When Jayden Taylor called to follow-up his application for a sports director position with i3G Media in Valley City, ND, he learned the position had been filled. He made a good impression, though, on station General Manager Erin Tombarge. When another i3G Media station had a sports director opening just 30 minutes away, Tombarge recommended Taylor. He got the job and is moving to Jamestown, ND.
I3G Media is Taylor’s first full-time broadcasting opportunity since graduating from Marshall University in December. “This job allows me to grow as a play-by-play announcer with plenty of opportunity to call games. This was the biggest deal to me because I wanted a place where I knew there would be no question about my growth potential.
“I will also have other on-air opportunities that will allow me to grow my voice in other non-play-by-play [roles]. That is another thing I really wanted.”
The recommendation Taylor earned in Valley City provided him the opportunity to apply for the Jamestown role before it was posted publicly. “Of course I took that and ran,” Taylor grins. “I was able to interview and eventually, after a week or two, I accepted the job. On July 8th I will be moving into my apartment in North Dakota with my fiancé [Camrin] and my dog Jax.”
Play-by-play is Taylor’s passion and he did much of during college. “I called games as a play-by-play [voice] over the years for Marshall University’s men’s and women’s basketball teams, as well Marshall baseball, softball, and volleyball.”
Taylor joined STAA in January. “[Fellow STAA member] Jake Griffith referred me to STAA,” Taylor recalls. “He let me know how helpful it can be, especially to someone like me who needed some professional guidance getting from college graduate to being a paid professional. I didn’t know how to go about just about anything. I knew I needed demos but didn’t know any sort of way to structure them. I knew I needed to learn how to write cover letters despite never doing it before. Many things like that I needed to get shaped up before being able to be considered seriously for a job.”
Now Taylor is on the move from West Virginia to North Dakota. The change will be easier with his fiancé and his dog moving with him. Taylor also knows he will be embraced by the people at i3G Media. “No bigger fear than to move across the country and feel like you’re not going to be liked as soon as you get there,” Taylor explains. “So speaking with both [Jamestown station GM Lynn] Lambrechet and Erin about the positive team culture at [i3G Media] made me feel comfortable that I3G has a positive team culture.”