In studio|Bogalusa native Galloway returns every year for camp

Published 7:06 pm Wednesday, July 11, 2012

It isn’t hard to imagine Michael Galloway hosting a radio show. He just loves to talk. Some may even call him a politician.

A product of Bogalusa High School and Dillard University, Galloway knows the importance of communication. After all, the point guard calls the plays out and basketball is his first love.

“Basketball means a great deal to me,” Galloway said. “It is a passion of mine and develops life skills. It allowed me to go to college and get an education.”

That is why Galloway created the Sports Work Academy Basketball Camp with former LSU and Portland Trailblazer standout Nikita Wilson, held each year in late June at the Avenue B YMCA gym.

“There is something bigger in life than sports but we want to show the kids what you can take from them,” Galloway said.

Galloway was an all-District 8-3A performer that led the league in assists two years in a row from 1984-85 where he recorded 16 triple doubles. He set a school record with 23 assists against Salmen and also participated on the Lumberjack track team where he led the 4×400 meter relay team to the regional championship and a birth at the state meet.

“There is a variety of things basketball can create in a positive way that you can translate in your life,” Galloway said.

Galloway went on to play basketball at Dilliard University where he graduated with a degree in Mass Communications. He was a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. where he was voted president of the Epsilon Alpha Chapter in his first year, which never occurred previously. He was also voted vice-president of the Pan-Hellenic Council, which governed on-campus fraternities and sororities.

But where Galloway found he could mix sports into a potential career was in radio. He worked with former WDSU newscaster Warren Bell to launch Dilliard’s first on campus radio station in 1988 and was the first station manager of WDUB.

“I really enjoyed it and it is something that I still want to be involved in,” Galloway said.

A service manager with the Department of Community Affairs now in Georgia, the guy who once had his own nightly radio show continues to make guest appearances as an in studio host.

But through it all, Galloway still calls Bogalusa home.

“I really enjoy returning and seeing old friends,” Galloway said. “It is kind of emotional. We have had some talent come out of this little town and we are all like a big extended family. Bogalusa means a great deal to me and I just try to come back to do my part.”

Galloway is the son of Rev. M.J. Galloway, a pastor of Metropolitian Baptist Church in Bogalusa and New Welcome Baptitst Church in Poplarville, Miss. and Mary Galloway.

“They have been a tremendous support system for me,” Galloway said.

He has been married to Tessa Morgan for 12 years and resides in the Atlanta suburb of Grayson.

He has four brothers Donald Ladner, Darryl Ladner, Calvin Ladner and Murrell Galloway. Donald Ladner is the assistant chief of the Bogalusa Fire Department and Murrell Galloway resides in Houston but returns each year to assist with the camp.

“There is a lot of negativity out there and we just want to give the kids a positive outlet,” Galloway said.