(June 8, 2012) Regional Radio is making a habit of hiring STAA clients. Over the years, at least three have passed through the doors of the family of radio stations in Moberly, MO. When the stations lost three employees over the past month, they again turned to STAA. Now, clients Adam Hildebrandt (pictured), Ryan Myrehn and Josh Carey are all joining the stations in various sports and broadcasting capacities.
“The GM of Regional Radio’s Moberly cluster, Brad Boyer, has come to trust the talent he’s hired from STAA,” says STAA CEO Jon Chelesnik. “When his most recent openings arose, we didn’t post them on the STAA job board. We just sent the job description only to STAA Premier members. Employers often request approach because it saves them from having to receive hundreds of applications and they know STAA will provide a deep pool of qualified applicants.”
“I have had good success with STAA clients, says Boyer. “While they come excited about the play-by-play opportunities we offer, they also embrace our local community radio concept and leave more well rounded announcers.”
The most recent opportunities at Regional Radio came last month. “I got an email from STAA about the job posting and was able to jump on it,” says Hildebrandt.
Hildebrandt is a recent graduate of Oklahoma State University. While in school he started his own play-by-play broadcast of high school sports on a local radio station and worked as a broadcast intern with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Among his professors at OSU is Dave Hunziker, the Voice of the Cowboys.
“Dave Hunziker spoke highly of [the Moberly job], and another recent OSU grad had gone through there, Hildebrandt says. “It is also a great opportunity to work in several areas of radio at once.”
Just a year older than Hildebrandt, Ryan Myrehn is a 2011 graduate of DePauw University in Indiana.
“Coming from the Midwest and having gone to college in a town similar to Moberly, the fit seemed right,” says Myrehn. “While sports broadcasting is my focus, I was drawn to the opportunity to be heavily involved in elements of radio outside of sports. For a commercial radio rookie, I see inherent value in building a well rounded resume at a respected station and this opportunity checks all of the boxes.”
While broadcasting during his four years of college in Greencastle, Indiana, Myrehn called play-by-play of football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball and even cycling. In 2009 he was a winner of Indiana AP “Best Sports Play-by-Play.
“[STAA] is a true blessing for aspiring broadcasters,” says Myrehn. “I would never have known where to start applying without the STAA.
“I received an email about the [Moberly] job opening and immediately sent in an application. The next day I called Brad to introduce myself and get a better understanding of the job and quickly learned that it was an incredible opportunity for someone trying to break into broadcasting.”
Josh Caray has been in broadcasting since 2006. Much of that time has been spent in minor league baseball, though he has also been the voice of Birmingham Southern College football and basketball, and serves as a studio host for IMG. He has family roots in The Show Me State.
Regional Radio GM Boyer says, “Thanks to Jon and STAA.”
(Visit Adam Hildebrandt, Ryan Myrehn, and Josh Caray’s STAA Talent Pages.)