Behind the Mic

Some Southern Hospitality

Posted by: Brian Barnhart

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 7:05 AM

I passed through North Carolina on Interstate 85 about 23 years ago on my way to Charlotte, North Carolina and Greenville, South Carolina to visit family and friends.

Little did I realize ...or imagine ...all those years ago that I would be spending a couple of days in Salisbury, NC 23 years later to receive a state broadcasting award. (Salisbury is the home of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame and they have been honoring broadcasters from around the nation for 50 years now.)

You see...nearly 25 years ago I had just fallen in love with this new radio career I was pursuing and trying to get my foot in the door anyway I could. The last time I was on that particular interstate in North Carolina I was still waiting to hear if I was going to be hired to do play- by-play for a Class A minor league baseball team in Salem, VA. It was going to be my first full time play by play job. I was just getting my" feet wet "in the radio business and was trying everything I could to get started on the right foot. I knew very few people in the radio industry and the people in the industry had certainly never heard of me...thats for sure.. (By the way...I got that particular job!)

Fast forward to May 2009...and in Salisbury,NC on Monday night I was honored to receive the Sportscaster of the Year Award for the State of Illinois. I was joined by all of the other state winners from around the country and got to spend an evening with several NSSA Hall of Fame Broadcasters...guys like Marty Brenneman and Jim Simpson as well as future Hall of Famer Jim Nantz of CBS Sports....I also caught up with other friends and fellow broadcasters and writers from across the nation. (Some of them even know me now!).... It is amazing how many people in this business I have crossed paths with over the years

It was a wonderful banquet and the fine folks of Salisbury could not have been more gracious with their hospitality.

I felt two emotions at Monday night's awards ceremony. One was how honored I was to be in the company of all these great sportscasters. There are so many talented announcers out there that do a great job on the radio.

And secondly...I concluded that the young announcer..... nearly 25 years ago...just out of college ....driving down I-85 in North Carolina with big dreams and goals and hoping for his first real full-time play-by-play job ....had no clue what was in store for him a quarter of a century later.

As the folks in Salisbury said at the honors banquet on Monday night...."Sports announcers have the coolest jobs in the world. "

They are so right about that!

 

 

 

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