Within 30 minutes of joining STAA, Ryan Sartori had a relevant job lead. Within 10 days, he had a job. Sartori is the new sports director at KCHI Radio in Chillicothe, MO.
“The job at KCHI came to my knowledge after a great phone conversation with [STAA Owner] Jon Chelesnik,” Sartori recalls. “It was the first time we had talked since I joined STAA. Jon was awesome enough to direct me to KCHI after hearing what some of my career goals were.”
Sartori moves to north central Missouri from Naperville, IL where he spent the past 18 months as a freelance TV sports reporter. “The job at KCHI is a great opportunity for me because it gives me a chance to become a more well-versed professional,” Sartori enthuses. “It’s my first full-time job since graduating college and the job presents chances for growth to happen for me and for the station.”
Sartori’s first interview with KCHI Owner Patti Leatherman was via telephone. Afterward, Leatherman told Chelesnik, “Ryan is a powerhouse on the phone.”
It turns out that Sartori was a powerhouse in person as well.
“For my interview, I equipped myself with basic knowledge of the station and some of its history,” he recalls. “When I try and formulate answers or force information that I gathered beforehand, I don’t perform as well in interviews. I wanted to go in with the tone of having a conversation and presenting myself in the most natural way possible.”
Passion, confidence, humility and gratitude are traits Chelesnik immediately noticed about Sartori in their introductory phone conversation. Sartori explains that those traits are intentional.
“Something I constantly tell myself is, ‘If I want to cover major league sports I need to put in a major league effort to achieve my goals.’ This industry, it seems, is a grind to get to where you want to go. If you approach it with a negative mindset you’ll get stuck in the mud, tires spinning, pretty quick. I know from experience. So a part of my major league effort is maintaining a positive attitude.
“The aspect of gratitude is just something that happens naturally. I’m not perfect, and I know I’m going to need a lot of help to achieve my dreams so I have to be thankful to anyone who is kind enough to help me on my journey. Everyone should practice this!”
Sartori is a 2021 graduate of North Central College in Naperville, IL. He joined STAA last month. “I found STAA after a Google search, which, I know, sounds boring,” Sartori grins. “But, I had just finished my final class in a cohort that I was taking with Rich Hollenberg. After the class, I had a small panic, ‘oh man, now what?’ So I stumbled upon STAA and joined because it seemed like a great way to stay involved in the industry. Literally the next day I had a lead to KCHI.
“I’m hoping to bring an enthusiastic and positive impact to the people of Chillicothe, Missouri and the nine other counties the station reaches.”