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KY Author Bobbi Ann Mason to Speak at Inaugural History Lecture

Guy Mendes/kentuckymonthly.com

Award-winning author and Graves County native, Bobbi Ann Mason, will be speaking at the Murray State History Department's inaugural lecture and scholarship banquet on September 19th. Tracy Ross speaks with MSU history professor, Duane Bolin, on Sounds Good about the banquet, the lecture, and its featured guest. 

On Tuesday, September 19th, the MSU History Department will host a scholarship banquet and lecture in honor of Sid and Melissa Easley. Sid Easley (1940-2016) was incredibly active in the local community, and served as the former chairmen of Murray State's Board of Regents, District Judge for Calloway and Marshall Counties, and as a long-time supporter of Murray's History Department (Easley earned his degree from MSU in 1962). Duane Bolin, professor of history, speaks with Tracy Ross on Sounds Good about continuing Sid Easley's legacy with the first-time event.
    The annual event intends to provide the community with an opportunity to hear guest lecturer's unique perspectives regarding historical topics. This year's first lecture is entitled "Making Fiction out of History" by renowned author and Kentucky native, Bobbi Ann Mason. 
    Author of famous books like "In Country" (1985), "The Girl in the Blue Beret" (2011), and "The Girl Sleuth: A Feminist Guide" (1975), Bobbi Ann Mason has enjoyed a prolific writing career since the 1970s. Mason was born in Mayfield, Kentucky and was raised on a dairy farm. She was also a friend and colleague to Sid Easley, having both grown up in the same town. 
    There will be a scholarship banquet held in the Stables of the Curris Center on Tuesday, September 19th, at 5:30 pm. Recipients of the James W. Hammack and T. Wayne Beasley awards (for graduate and undergraduate students, respectively) will be announced at the dinner.
   Following the banquet, Mason will present her lecture in the Curris Center ballroom. A VIP reception with Bobbi Ann Mason will take place at the conclusion of the program to raise additional funds for history department scholarships.
   The scholarship banquet and lecture are free and open to the public, and according to Sid Easley's son, Don, "marries three of my Dad's greatest passions -- history and a sense of place, a love for the written word, and Murray State University."
  For more information regarding the event, click here.

Tracy started working for WKMS in 1994 while attending Murray State University. After receiving his Bachelors and Masters degrees from MSU he was hired as Operations/Web/Sports Director in 2000. Tracy hosted All Things Considered from 2004-2012 and has served as host/producer of several music shows including Cafe Jazz, and Jazz Horizons. In 2001, Tracy revived Beyond The Edge, a legacy alternative music program that had been on hiatus for several years. Tracy was named Program Director in 2011 and created the midday music and conversation program Sounds Good in 2012 which he hosts Monday-Thursday. Tracy lives in Murray with his wife, son and daughter.
Melanie Davis-McAfee graduated from Murray State University in 2018 with a BA in Music Business. She has been working for WKMS as a Music and Operations Assistant since 2017. Melanie hosts the late-night alternative show Alien Lanes, Fridays at 11 pm with co-host Tim Peyton. She also produces Rick Nance's Kitchen Sink and Datebook and writes Sounds Good stories for the web.
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