12.11.2010: The Decision

Lunkers family! It's been a while. I hope everyone is doing well and gearing up for a fun Holiday season.

Since my last blog post, my farewell blog, I received a lot of very kind notes from several people and I want to thank all of you for your kind words. In that post, I wrote about how amazing my experience was. I feel even stronger about my words now than I did four months ago.

I was very fortunate to receive an offer from Dustin to come back for the summer of 2011 to broadcast again. That was an option I seriously considered, but wanted the chance to explore broadcasting opportunities at the professional level before making a decision. Yesterday (Friday), I officially accepted the position to broadcast for the Great Falls Voyagers, a minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox (I know, I know...it had to be the White Sox, right?). Receiving the offer was in many ways very rewarding, as I have worked very hard to become a "Professional broadcaster," but it was also somewhat sad because it meant I would not be returning to Brainerd for another summer.

To all of you who were so kind to welcome me into your community and in some cases, your homes, be it physically or through a radio/internet stream, I can't thank you enough. It is such a privilege to have the microphone, bringing you as close as possible to the action and to the wonderful team.

When I announced this to Dustin, Coach Lev, and several other members of the Lunkers family, I told them the first thing I thought of was the people that I would miss this summer. Brainerd, the town, was great, but being on the road so much and, when at home, spending a majority of my time at only a select few places, it is clear that it was the people that made my experience so special.

My goal is and has always been to become a Major League broadcaster. Brainerd will always be the first stop on that journey. Everyone that made my experience so special will always have a unique place in my heart.

Fortunately, in the world of facebook and airplanes, this is not a 'farewell forever,' but merely a 'see you later.' The drive to Brainerd from Great Falls is 14 hours, so I think I am going to honor the Wright Brothers and fly to the Lakes Area at some point this summer to say hi to everyone. But, I am on facebook and nothing would make me happier than to chat or message with any and all of you.

To the men of the press box (EG, Smolke, and Ed): Here's to one last handshake! Please give the next broadcaster the same opportunity to join in on the camradarie as you all gave me, and make sure to give him equally as hard of a time ;-).

To everyone: Thank you so much for making my experience so special. Please keep in touch.