South Georgia has another name to add to the list of people who are striking it big in the entertainment industry — Shannon Houchins.

Houchins, 40, grew up in Valdosta and attended Valwood School. He is chief executive officer of Average Joes Entertainment and president of AVJ Records, an imprint label to AJE. Average Joes Entertainment, based out of Nashville, Tenn. is the home to such acts as Colt Ford, Brantley Gilbert, Corey Smith and former American Idol contestant Josh Gracin. AVJ Records, which is based out of Atlanta, is home to urban artists like Nappy Roots and D12’s Bizarre.

With over 20 years of experience, Houchins’ career in the music industry started off in another direction — making movies.

“I probably started putting this whole thing together when I was 7 years old,” Houchins said. “When I was 7, I saw ‘Star Wars,’ and I wanted to make movies, so I read everything from special effects and photography and stuff.’

After receiving a video camera when he was 10 years old, Houchins began making movies with kids that grew up in his neighborhood. When he began editing the movies, he realized something was missing — the sound element of the movies.

“I had a buddy that had a lot of DJ equipment and so I started, when I was 13, adding sounds to all the movies. I got into that, and that’s what kind of got me into music and DJing and moved me over to the music thing,” he said.

For the complete story, please see today’s edition of The Valdosta Daily Times.