By Hannah Osborne
The Georgia Association of Broadcasters is pleased to introduce Karla Heath-Sands to its Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
Karla Heath-Sands’ career in broadcasting did not come to fruition from a childhood dream, but rather what Heath-Sands describes as a “Godsend.”
A native of Brunswick, Georgia, Karla Heath-Sands has always had a deep love for music and as early as 5 years old dreamed of becoming a singer. In 9th grade, she attended an All-State Choral Audition on the Mercer University campus in Macon.
“My mom was a chaperone. We got to campus and we’re looking around and I look to her and say, ‘Ma, I love this place!’” Heath-Sands says. “Fast forward to my senior year, Mercer was the only school I applied to for college. Thank goodness they said yes.” 
Heath-Sands entered her freshman year at Mercer University as an English major. While she took some broadcasting courses as part of her education, she was one course shy of having a minor in journalism.
“I did not know that this would be the career field that I would pursue.”
After graduation, Heath-Sands began working for the Board of Education in Macon-Bibb County as the Partners in Education Coordinator, which oversees school volunteer programs. Working for the school district meant that she had the same schedule as teachers, so she had to make a decision about what to do with her summer.
Six Flags over Georgia came to the Mercer campus and hosted auditions for people who were interested in performing at the amusement park for the summer. Heath-Sand auditioned and found herself spending her summer weeks at Six Flags singing and dancing as a ‘Crystal Pistol.’
On her days off, she would come home to Macon. One weekend, she came home to a message on her answering machine from WMAZ-TV. The news director and station manager had taken note of her through the years through her work as the Partners in Education Coordinator, and also as a participant in pageants.
“They wanted to know if I would be interested in serving as Community Service Director at WMAZ and be a weathercaster,” she says. “I said to them, ‘I major in English. I’m not a science mind; I’m not a math mind.’ And they said, ‘We will teach you.’”
Heath-Sands took the opportunity and learned how to draw the fronts, read the information and make the presentation to the viewers.
“I always said, ‘I’m not a meteorologist, I just play one on TV,’” she jokes. “And that was how I got into broadcasting. That’s why I say it was a Godsend because it presented itself. There was a knock on my door, and I had to make a decision as to whether to answer that door.”
Heath-Sands approached the opportunity with the mindset that the worst thing that could happen would be that she learned something.
After 5 years, her husband, the Honorable W. Louis Sands, received an appointment in Albany, GA.
“That is our unique story. I have always been happy wherever my family is,” she says. “My husband’s career move was a good opportunity for our family. A lot of people in Macon were upset with him when we moved and asked him, ‘Why are you taking her away from us?’”
Heath-Sands believed in making wherever she was into her home. This was also what motivated her to get involved in the community; she wanted to get to know people and have them know her too.
After moving to Albany, she first found an opportunity with a FOX station that had known her from her time spent in Macon. Heath-Sands had decided she no longer wanted to do weather after WMAZ. When she joined her first station in Albany, she split her time between anchoring and community service.
“I really think it takes a meteorologist. You need to have that skillset, and that knowledge, to talk about all of the different weather systems. I was familiar, but that was not my expertise,” she says.
Two years later, WALB invited Heath-Sands to come down the street to work, and that is where she has stayed for almost 30 years. In the beginning, she was anchoring early mornings and hosted “Today in Georgia” for many years. She also continued her work in community service and continues to host a community service-based program on the weekends called “Dialogue.”
Heath-Sands has hosted “Dialogue” for more than 20 years and in 2025 the show celebrated 30 years.
“I have been in a unique position where I have never been a Multimedia Journalist (MMJ) or a reporter. I’ve interviewed people out and about, but to go out and formulate a news story, I can count on one hand when I’ve had to do that,” she says.
In each role Heath-Sands has held during her career, she has maintained a strong connection to community service. Although in her perspective, everything that WALB does can be considered community service.
“The people who view us, that’s our community. Community is woven through everything we do,” Heath-Sands says.
When South Georgia faced cold weather over the holidays, WALB served their community by connecting those in need of warm clothes, or warm space, with the people and places offering these needs.
During COVID, Albany saw neighborhood watch groups tapering off and an uptick in crime. In response, the police chief held a press conference to share that the department would assist in reforming these groups. WALB’s role was to make their communities aware of this opportunity.
“That is community service, talking about ways we can keep our community safe. I see it as a part of my role to get the message out to our community,” she says.
She also realizes that being out in the community and having a stake in it has led people to feel like they can use her as a resource.
One of Heath-Sands favorite stories in recent years was the opportunity to co-anchor President Jimmy Carter’s funeral and burial. Hailing from Plains, GA, President Carter and his family are Southwest Georgia natives. Being a little less than an hour away from his hometown, and final
resting place, WALB provided coverage from the time when he left the hospital in Sumter County; his casket being placed on the plane to Washington D.C.; and when he was brought back home.
“At the end of his burial it was dark and they had these huge spotlights. I had a viewer send me a scripture that she was reminded of as she watched our coverage, Psalm 23.”
This moment affirmed for Heath-Sands that she and WALB were doing a service to their community by covering President Carter’s burial. Not only was the moment historical, but the viewers were engaged.
Through her work with the Georgia Women of Achievement, which former First Lady Rosalynn Carter played an instrumental role in beginning, Heath-Sands was asked by the organization to sing a tribute in Carter’s honor. She sang “Let There Be Peace on Earth.” Heath-Sands is currently acting as President of the organization.
Over her career, Heath-Sands has had the opportunity to speak with and cover other notable figures, such as Monica Kaufman-Pearson, Russell Malone, Stedman Graham, Patti LaBelle, Mary Early, Andrew Young, Senator Raphael Warnock and more.
While Heath-Sands has had the opportunity to cover some amazing stories, she has also had to cover some devastating ones.
To balance the mental load of the news she consumes every day, she has been able to ground herself through prayer, which she considers to be her foundation. She was also a part of a band for more than 30 years, which she saw as another escape.
Through all of the highs and lows of news coverage, Heath-Sands has loved her career in broadcasting.
“I tell younger people who are interested in coming into this career, that one of the things that I really love is that no two days are ever exactly the same,” she says.
Her advice to these younger people is to continue to learn and be a sponge.
“I’m still always learning. I explain to people that I think you need to be a sponge. Learn all that you can,” says Heath-Sands.
She believes that WALB is a great place to have a career in broadcasting.
Heath-Sands remembers a night when she really felt that staff at WALB were her family. In 2018, when Hurricane Michael hit Albany, all of the power was out, and the team at WALB stayed on the air for as long as they could to provide coverage to the community.
After some time, Heath-Sands decided it was time to go home to be with her husband.
“Every direction I tried to get to my house, there were trees and electric lines down, I could not get home,” she says.
She turned around, went back to the station, and spent the night on the couch. Around her other members of the staff were asleep on air mattresses, and even the floor.
“We were all a family here that night at the station.” 
Heath-Sands’ career in broadcasting has spanned for 36 years, and counting, in this time she has committed her time both on the air and off to serving the Albany, GA community and communities across the state.
Heath-Sands is a recipient of the GAB 2002 Small Market TV Best On-Air Personality GABBY; a 2024 GAB Spirit Award; a 2024 Telly Award for WALB’s ‘Kendrick Johnson Special;’ a member of the National Association of Black Journalists; and a 2011 King Day “Dream Award” recipient.
In addition to her work with Georgia Women of Achievement and the Georgia Humanities Board as a part of the grants committee, Heath-Sands is involved in her community as a former trustee for Girls, Inc. of Albany; a former board member for Albany Technical College; an Alumna of Albany Chapter of the Links, Inc.; and a Life Member of the Delta Eta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
In 2025, Karla Heath-Sands was selected as a member of the GAB Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
“Pinch me.”
Since receiving the news that she would be a member of the Hall of Fame Class of 2026, Heath-Sands has been reflecting on her career.
“You start thinking about the fact that you have more of your career behind you than you have in front of you. That’s the way I feel about life too.”
Heath-Sands has reflected on her accomplishments, as well as her contributions to both the local community and the state.
“’To whom much is given, much is required.’ I think of that in terms of God has given me a talent of voice and singing. I always said, ‘God gave me this gift, so I need to share it.’”
Heath-Sands looks forward to meeting her fellow inductees on the night of their induction and getting to hear their stories.
Karla Heath-Sands will be inducted into the Georgia Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame alongside three peers on Friday, March 27th, 2026, at the Emory Conference Center and Hotel in Atlanta.
The evening will also honor six future broadcasters as recipients of the GAB E. Lanier Finch Scholarship.
