Captions Magazine - Bethel University

nerals
Success graduate is the "Voice of the
Jackson Generals" and 2013 recipient of
the Radio Broadcaster of the Year
of sleep. Then finally you broadcast the
games which really turns out to be just a
small percentage of your day. Like I said,
it's a labor of love!
Q. What is the thing you like most
about your job
A. I think the most enjoyable part of the
job is the relationships you create. Just in
five years being in the Southern League,
there is rarely a major league game going
on where you don't know someone
involved. The way the baseball landscape
changes and evolves you never know
when you are going to run into some of
those people. Interacting with the fans
not only in Jackson, but in Seattle and
around the country is a lot of fun, and
you really get to know a lot of great
people. The relationships you create with
players' families is great as well, because
sometimes you are the only means for
them finding out how their loved one is
doing. Seeing a player work hard at this
level and be able to move on to Triple-A
and then the major leagues is fun. You
like to see these guys have success, even
when they leave Jackson.
The travel is also a very enjoyable part
of the job. You get to experience a lot of
the great ballparks and cities in the southeast
while traveling around the Southern
League.
Q. If you weren't doing this job, what
do you think you would be doing
A. Wow, that is an interesting question! I
enjoy journalism and writing in general,
so I would want to do something with
that. Working for a newspaper and covering
all kinds of sports would be a lot of
fun. Outside of sports, I probably would
enjoy getting into investment banking.
I'm always fascinated with numbers
and stats, and I keep a close
eye on most things Wall Street
related during the year.
Q. What is the neatest experience
you have had in this job
A. A lot of different things come
to mind. Probably the neatest
experience happened in September
when I was able to broadcast
my first major league regular
season game. I had done a few
spring training games with the
Mariners Radio Network, but
being able to fill-in and call a
Mariners game at Busch Stadium
in St. Louis against the
Cardinals was a thrill of a lifetime. Looking
out from the broadcast booth and
seeing downtown St. Louis and getting to
call names like Yadier Molina and Adam
Wainwright was surreal. Walking into the
clubhouse and seeing so many guys who
had played in Jackson was awesome, and
everyone was unbelievable those three
days.
Q. What does winning Broadcaster of
the Year mean to you
A. It was an honor and a really humbling
experience. You work hard every day
and you want to do things the right way,
so it is a bit of a reassurance that you are
doing things the right way. This league
has some of the best broadcasters in the
country and to be voted by my peers and
the Southern League General Managers
as the best is an unbelievable honor.
Q. Is there a particular instructor in
the Bethel Success program whose actions
or teaching methods inspired you
or made an impact on you Name the
instructor and tell about how he or she
inspired you.
A. I think I took something positive away
from each instructor that I had in a class.
One thing that I really loved about the
Success program was getting to learn
from other students about their life experiences
as well. Most everyone in my
classes were in the working world and
me being younger it was always great to
hear things that they had been through
and had learned on the job. There were
several instructors who come to mind.
Dr. Dorothy Black comes to mind at how
she was able to relate to each person's
current situation. She had a very interesting
background having worked in the
military and also the IRS. She helped our
class get prepared for the ORP project.
Also, I'll always remember the Bible
classes with Rev. Dennis Trull. The class
discussions he led and his ability to teach
the Gospel were especially inspiring.
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