Nan Kelley (born Nan Sumrall) is a former
Miss Mississippi
Miss Mississippi is a scholarship pageant and a preliminary of Miss America. The contest began in 1934, has been held in Vicksburg since 1958, and provides more money than any other scholarship pageant in the Miss America Organization.
Four M ...
(1985) who later became a host and correspondent for the
Great American Country
Great American Family is an American cable television network. Owned by Great American Media, it broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies.
It was originally established in ...
(GAC)
cable television
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...
network.
Early life and career
A native of
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Kelley initially finished first runner-up in the 1985 Miss Mississippi pageant to
Susan Akin, but became Miss Mississippi when Akin was named
Miss America that year. Following her service, she received her degree from college in
Communication
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...
s, and then worked as an
entertainer
An entertainer is someone who provides entertainment in various different forms.
Types of entertainers
* Acrobat
* Actor
* Archimime
* Athlete
* Barker
* Beatboxer
* Benshi
* Bouffon
* Circus performer
* Clown
* Club Hostess/Host
* Co ...
for the
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
. While at the Defense Department, Kelley entertained troops in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
,
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
,
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
, and the
Caribbean.
Move to Nashville
Kelley moved to
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
where she performed at
Opryland. Later, she worked for record producer Blake Mevis, the first producer for 2006
Country Music Hall of Fame
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amas ...
inductee
George Strait. After spending time in the recording studio and on stage, Kelley moved to
broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting beg ...
working for
Dick Clark
Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...
Productions as a producer for ''Prime Time Country'' on
The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, game shows, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows. On Septembe ...
(
Spike TV since August 2003.) Later Kelley worked as a host for the
Shop At Home Network
The Shop at Home Network (more commonly known as just Shop at Home, Shop at Home TV, SATH) was a television network in the United States. Before its acquisition by Jewelry Television in 2006, Shop at Home (SATH NASDAQ) was a public company which s ...
before joining GAC as host of ''
Grand Ole Opry Live'' on October 4, 2003.
Work at GAC
In addition to hosting ''Grand Ole Opry Live'', Kelley also hosts GAC's ''
Top 20 Country Countdown'' which deals with the top twenty videos in
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
on the network for a particular week that is voted on by GAC viewers. She also hosts a show called ''My Music Mix'' where they interview an artist's favorite music video, both of their own and others. When
Hurricane Katrina hit
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, and
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
on August 29, 2005, Kelley hosted a benefit concert that was simulcast on two other
E.W. Scripps
Edward Willis Scripps (June 18, 1854 – March 12, 1926), was an American newspaper publisher and, together with his sister Ellen Browning Scripps, founder of The E. W. Scripps Company, a diversified media conglomerate, and United Press ne ...
' television networks (
DIY Network
Magnolia Network is an American basic cable network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Chip and Joanna Gaines. It broadcasts personality-based lifestyle programs related to topics such as home construction, renovation, and cuisine.
The channe ...
and
Fine Living) titled ''Country Reaches Out: An Opry and GAC Benefit for the
American Red Cross''.
Personal life
Kelley is married to
Grammy-nominated record producer Charlie Kelley and lives in Nashville. The couple owns two dogs.
Kelley revealed in May 2008 on GAC's ''Top 20 Country Countdown'' that she had
Hodgkin lymphoma
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition w ...
. In November 2008, she announced on GAC's ''Top 20 Country Countdown'' that she has made a complete recovery from her cancer.
References
GAC TV profile
External links
*
Miss Mississippi 1985 photograph accessed March 9, 2007.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Nan
1960s births
Living people
American television personalities
Miss America 1980s delegates
People from Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Miss Mississippi winners