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WCDT Radio will be holding its inaugural Owl Awards on May 1 in honor of longtime owner and broadcaster Al Tipps, who passed away in March 2022.

The sports-themed awards show will be held at the Oldham Theatre with a scheduled start time of 7 p.m. The entry fee at the gate will be $10 with all proceeds going to the Big Al Scholarship fund.

Ricky Tipps, Al’s son and the current owner of WCDT Radio, said that his father was heavily involved in local sports for decades as a coach and a radio personality, and it made sense to honor his memory with a show meant to promote athletes in Franklin County.

“Something I think the county needed was an awards show for our high school athletes, something to recognize the men and women who put all of this time and dedication into their sport and their craft and to give them a little recognition at the end of the year,” Ricky said.

The younger Tipps added that inspiration for the show came from the Thundie Sports Awards which were started by Thunder Radio in Manchester following the passing of sports broadcaster Dennis Weaver in 2020.

“Dennis, like my dad, was another radio personality who covered sports in that community forever. I can’t ever remember a time that Dennis wasn’t calling ballgames over in Manchester,” Ricky said. “It just kind of felt natural to do the same thing over in Franklin County in Dad’s name.”

The intent of the show is to raise money for the Big Al Scholarship which was founded in Al Tipps’ name and will be awarded for the first time this year. The scholarship will be given to one girls basketball player from Huntland and one from Franklin County each year in reference to the elder Tipps’ passion for the sport.

“Girls basketball was something Dad was very passionate about because he coached it for 25 years. He’s had his hands in both programs over the years putting out some really good basketball players,” Ricky said, referring to Al’s tenure as a coach at Broadview Elementary and Huntland. “He’s touched so many people.”

The categories for the show include awards for the best male and female athletes in each of the three school sports seasons, fall, winter, and spring, as well as awards for the best overall male and female athletes across all three seasons and accolades for the best male and female coaches of the year.

One of the primary focuses of the evening will be the Al Award, which will be given to one local athlete who sets a good example by putting in extra time and effort in the gym and on the field while also excelling in the classroom.

The recipients of the awards will be decided by a five-person panel with both high schools fairly represented in the selection process.

“We decided to get two representatives from each high school. There’s two from Franklin County and two from Huntland, and then we have one person who’s an outsider who doesn’t have a dog in either one of those races,” Ricky said.

The younger Tipps added that he is very excited about the Owl Awards as a chance to unite the community and honor the legacy of his father.

“I think it’s going to be a fun night for the athletes and the community to come out. I know it’s something that Dad would have hated having his name attached to because he never liked recognition, but it’s something I’m very proud to be able to tie him to for years to come,” he said.