Popular local radio personality, former PRIDE Director dies Monday; memorial service planned for Thursday

Kathy Hall with her daughter, Cierra, in 2010.

A popular local radio personality, and pioneer of a program created to tackle environmental problems in southern and eastern Kentucky, passed away Monday following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Kathy Hall, 51, of Corbin, died Monday at Baptist Regional Medical Center. Friends and family are remembering her this week as a selfless volunteer, ubiquitous community journalist, and devoted mother and wife.

Hall was perhaps best known as veteran News Director at EZ Country WEZJ 104.3-FM in Williamsburg. Her voice was an everyday fixture for tens of thousands of eastern Kentuckians who listened to her broadcasts for daily news pertinent to their lives, as well as to the station’s popular morning show format.

“Most people knew Kathy as just a voice on the radio, but they didn’t know her personally,” said David Estes, owner and general manager of WEZJ and WEKX. “You can’t separate Kathy Hall from the news on EZ Country. She will always be a part of it. There may be a different voice on there, but a little bit of her will be in everything they do.”

Hall was diagnosed with advance pancreatic cancer over the summer and initially fought the disease with aggressive chemotherapy. She knew from the outset it was terminal. Estes said she was an extraordinarily “tough individual” who never wanted to give up on her job at the radio station, regardless of how physically taxing it was for her following her diagnosis. She was on the job up until just three weeks ago.

“I can’t imagine the amount of will that it took for her to get up every morning after chemotherapy, and still want to come in and do her job,” he said. “That’s how badly she wanted to report news and be a part of people’s lives. I don’t think there will ever be anyone here that can truly replace her.”

Hall has been mainstay on Williamsburg radio since 2002. Before that, she served as News Director for KD Country WKDP 99.5-FM in Corbin. Her radio career bookended a stretch where her efforts focused more on her own brand of environmental activism. She was out of broadcasting for a long stretch when she joined Eastern Kentucky PRIDE – an initiative launched in 1997 by Fifth District U.S. Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers (R-Somerset) and the late General James Bickford, former Secretary of the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet. It was with PRIDE where Hall built, perhaps, her most enduring life legacy.

PRIDE’s purpose was to restore the natural beauty of Rogers’ 38-county congressional district, preserve its waterways and deal with a rampant solid waste problem through volunteerism and education. Hall was PRIDE’s first employee, and she tackled the job with tireless passion.

“She really believed in PRIDE,” said Karen Kelly, who now serves as both Executive Director of PRIDE and Operation UNITE, and was a close personal friend of Hall’s.

“Anyone that knew her knows how much she loved the outdoors. She felt like God gave us all this natural beauty in this area and she just couldn’t understand why we were trashing it up. She did so much to get the public to pay attention to this issue. PRIDE would not be where it is today without Kathy.”

Hall was essentially a lone wolf at PRIDE until East Kentucky Power Cooperative made the commitment to support the initiative with resources and a bit of manpower. Alone, she developed an education program for the organization so that it could tackle problems by changing the attitudes of the area’s youth, organized volunteer cleanup efforts and even oversaw the construction of PRIDE’s first wetlands project. Her work ethic and fastidious attention to detail earned her high marks from the program’s creator who praised her in the wake of her death for her dedication and loyalty to the organization.

“Southern Kentucky has lost a true pioneer in environmental education,” said Congressman Rogers Tuesday.

“Kathy’s passion for the PRIDE program was matched only by her commitment to her detailed radio broadcasts, informing the public about issues and events in our region. As a former employee with PRIDE, Kathy was a dear friend and a lead advisor in launching the environmental education component. Over the years, she continued to volunteer for PRIDE clean-up campaigns and promote each event on the air to rally participation. She also helped construct the region’s very first wetlands at Dewitt Elementary School, sparking some 130 similar projects. It is with the utmost gratitude that we will continue to carry the torch that she ignited for environmental education. Her steadfast efforts will impact many generations to come. My wife Cynthia and I join a host of friends and colleagues in offering our prayers and deepest heartfelt sympathies to Kathy’s loved ones.”

Hall’s efforts with PRIDE have led to hundreds of thousands of volunteers flocking to the initiative across the region to clean up roadways, illegal dump sites and streams.

When she left PRIDE to reignite her career in radio again, her focus on making the area a better place through activism and volunteering did not cease. She stayed involved in PRIDE activities and also helped at the Knox-Whitley Animal Shelter, served as President of the PTO at Corbin Primary School and was Girl Scout Leader for local Troop 1157.

Estes said he remembers vividly how within weeks of her arriving at the radio station she had effectively started a recycling program for employees, among other progressive ideas. And she would constantly use opportunities to try to convince people to adopt stray animals or help the local animal shelter.

“She loved things that, oftentimes, other people seemed not to care about,” Estes said. “When she found out that we weren’t recycling … well, that was just not acceptable to her. She cared about these things. She was always wanting to make things better.”

“I think a lot of people knew her voice, but that is just a small part of who she was. It was an important part of her personality that she cared very deeply about the news, but those other things were very important to her too.”

Hall was a member of First Baptist Church in Corbin and was very active in the church’s youth ministry.

She was the mother of a nine-year-old daughter, Cierra Ledford. She was married to Chuck Ledford, of Barbourville, and is survived by two brothers, two sisters and her mother, Christine Austin.

Kelly said that beyond her professional life, Hall was intensely proud of her daughter, and was a great mother. She added she was continually impressed with how Hall was able to face her cancer diagnosis with optimism and stoicism.

“Her attitude was so amazing. She just said that she wasn’t going to question this, that God loves his children and that if her purpose on earth had been served then she would have to move on,” Kelly said. “She was never angry about it. She was just a beautiful person, inside and out, who was always looking for opportunities to make this world a better place.”

A memorial service will be conducted Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church with Bro. Jim Hunter and Mike Douglas officiating. Friends may call from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Thursday for visitation.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the American Cancer Society.

A memorial fund for her daughter, Cierra Ledford, has been established and contributions for the fund can be accepted at any Forcht Bank location.