Directory Profile

About Me

Lee Perryman began his broadcasting career as a teenager in hometown local radio and, after graduating from The University of Alabama, briefly managed other Alabama stations. In 1980, he joined The Associated Press as Broadcast Executive for Florida based in Tampa, relocating to Philadelphia in 1983 with similar sales and marketing responsibilities for radio and television stations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. In 1985, he was assigned to AP's Broadcast division in Washington as Deputy Director, Administration. From 1987 until his retirement from AP and permanent return to Sylacauga, Ala., at the end of 2015, he led international teams focused on development, marketing, and support of news technology products supporting more than 60,000 journalists working in more than 40 languages in television, radio, and network newsrooms in 56 countries. During his AP career, Perryman was also a corporate officer and had been responsible for major capital and corporate real estate projects.

Closer to home, Perryman began small residential and commercial real estate investment projects and, in early 2012, purchased and rebuilt the radio station where he got his start. Since, he has added seven more stations and an online news service to the family, all controlled from Sylacauga under the master RadioAlabama brand. He is currently operating four more stations pending FCC approval of assignment a publishes a magazine in east Alabama.

Perryman’s roots in the Sylacauga area date back to 1838, when his paternal ancestors moved south from Tennessee. He is a member of more than 50 hereditary organizations and was appointed to The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. He is a member of First Presbyterian Church in Sylacauga, earned the rank of Eagle Scout, is a member of the National Press Club in Washington, and serves on the Board of Visitors to the College of Communications and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama, the board of directors of the Alabama Broadcasters Association, and the board of directors of the Sylacauga City Schools Foundation. In 2014, he was named Alabama’s Broadcaster of the Year and inducted into the Alabama Broadcasters Association’s Hall of Fame.

In 2016, with 74% of the vote of his district, Perryman was first elected to serve on Sylacauga’s City Council and is currently council president.

In 2022, he was honored by The University of Alabama's College of Communication and Information Sciences with the coveted Bert Bank Distinguished Service and Achievement Award.