{"id":85664,"date":"2021-08-02T13:26:03","date_gmt":"2021-08-02T13:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=84831"},"modified":"2023-04-14T19:42:51","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T19:42:51","slug":"15-made-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/15-made-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"$15 Made All the Difference"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tThe views expressed in this blog are<\/em> those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As I begin to contemplate my retirement from high school athletics, I find myself looking back on how it all began.\u00a0 Being a firm believer in \u201cright place, right time\u201d, I am struck by the circumstances that got me started on a 50-year journey of sports broadcasting.<\/p>\n

I was teaching at Wilson High School<\/a>.\u00a0 It was late in the day on a Friday in November when I checked my mailbox and found a note from Dick Hammer of radio station WEST asking me to call him.\u00a0 School was still in session and I was on my way to monitor a pep rally for the football team as they were preparing to face their arch rival the next day.\u00a0 There was no time to make the call.<\/p>\n

Ironically and, as it turned out fortuitously, when I returned from the pep rally and the students had been dismissed, I found yet another note in my mailbox.\u00a0 This one was from Bob Gehris of Twin-County TV.\u00a0 He asked me to call him.\u00a0 I noted that the calls came in about 20 minutes apart.<\/p>\n

I knew both of these men \u2013 Dick Hammer was renowned in the area as a radio sports announcer and we had crossed paths many times when I was playing and coaching.\u00a0 I respected him so much both for his broadcasting skills and his personal traits.\u00a0 He called me first so I called him first.<\/p>\n

Dick Hammer asked me to be his color analyst for the upcoming basketball season.\u00a0 I was thrilled.\u00a0 I was confident in my ability to fulfill the position \u2013 I was an English teacher so I was certain I could do justice to the English language. I played and coached basketball so I knew that I could analyze the game.\u00a0 After a good conversation, I asked about the pay.\u00a0 I would get $15 a game.\u00a0 That seemed fair and I really wanted to do it.\u00a0 Before accepting, I mentioned that I needed to talk to my wife and that I had received a call from Bob Gehris of Twin County TV which I should return.\u00a0 So, despite my intense interest and excitement, I said I would get back to him.<\/p>\n

I next called Bob Gehris.\u00a0 I had known him since I was in elementary school.\u00a0 He was the principal of my grade school and was my sixth grade teacher.\u00a0 I had a love of sports back then and he shared that same passion.\u00a0 I looked forward to just speaking with him.<\/p>\n

After catching up with one another, he asked me if I would be his color analyst for the upcoming basketball season.\u00a0 Yup, you heard right \u2013 same request, same job, television, not radio.\u00a0 I could not believe it.\u00a0 Within 20 minutes, both men had me on their radar to be their co-announcer.\u00a0 Once again, the conversation turned to the pay.\u00a0 It was $30 per game.\u00a0 It was double what WEST was offering.<\/p>\n

I told Mr. Gehris that I truly appreciated the offer, needed to talk to my wife, and I would get back to him.<\/p>\n

The rest became my<\/u> history.\u00a0 My wife was fine with me accepting and, in fact, was convinced I would do a good job.\u00a0 She felt, as I did, that television was the future here and earning twice the money was a no-brainer.\u00a0 It would be difficult to say \u201cno\u201d to one and exciting to say \u201cyes\u201d to the other.<\/p>\n

I called Dick Hammer and explained that I appreciated the offer and would have loved to work alongside him, but the Twin-County offer was, as The Godfather once implied, \u201cone I could not refuse.\u201d\u00a0 I called Bob Gehris and accepted the position.<\/p>\n

That moment changed my whole life, as I eventually left teaching, became Sports Director, and did the job for 50+ years.<\/p>\n

Who would have ever thought that a mere 20 minutes and $15 would mean so much?<\/p>\n

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Olympic Golf was played at the Kasumigaseki Country Club and won by American Xander Schauffele. One interesting aspect of golf at the club was the dress code for the players.\u00a0 According to James Colgan of Golf<\/em>, the code there was very, very strict:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Blazers and jackets are required upon arrival.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Shorts can be worn on the course, but only with knee-high socks. Cargo shorts, jeans, mini-skirts, tights, leggings, and \u201chot pants\u201d are strictly forbidden.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. Collars can be worn up on shirts on the course, but must be turned back down in the clubhouse.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        1. If you wear a long-sleeved underlayer shirt, you MUST wear a long-sleeved overlayer.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
            \n
          1. No metal spikes may be worn and sneakers, sandals, and golf shoes are forbidden in the clubhouse.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
              \n
            1. Loud colors and \u201cconspicuous designs\u201d may not be worn.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                \n
              1. James Colgan leaves us with this thought, \u201cThe crown jewel of KCC\u2019s dress code rules. In the summer months, members and guests are asked to change their shirt and trousers before entering the dining room to prevent from leaving a damp seat for future guests.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                This makes me wonder if I have EVER left a damp seat!\u00a0 I sure hope not.<\/p>\n

                 <\/p>\n

                 <\/p>\n

                 \t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. As I begin to contemplate my retirement from high school athletics, I find myself looking back on how it all began.\u00a0 Being a firm…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behind-the-mic"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n$15 Made All the Difference - ATVN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"$15 Made All the Difference - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. As I begin to contemplate my retirement from high school athletics, I find myself looking back on how it all began.\u00a0 Being a firm...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/15-made-difference\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-02T13:26:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-14T19:42:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gary Laubach\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gary Laubach\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/15-made-difference\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/15-made-difference\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gary Laubach\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee\"},\"headline\":\"$15 Made All the Difference\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-02T13:26:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-14T19:42:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/15-made-difference\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":875,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Behind the Mic\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/15-made-difference\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/15-made-difference\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/15-made-difference\\\/\",\"name\":\"$15 Made All the Difference - ATVN\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-02T13:26:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-14T19:42:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/15-made-difference\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/\",\"name\":\"ATVN\",\"description\":\"Local Programming & Astound Digital Cable, Internet & Phone Services\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee\",\"name\":\"Gary Laubach\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg\",\"url\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Gary Laubach\"},\"description\":\"Gary began his broadcasting career with Twin County in 1972. Twin County eventually became C-TEC and then Astound Broadband. Gary is currently a Sports Broadcaster for Lafayette College.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/author\\\/rcntvgary\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"$15 Made All the Difference - ATVN","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"$15 Made All the Difference - ATVN","og_description":"The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. As I begin to contemplate my retirement from high school athletics, I find myself looking back on how it all began.\u00a0 Being a firm...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/15-made-difference\/","og_site_name":"ATVN","article_published_time":"2021-08-02T13:26:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-14T19:42:51+00:00","author":"Gary Laubach","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gary Laubach","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/15-made-difference\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/15-made-difference\/"},"author":{"name":"Gary Laubach","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee"},"headline":"$15 Made All the Difference","datePublished":"2021-08-02T13:26:03+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-14T19:42:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/15-made-difference\/"},"wordCount":875,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Behind the Mic"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/15-made-difference\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/15-made-difference\/","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/15-made-difference\/","name":"$15 Made All the Difference - ATVN","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-08-02T13:26:03+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-14T19:42:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/15-made-difference\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/","name":"ATVN","description":"Local Programming & Astound Digital Cable, Internet & Phone Services","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/149d57a8e347f18c57a13b75a3c0f3ee","name":"Gary Laubach","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg","url":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg","contentUrl":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Gary-Laubach-Behind-the-Mic-Author-Image.jpg","caption":"Gary Laubach"},"description":"Gary began his broadcasting career with Twin County in 1972. Twin County eventually became C-TEC and then Astound Broadband. Gary is currently a Sports Broadcaster for Lafayette College.","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/author\/rcntvgary\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85664"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87655,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85664\/revisions\/87655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}