(April 29, 2011) At first glance Havre, MT doesn’t stand out as a Mecca for radio. For STAA clients though, the small town in north central Montana is increasingly becoming a launching point for sport broadcasting careers. Four STAA clients have now joined New Media Broadcasters in Havre in the past 18 months, with Kevin Foedinger being the latest.
NMB is a four-station cluster in Havre. Foedinger follows fellow STAA’ers Jim McCabe, Alan Faul and John Herrick. All four have been hired in broadcasting and play-by-play positions.
NMB Program Director Geoff Cole says one commonality among STAA clients is they usually make a good first impression.
“The STAA clients will come in and have stuff packaged very nicely,” Cole says. “They send me their cover letter email introducing themselves and [presenting] their Talent Page. I can review the demo and resume very easily. There’s not a lot of audio clogging up my inbox — I like that.
“A lot of the guys are also pretty professional. They’ll call and follow up with me.”
Another interesting way Cole uses STAA is to cross reference job applicants with STAA’s annual All-America Top 20 list. The list features the top collegiate sports broadcasters in the country.
“These guys have been evaluated on a national level before even getting to us,” Cole says. “There has been an evaluation process before I even look at them. They’ve impressed people on a national level. That’s a good place to start.”
Foedinger also tips his hat to STAA.
“Through STAA I was able to make myself marketable through the brand name recognition that STAA carries. If you’re paying for STAA and you’re not using it, you are really not getting the full experience. They’ve been helpful at improving my day-to-day relations, the live chats especially. My play-by-play and cover letter writing have definitely improved through STAA.”
Foedinger graduates from Penn State in May. One thing he did in the application process that especially impressed Cole was to thoroughly research the station, NMB and the market.
“He shows a lot of initiative,” says Cole. “I think he had more questions for me during the interview process than I had for him. He had done a lot of research. He came into the interview process extremely prepared.”
For Foedinger, being prepared is routine.
“You want to tell an employer you know about the station,” he advises. “You want something that stands out. Employers want someone who cares about the station and the job. Doing research proves you care about the station and know what you are getting yourself into.”
Two things that impress Foedinger about the opportunity with NMB are how technologically advanced the stations are, and the variety of job responsibilities.
“They’re already moving into digital HD radio and I’m going to be able to wear a number of different hats. It is certainly a step in the right direction as I begin my career,” Foedinger says.
(Visit Kevin’s STAA Talent Page).