One of two sports broadcasting honorees, this year’s inductee is a 1995 graduate of Howland High School and a 1999 alum of Youngstown State University where he earned his undergraduate degree in telecommunications.
Born August 10, 1977, he is a lifelong resident of Howland Township and is known in the business as someone who is fair with his reporting while going the extra mile to report the story in a truthful manner.
After earning a sports internship at WKBN-TV, Channel 27 in the summer of 1998, in October of that year he was hired at the station as a production assistant.
In the spring of 1999, he was promoted to full-time news videographer, that coming just a couple of months prior to his graduation from YSU.
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His progression continued as he moved up the ranks at the station, being promoted to weekend sports anchor-reporter in October of 2001.
In March of 2005, his efforts in the field and the timeliness of his stories weren’t unnoticed by management and he was promoted yet again, this time becoming the youngest sports director ever at WKBN-TV – he was just 27 years-old – a post that he has held for the past 19 years.
When WKBN-TV acquired WYTV, Channel 33 in the fall of 2007, he assumed the sports director’s role for all three stations (WKBN, WYFX, WYTV).
He is the recipient of multiple Associated Press awards, including several first-place honors in Ohio for ‘Outstanding Sports Operation.’
A member of the 27 First News at 6 p.m. newscast team that won a regional Emmy in both 2016 and 2019, he has also earned top laurels for Best Feature Reporting and Best Photography, too.
He spent 10 years (2009-19) as an executive committee member of the Mahoning Valley Coaches Association and under his leadership, started the WKBN Big 22 Award in 2006 – he has hosted its banquet and selection show the past 18 years – an award that has now become one of the most prestigious scholastic grid honors statewide.
He has overseen WYTV’s “Student Athlete of the Week” and hosted their banquet for the past 12 years while managing and expanding their award-winning “Game of the Week” live broadcasts to include eight different sports, which range from Little League games to collegiate athletic contests.
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Under his tutelage, he helped launch WKBN Sports’ digital platform MyValleySports.com and WKBN.com.
Over the past 25 years, he has had the opportunity to cover a myriad of national events, including the World Series, NBA Finals, College Football National Championship game, U.S. Open and world title fights.
He gives back to the community by serving as a youth baseball and soccer coach with the Howland Athletic Club, has coached both Howland elementary and middle school basketball teams, emceed events for Howland football, their Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and booster fundraisers and is a member of the Howland Hall of Fame committee.
He and his wife, the former Nicole Butterfield, are the proud parents of three children, Owen (20), Arran (18) and Abigail (12).
They reside in Howland.
