the host of “The Crook and Chase Show” and “The Crook and Chase Countdown.”
Chase worked in East Tennessee radio before coming to Nashville, where he worked at WMAK and WSM before embarking on a TV career on Nashville’s Channel 4 and The Nashville Network.
• Rick Dees,  who rose to national fame while working mornings at WMPS in Memphis when he wrote and recorded “Disco Duck,” which sold six-million copies and won a People’s Choice Award.
Dees moved to WHBQ in Memphis and later to Los Angeles.
He was Billboard’s Top 40/CHR major market “Air Personality of the Year” for 10 consecutive years.
Ticket reservations to the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony are being coordinated through the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters headquarters in Nashville:  (615) 365-1840.