The future looks bright!
It’s May 14, 2013 and I am now 32 years of age. It has been an interesting year. A month before my 31st birthday I began my Masters program for New Media Journalism. I have always had a passion to write, investigate and in the end tell a story. Although I had already completed a couple degrees in design I wanted to do something in journalism in order to give myself a well-rounded pallet of skills.
During my Masters program I found a new passion in podcasting. It started as part of a class assignment but has evolved into something much more. I began with a show that featured myself and two other guys telling it how it is. We call ourselves the AudioVillains and believe me when I say that we are not only funny but if you want to leave reality for just a moment then this show is the one for you.
Between family time, school, work and podcasting I was able to move forward with an idea that originally began as a blog segment about my experience as a 9-1-1 dispatcher. That idea was called, Within the Trenches. I started it as just a blog segment where I shared my stories from behind the mic. I wanted the public to know what really goes on in dispatch. The posts became rather popular but I wanted to do more with it. I decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for the equipment needed to turn Within the Trenches into a podcast.
Since the launch and success of the campaign the show has been going strong. I have had a front-page article in a local newspaper; a telecast segment and I have added a co-host to the show. Things keep getting better and now that I have graduated I am looking to expand during the next year. Early this morning my co-host and co-worker Whitney asked me a series of questions regarding the best and worst of this past year and what I look forward to most this year. She really made me think and what I want to do is spend more time with my family and get back to basics of my new business while keeping it fresh.
I want to take my lineup of podcasts to the next level and expand. I want people to know more about what goes on in dispatch as well as help my fellow dispatchers learn more about our profession. I’m going to seek sponsors and help highlight what they have to offer. In the beginning it was all about blogging and I did well telling many stories. From what I have noticed, it is time to get back to blogging and highlight local businesses and stories around me. The next year looks bright and I’m anxious to get going. A big thanks goes to my wife Rebecca and my kids for sticking with me throughout this entire process and to everyone who continues to read and listen to the podcasts that I am producing and to those who have been a part of them. You know who you are!
The best is yet to come my friends. Cheers!