(September 2, 2016) Comfort and familiarity aren’t usually part of a new job, but they will be for Dan Lucero. An STAA member, Lucero is joining the sports staff at 580 WIBW in Topeka, KS.
In 2013 and 2014, Lucero worked at Sports Radio KGSO, also in Kansas (Wichita). One of his co-workers there, Alex Gold is now also at WIBW. In fact, it was Gold who tipped off Lucero to the opportunity.
Lucero replaces fellow STAA member Pat Strathman who left for a sports radio job in Salina, KS. Lucero’s addition means that the three-person WIBW sports staff continues to be made up entirely of STAA members.
“This job is the ideal opportunity to get my career moving forward again,” says Lucero who, after leaving Wichita, spent the past year as sports director at KSTC in Sterling, CO. “I’ll have the chance to do a ton of high school play-by-play, get back into sports talk, and I get to do it all at one of the most prestigious AM stations in the entire Midwest.”
Lucero appreciates how the Topeka community embraces high school sports. “In a state like Kansas, where there aren’t any pro teams within the state lines, high school sports take on a much greater importance,” he says. “I saw that first-hand covering high school games in my previous position in Wichita, as well as in past stops in Nebraska and Wyoming. People in the communities care deeply about their high school teams and love to see them receive recognition.”
Since joining STAA in 2012, Lucero has fine-tuned his job market approach. “From selecting good demo material, to building a website with relevant information, to how to get, and prepare, for an interview. It’s all come together thanks to the advice I’ve received from STAA,” he says. “Now, I enter the market feeling confident that I’m prepared to achieve the best possible outcome.”
For Lucero, WIBW represents a best possible outcome. “It checks every single box for me and what I love about radio,” he grins.
(Visit Dan’s website).