June 2002: Vol. 81, No. 3

A hankerin' for Hank

Bill Koon (PhD '73) has just published his second biography on country music's first superstar, Hank Williams

by Vivian Canedo

Koon, who teaches Southern literature at Clemson, also chronicles Southern humor.

ill Koon can't remember the first time he heard a Hank Williams song. As a boy growing up in Columbia, S.C., country music filled the airwaves. "I've listen to it all of my life," says Koon. "I grew up in a family of country musicians and Hank Williams was very popular when I was a kid."

Like most of Williams' fans, Koon (PhD '73) was also well-versed in the rumors and myths surrounding country music's first superstar, who had a gift for singing straight from the heart—but also a reputation for drugs, alcohol, and women.

Williams' life story is one that many biographers have tried to capture, and Koon, a Southern literature professor at Clemson, has now done it twice. In his new biography, Hank Williams, So Lonesome, Koon uses courthouse documents and interviews with friends and family to separate the man from the country music myth.

"Hank Williams was a person who grew up in hard circumstances and who fortunately had the kind of talent to do something constructive with that experience," says Koon. "Like a lot of creative people, he was self-destructive in the bargain."

Koon, who is interested in various aspects of life in the South, has published books ranging from a collection of Civil War stories to an anthology of humorous Southern literature. His first biography of Williams was published in 1982. But it was an academic treatment and it cost $57.50 in hardback, making it inaccessible to the general public. For So Lonesome, a paperback in the University Press of Mississippi's American Made Music Series, Koon went back to the country music of his youth to find inspiration.

"People say, 'What's an English professor doing writing about Hank Williams?'" he says. "I really don't know. I've done a lot of academic writing, but it was something I wanted to do."

In his new book, Koon recounts Williams' rise from a poor Alabama kid to a country music hall-of-famer. It's a fact-based account of Williams' life, peppered with the kind of innuendo that helped make Williams a legend. Koon details the events surrounding the singer's bizarre death on New Year's Eve 1952 in the backseat of his baby-blue Cadillac. Citing police reports, Koon shows how a toxic combination of alcohol and a morphine injection from a fake doctor likely led to the singer's demise at age 29.

"You hate to say it, but his early death certainly dramatized his life," says Koon, who notes that the singer's addictions and indiscretions—which the Nashville establishment tried to suppress—are commonplace in today's music and entertainment world. "To me, the difference is that Hank Williams lived that life and tried to disguise it. The more recent versions of it promote themselves on those terms."

The circumstances of Williams' death contributed to his myth, his singing and songwriting abilities are what made him a country music icon. In songs like "Your Cheatin' Heart" and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" his sincerity is what shined brightest. "In every instance, it seemed like it was coming right, straight out of his heart," says Koon, "and I think, in many ways, it was."

Pulling the 180-degree switch

Tom Broach (BBA '78) gave up selling insurance to transport sports fans to the Super Bowl . . . like that was a tough decision?

by Heather Summerville (ABJ '02)

or 12 years, Tom Broach went through the motions of his insurance job in Gastonia, N.C. He has a degree in insurance and risk management, but selling insurance made him miserable. So Broach (BBA '78) decided to make what he calls "my total 180-degree switch."

"I've always loved sports and traveling, but I couldn't do those things and work in insurance," says the fun-loving Broach, whose cell phone rings "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."

When Broach (white shirt) told his wife he wanted to quit his 9-to-5 job and start a sports tour company, she said, "It's about time."

Broach's 180-degree switch resulted in the formation of Broach Sports Tours, which is one of the few travel companies in the country that specializes in baseball, NASCAR, and special sporting event travel packages. Based in Charlotte, BST is ably supported by Broach's business and life partner, wife Linda, whose first response to her husband's career-change idea was:

"It's about time . . . you've been talking about this since I met you."

When Broach Sports Tours became the official motorcoach of the Carolina Panthers NFL team in 1995, it added name recognition to the three-year-old company.

"The Panthers came to Charlotte in 1995, only there was no stadium to play in," says Broach, who was asked to transport fans to home games—which were in another state. "The Panthers played their home games at Clemson in South Carolina. People didn't want to commute the 140 miles to Clemson on their own, so we offered them the chance to go with a group."

Smart move by Broach, whose company has grown to include three permanent employees, 25 freelance tour hosts, and more than 200 trip options per year. This year's most extravagant trip, the San Diego Super Bowl Package, carries a $3,850 price tag, which includes four days and five nights at a hotel, game tickets, ground transportation, and entrance into the NFL Experience.

But Broach Sports Tours doesn't cater solely to well-heeled sports fans. It also offers a number of weekend trips for around $100.

"I anticipated a male audience, but it's actually only 60 percent male and 40 percent female," says Broach, who prohibits alcohol and smoking to maintain a family atmosphere—which makes female sports fans feel more secure.

Brenda Rumley and her husband have gone on countless NASCAR trips with Broach Sports Tours, but Brenda is the diehard racing fan. "I'm 61 years old," she says, "and I grew up in rural Surry County in North Carolina. Some of the first racing was done in this area. And as a tour company, Broach can't be beat." Steve Floyd and his 14-year-old son, Chad, are baseball fanatics. They have taken Broach's East Coast Baseball Tours for six years, and plan on keeping up this tradition. "I work all the time," says Floyd, who is president of the Hasty Plywood Company in Maxton, N.C. "To be able to get on that bus with my boy and not make any decisions is wonderful. Getting autographs and catching balls—just the excitement of the ballpark—is such an experience for us."

The Cake Mix Doctor

Ann Byrn (BSHE '78) understands Americans' primal need . . . to bake

by Denise H. Horton (ABJ '83)

nne Byrn is everywhere: "Good Morning America," People magazine, QVC, newspapers, Web sites. And all because she recognized people's primal need . . . to bake.

The author of The Cake Mix Doctor and Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor, Byrn (BSHE '78) is traveling the U.S. telling people that they don't have to spend hours in the kitchen to produce delectable edibles. A supply of cake mixes, a few key ingredients, and frostings made from scratch are all that's needed, she says, to create the perfect cake for any occasion.

Anne Byrn's book The Cake Mix Doctor was the best selling food book in 2000 with 930,000 copies in print.

"People want the freedom to bake," Byrn explained during a recent luncheon for family and consumer sciences alums. "They're baking for firefighters, they're baking birthday cakes. There's a group of about 12 college students in North Carolina who bake one night a week. They bake a cake and eat it right from the oven—because that's something their moms didn't let them do."

The Cake Mix Doctor was the bestselling food book in 2000 with 930,000 copies in print—and it started as a column that Byrn wrote as food editor of the Nashville Tennessean in honor of the 50th anniversary of cake mix. Within days, she received 500 recipes—which gave birth to the Cake Doctor phenomenon.

Byrn had written two cookbooks during her 15 years as food editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and had spent several years at the Tennessean before making the decision to work full-time on The Cake Doctor. She used about 20 of the recipes submitted through the mail, but developed most of the others by trial and error. She also drew on her family history. "I come from a family of great cooks," she says. "My mother was a fabulous cook and she turned me loose. She didn't tell us we had to clean up the kitchen, she just told us to go."

Byrn remembers her mother baking cakes from scratch for years, then changing to cake mixes. "But she never changed on the frostings," says Byrn. "The frostings were always homemade and I think that's a key to creating great cakes, making the frostings from scratch."

Among her earliest appearances when The Cake Mix Doctor was first published was QVC. "I was very skeptical about doing television marketing," she says. "But once I started, I discovered that being on the program was like standing at the back fence talking to your neighbor."

She's also learned to balance working and writing at home while also looking after three children—ages 12, 8, and 3. "My youngest child ate cake before his first birthday," she says, clearly a bit appalled at herself. "When I was working on the first book, I would get him down for his nap, look at the clock, and task how many recipes I could make before he woke up."

Byrn's Web-based newsletter, "Piece of Cake," enables her to answer basic questions such as, "How do I know if my stove is calibrated correctly?" And she's hard at work on her next cookbook, which will focus on making quick soups and appetizers. "Not using cake mixes, though," she says. "It will include ideas for doctoring up ready-made soups or using other readily available products."

New voice on the "Georgia Gang"

Martha Zoller (ABJ '79) has a lot of on-air gigs. Is politics next?

by Louise Barr

artha Mitchell Zoller has a lot to say—and a number of on-air opportunities to say it. "The Martha Zoller Show" is heard all over north Georgia on weekday mornings on WDUN-AM/550. She also hosts a weekly public affairs program produced by Brenau University, and she is a regular panelist and substitute host for Fox5Atlanta's Sunday morning current events talk-fest, "The Georgia Gang."

In the last year, Zoller (ABJ '79) has added writing to her repertoire with a Web column on AccessNorthGa.com, a medical story for Bill Shipp's Georgia, and a piece on judicial appointees for UPI. Zoller produces all this electronic and print journalism while also being a wife and mother who makes it home most days before the school bus does.

"The Martha Zoller Show," a public affairs radio program, is heard all over north Georgia.

"I look at what I do as a public service," says Zoller, who confesses to having political aspirations. "I have been involved politically throughout my life. [Growing up], we always had heated discussions at our dinner table and I wanted to have something to say—so I read a lot." With siblings who were 7, 10, and 12 years older than she was, Zoller found herself thrust into debates about Vietnam and Watergate at an early age. "With a name like Martha Mitchell, people were always cracking Watergate jokes—so I had to be sure I knew what to say!"

Early in her stay-at-home-mom years, Zoller gained a cult following at WDUN as a repeat caller to "Morning Talk, which led to a job as co-host of "Midday" on WDUN's sister station WGGA—and then to "The Martha Zoller Show," which is live radio in the truest sense in that Zoller takes phone calls with no screening.

"Although I am a conservative," she says, "I have been accused of being both a conservative and liberal in the same week, so I must be doing my job."

Determined to do more, Zoller started calling "Georgia Gang" host Dick Williams. "I said, 'You call yourself The Georgia Gang, but you've just got a bunch of Atlanta newspaper writers on your show. You need more women—women are 54 percent of the electorate.'"

Zoller made a guest appearance on the show—and just clicked.

"I love being in roundtable discussions where you just talk about issues," she says. She does approximately 40 shows a year and has become Williams' regular substitute host. Other TV gigs include CNN's "Talk Back Live" and "Fox News Live." Zoller also does radio commentary and interviews on stations all over the country on subjects ranging from The Tri-State Crematory to whether Hillary Clinton will run for president in 2004.

Asked why people relate to her so readily, Zoller says, "I am a mother and stepmother. I've stayed at home and been a working mother. I've worked for people and had people working for me and I've met a payroll. My faith is the cornerstone of my life. I am the American woman and I've learned that you can have it all—but not at the same time. My dad said that I would grow up to be the first woman president of the United States. I don't know if that will happen."

But you will hear from Martha Zoller again. And again.

Case where Moore is definitely not less

CNN producer, dot-com exec make "Top 40 Under 40" list

by Heather Summerville (ABJ '02)

hen CNN Headline News recently launched its "New Look" info screen, it got everybody's attention—including USA Today, which described the fact-packed graphics package as "headache inducing."

But for Atlanta's Charlie Moore (AB '93), who rose from intern to executive producer of CNN Headline News in less than five years, the "New Look" package marked the culmination of countless hours of work. And, fortunately, some people liked it—Georgia Trend, for example, naming Moore one of its "Top 40 Under 40" for 2001.

From left, Charlie Moore (AB '93) and brother Duncan (BBA '91) have both been named to Georgia Trend's "Top 40 Under 40."

"The format of the viewing screen was changed to resemble a web site, which offers numerous news options," says Moore, whose creation may have taken some getting used to. But to the dismay of its critics, Moore's "New Look" screen has now been copied by every other 24-hour news network.

During the Headline News revamp, Moore logged 18- to 20-hour days. Fortunately, his work schedule has become somewhat normal again, enabling him to get reacquainted with his wife, Lucy Carling (BFA '94), a clothing designer in Atlanta.

As his parents will be happy to tell you, Charlie isn't the only Georgia Trend notable in the Moore family. His oldest brother Duncan (BBA '91), the principal and business development director of dotcomments.com, was also selected as one of Georgia Trend's "Top 40 Under 40."

"The company provides constituent feedback through the use of the Internet and a phone-channeling service," says Duncan, who made GT's list of young up-and-comers back in 1999. "It tweaks the research that would have been done by a marketing company."

Duncan began his business career at SunTrust as a management trainee, and in six years worked his way up to commercial group manager, where he was responsible for team activities of four other lenders. In 1998, after the birth of his twins, Duncan decided it was time for a career change. So he and Chris Hatcher (AB '89) started dotcomments.com. He and wife Angela Spohn Moore (ABJ '91) have since had a third child.

But it was his civic involvement that earned Duncan a spot in GT's "40 Under 40." As one of four commissioners for Albany Water, Light, and Gas, he looks after the company's business interests and serves as a liaison between the city-owned utility and the residents of Albany. Grossing $80 million annually, Albany Water, Light, and Gas Company is the second-largest municipally owned company of its kind in the state, second only to Marietta.

Duncan is also a trustee for the Darton College Foundation and serves on the boards of the United Way and the Albany Museum of Art. "I have a keen interest in the community," he says, "and the fine arts are important to the positive growth of the community."

"Duncan is more business-oriented and always has been," says Charlie. "My parents were able to recognize this, even at a young age. But, at the same time, they knew I had very different interests. They were incredibly tuned in to what we wanted to do as adults and nurtured it."

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