Belated Giving of Thanks: 2022

The week before Thanksgiving is always an extra busy time for those of us in the ATVN studio.

Thanksgiving weekend is typically our first “full” week of state playoff games–which means contacting schools outside our coverage area.  (This sometimes creates for very interesting stories, as we have to prove ourselves to coaches that we have never met before that we are not spies nor trying to get “inside information” for the teams that they are going to face).

It’s also a “tricky” week because the schools are closed, at the very least, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and it creates a rush trying to get all these NEW schools’ information and compile everything in less days (and also try to have at least part of one day to spend with our families).

In any event, the item that often gets pushed to the back burner is the blog I like to write giving thanks to the many people I come in contact with throughout the year and those who are so incredibly helpful in assisting us bring local sports coverage to our viewers throughout the year.

And I DEFINITELY did not want to blow this off this year!

First of all, I want to thank the coaches, athletic directors, statisticians, administrators and all the people we deal with in preparing and producing our sports broadcasts.  It was great to get through a sports season without a single game canceled because of COVID, but that still doesn’t mean it was an “easy” year.

We’ve talked with quite a few local personalities on our “SportsTalk” show about all the things that they have had to deal with…from a shortage of bus drivers keeping kids from traveling to scheduled games to the lack of officials, which also causes games to be canceled or rescheduled.  These and other “new” issues have wreaked havoc with a “normal” fall, and many of these administrators have had to deal with many issues, while still trying to be super accommodating and as helpful to us in the media as they could possibly be.

Secondly, the people within our Astound family have been unbelievably helpful to me and our studio staff over this past year (and I hope they know who they are).  From promoting our sports programming to allowing me to bring in new voices to our on-air sports family (more on that in a minute) to allowing us to try new scheduling techniques (more on that next week).  We have been able to do a lot of great things this year.  PLUS, we are working on more new vehicles to enhance our local sports coverage over the next few months–details to follow soon!

Next, I’m very thankful for those new on-air staff members who have joined us over the last 12 months.  From a national Hall of Fame inductee and former ESPN announcer to a former Major League Baseball player…from one of the most successful women’s basketball coaches in our area to a former Division-I standout football player who just a couple years ago was in NFL training camps…just a few of the new editions to our announcing staff.  We are still working on bringing in a few more new faces to our broadcasting lineup in the new year!

Lastly, I am thankful for the behind the scenes people at our ATVN studio.  For over 20 years now I’ve seen them do amazing work on our productions while bringing you all of our local sports and community programming.  But this year, they have overcome some incredible personal challenges–a couple have been made public, but most have not.  Trust me when I say that it has not been an “easy” last few months for these men and women, who continued to work through adversity while continuing to do their best this fall AND prepare for everything that is coming up as part of our winter schedule.

It may be a few days late in coming, but this year, more than ever, I am extremely grateful and very thankful for the people who I work with.  Hopefully, things can go a little “smoother” all the way around for our upcoming season.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  Check back next week for more exciting news on upcoming projects for the Astound TV Network as we move into our winter season!

 

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company.