Throughout her life and broadcast journalism career, Karla Heath-Sands has made serving and bettering her community a priority. Now, the Mercer University alumna’s work and passion have earned her a spot in the Georgia Association of Broadcasters 2026 Hall of Fame class.
Heath-Sands has been an anchor at WALB News 10 in Albany for 28 years, but the roots of her career go back to Macon. Originally from Brunswick, her love for singing set her on a path to Mercer. As a ninth-grader, she fell in love with Mercer while on campus for All-State Chorus auditions and decided that’s where she would go to college.
“Mercer was the only school I applied to, and thank goodness they said yes. I had my heart set on Mercer,” she said. “Macon is in my heart. It’s got a special place in terms of me meeting my husband, me starting my career, and me attending college.”
As a Mercer student, she majored in English, joined Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and performed with the Mercer Singers. After graduating in 1984, she worked with Bibb County schools before launching her broadcast journalism career in 1989 as community director and weathercaster at 13WMAZ.
Macon is also where she met her husband, Double Bear the Hon. W. Louis Sands, senior U.S. district court judge for the Middle District of Georgia and a Mercer trustee. Heath-Sands had been invited to sing at Steward Chapel AME Church, where Sands was a minister of music and accompanied her on piano. Afterward, they went on their first date at the Rookery.
The couple — who now have two grown children — moved to Albany in 1995, and Heath-Sands became an anchor at WALB in 1997. Today, she anchors broadcasts at noon and 4, 5 and 6 p.m. and hosts a weekly community news show called “Dialogue,” which celebrates minority voices and issues. The show just celebrated its 30th anniversary.
“What I love about the job is no two days are the same,” Heath-Sands said. “My hours are 9:30 to 6:30, but those hours, Mondays to Fridays, are all going to be different. You’ll have breaking news, a follow-up, something on the national level, something in South Georgia. I love it because I’ve learned so much about my community.”
Over the years, some of her most notable interviews have been with Olympian and Albany native Alice Coachman, singer Patti LaBelle, comedian and host Steve Harvey, Otis Redding III, former professional football player Warrick Dunn, Civil Rights activists Charles and Shirley Sherrod, activist and diplomat Andrew Young, and jazz musician Russell Malone.
Throughout her career, Heath-Sands has accepted any opportunities she can to share her voice with the community. She was asked to serve as the host/emcee at Malone’s funeral last year, and she often sings at churches, senior centers, nursing homes, special needs facilities, sporting events and other community events. She performed with Bob Cummings and The Reflections band for over 30 years; delivered the National Anthem at the Cherry Blossom Festival in Kurobe, Japan, in 1998; and has been a guest soloist with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, the Albany Symphony and Opera Albany.
Heath-Sands just took the reins as president of Georgia Women of Achievement, succeeding Mercer President-Elect Dr. Penny L. Elkins. She serves on the grants committee for the Georgia Humanities Council, is an alumna member of the Albany (Georgia) Chapter of The Links Inc., is a past chair of the Mercer President’s Club, and is active in the Delta Eta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and its service initiatives. Every year, she helps with WALB’s annual food drive in partnership with Feeding the Valley.
“My ties with those organizations answer my need to be involved in my community,” she said. “God has been good, and when I look at how he has allowed me to connect my love of my music, my broadcast career and my love of community, it all comes full circle,” she said. “I want God to use me to help my local community and as many people across the state as I can.”
On Nov. 12, Heath-Sands and three of her colleagues were surprised with special announcements about their induction into the Georgia Association of Broadcasters 2026 Hall of Fame. She said the induction caused her to look back on her life, career and the journey.
“When you start your career, (you don’t say) one day you want to do A, B, C, D, E. You just do it because you enjoy it and you love it, and then those things might come. I started reflecting on what I had done. It wasn’t to win an award. I was always about community service, and I’ve been able to hold onto that community service piece throughout my career.”
Heath-Sands encouraged future journalists and broadcasters to be good writers, listeners and researchers, but to also be themselves.
“Don’t try to be like everybody else,” she said. “Be you. Bring your style, your way of talking. But remember, I don’t care how old you are; you can still learn something new from others in your newsroom. You can learn from each other. Be a sponge, soak it all up.”
