(February 2, 2012) Nathan Barnett’s goal for the coming summer has been to find a job that will allow him to broadcast as many innings of baseball as possible. Mission accomplished. An STAA client, Barnett will handle broadcasting and media relations for the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters of the Northwoods League.
“I wanted to get a No.1 job somewhere in the longest possible season I could find,” Barnett says. “This gives me an opportunity to do 70 games, home and away, in a respected college summer league and I am the only broadcaster.
“It’s an additional bonus that the games are broadcast on local radio and not just the Internet.”
A native of Dallas, TX, Barnett graduated from Pomona College in Claremont, CA in 2011 then spent the summer broadcasting for the Palm Springs Power of the Southern California Collegiate Baseball League. With the Rafters, he is looking forward to living in the Midwest for the first time.
“Being from Texas is kind of a different animal,” Barnett says. “Being able to live in a part of the country I have never been is something I am looking forward to doing. The other thing would be that, between the broadcasting I did in college, the broadcasting I have done in Palm Springs and the freelance work I have done, I have never traveled with a team. The opportunity to do that is something else I am looking forward to.”
Barnett found out about Wisconsin Rapids job through fellow STAA client JW Cox, the voice of the Rapids Rafters the past two seasons. Barnett and Cox met at baseball’s recent Winter Meetings in Dallas.
“Without JW, I probably would never have known about this,” Barnett says.
An STAA client since November 2010, Barnett credits STAA with providing his career with a goal and a plan for how to get there. He believes his Talent Page gave him instant credibility. However, he says it’s STAA’s career planning and consulting that has been most valuable.
“Without a doubt, my relationship with [STAA CEO] Jon Chelesnik has been the biggest part for me. Like [another STAA client] said recently, Jon makes me feel like I’m his most important client, event though I know he has hundreds of others. When we are talking about a position, I know I’m not always going to hear what I want to hear, but what is best for me because Jon cares about me as a person as well.”
(Visit Nathan’s STAA Talent Page. Nathan has also had his demo & resume constructed by STAA).