Tag: Olympics

Olympic Games Recap: Chase Cain

Posted on by Sarah Freeman

Those who follow Chase Cain (ABJ ’05) on Instagram saw a totally different side of the Tokyo Olympic Games than most. As a climate storyteller for NBC LX, he showed viewers behind-the-scenes views of the food, culture, weather and some of the lower profile competitions like surfing and skateboarding. Cain’s video features of the Olympic Games included a Tokyo’s approach to COVID, a study of the fuel used in the Olympic flame and the increased number of LGBTQ athletes.  He chronicled his adventures in a series of Tokyo highlights on his Instagram account.

Cain was a broadcast journalism major and earned his NMI certificate at Grady College before working various local market news jobs following graduation. In 2015, he produced videos at Hulu before accepting his current role at NBC LX. He was honored in the 2018 class of 40 under 40 recipients and is assuming a role on the Grady Society Alumni Board starting in spring 2022.

Grady College: What you are doing at the Olympics through your role with NBC LX.
Cain and NBC anchor Lester Holt.

Chase Cain: Each team at NBC typically chooses one anchor or reporter to send to the Olympics to report from the event. I was thrilled to be chosen by my team at NBCLX! For network news, a major goal is to cover the biggest stars and sports for Team USA. For NBC local stations, they typically focus on the hometown athletes. NBCLX has a unique position, because we’re a national channel which aims to provide depth and context on news. That meant that I wasn’t focusing on what anyone else was doing. My stories ranged from explaining why the pandemic was worse in Japan than the United States — to showing people what it’s like to be “the only fan” at an Olympics arena.

GC: How did you prepare to cover the Olympic Games?

CC: Because of the pandemic, I honestly wasn’t sure how to prepare. Would I be interviewing fans? Japanese citizens? No one? What level of access would we have to athletes? In the end, much of my “preparation” centered around customs entry requirements, Covid precautions, and testing. I did a fair amount of research into Japanese history and culture. That even included conversations with people from Japan. I wanted to ensure I understood the context of this unprecedented Olympics Games.

GC: What is your daily work flow?

CC: No sleep. Even less sleep. And lots of caffeine! Seriously. It was one of the most exhausting experiences of my life but also one of the most gratifying. There’s a 13 hour time difference from the East Coast, so when I’m in the thick of my day, most of my colleagues were asleep. That brought plenty of challenges. I typically woke up at 5:30 AM local time to be live for our evening newscast. Then I would spend my day at Olympics events, shooting, editing, and uploading a story for our early newscast before I went to sleep. I typically worked 15-16 hours every day.

GC: How did your time at UGA prepare you for what you are doing in Tokyo?

CC: My senior year in Grady, I was part of the team at Newsource15. I know it’s a rather different program now, but I will be eternally grateful for how challenging our professors made the experience. I had plenty of days where I couldn’t believe the real world would ever be as tough. In hindsight, it was a piece of cake. Learning how to perform every role in a TV newsroom was an invaluable education. Today’s news environment blurs lines of responsibility, and my time at UGA was the perfect preparation for that.

From Athens to Tokyo: Cain ran into fellow Grady alumnus Bo Cordle (ABJ ‘ 05) in Japan.
GC: What is your work focused on now that the Olympics are over?

CC: I’m solely focused on covering the climate crisis for NBCLX. I would encourage every Grady student to consider how climate change will impact their future, because even if it’s not their career, it will impact their career. One of the challenges I face is how to tell stories which create impact. It often feels as though most people are either already deeply concerned about climate change — or are resistant/skeptical for some reason. How do I break through? How do other soon-to-be journalists from Grady break through? I would welcome ideas and conversations.

Countdown to the Olympic Games: Vicki Michaelis

Posted on by Dayne Young

The Olympics in Tokyo will be the first Summer Games Vicki Michaelis has not covered in nearly three decades. Between Summer and Winter Games, Michaelis has reported from nine Olympics.

The press badges Michaelis has collected over the years. (Photo: submitted)

Her Olympics coverage for the Denver Post, USA TODAY and TeamUSA.org has taken her to Sydney, London and Athens, Greece, among other global hubs.

She witnessed every Olympic victory from Michael Phelps, including his historic performance in 2008 in Beijing when the swimmer won eight gold medals. Michaelis wrote about documenting that history for TeamUSA.org in 2016.

“The Olympics are a potent mix of everything I love about covering sports,” Michaelis said. “You have an endlessly rich array of athletes and their narratives to explore. You also have the social, political and cultural layers of the athletes and teams competing against each other.”

Michaelis is now rooted in Athens, Georgia, where she is the John Huland Carmical Chair in Sports Journalism & Society and director of the Carmical Sports Media Institute.

Her first visit to UGA’s campus was for the 1996 Olympic Games when soccer was played in Sanford Stadium. Little did she know then that her career would one day be planted steps away from that same stadium.

After Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal in Beijing in the medley relay, Michaelis captured this image. Phelps and his medley relay teammates are visible in the background on the top step of the podium. (Photo: Christine Brennan)

“It is very special to me now,” Michaelis said. “But, to be honest, my memory of covering that game isn’t vivid or anywhere near complete. More than anything, I remember being deeply grateful for the cold hot dog that UGA sports information legend Claude Felton (ABJ ’70, MA ’71) offered after the game, as I filed my story from the Sanford Stadium press box.”

That small gesture of kindness was received with much gratitude considering Olympics coverage deadlines make sleep scarce and good meals rare. The multi-week grind was always worthwhile for Michaelis because it was a small price to have a first-hand account of athletic history.

In Atlanta in 1996, she covered the U.S. women’s gold-medal games in soccer, basketball and softball.

“I saw and chronicled those watershed moments in U.S. women’s sports,” Michaelis said. “Both soccer and softball were new to the Olympics, and it was the first time Americans — a generation after the 1972 passage of Title IX — really embraced women’s teams and not just individual women’s athletes at an Olympics. The Atlanta Games changed how we view professional women’s sports leagues and women in sports overall. That I was there for those historic Olympic victories is a career highlight.”

Michaelis was part of the ecosystem of professionals around the Olympics. Many of her best memories and connections were created in the shadow of the iconic five-ring logo. Now, she and the Carmical Sports Media Institute create similar opportunities for young journalists.

Students in the Carmical Sports Media Institute began covering the Paralympic Games in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and will continue in perpetuity thanks to the generosity of the Carmical Foundation. This coverage is in partnership with The Associated Press.

Professor Vicki Michaelis talks with Miranda Daniel, left, Nikki Weldon and Zoe Smith as they plan out coverage at the US Air Force Academy of the Department of Defense Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Thursday, May 31, 2018. (Photo: Mark E. Johnson)

“The Paralympic Games offer all that I love about the Olympics, amplified,” said Michaelis. “Media outlets, though, generally don’t devote resources to amplifying the Paralympic stories. That gives us the opening to give our students the social, cultural and practical experience of covering a Paralympic Games while also giving them the chance to get their stories and photos published by high-profile media outlets.”

With every Olympic Games competition comes new stories from athletes and their home nations. It is where local cultures meld with sporting achievement serving as a common and universal language. For a sports storyteller, the Olympic Games are bountiful garden of meaningful narratives.

“You have the heightened drama and emotion of the competition, because every moment and every result is so consequential when the chance to shine comes only once every four years,” said Michaelis.

The Olympic Games in Toyko will be different for Michaelis. She will enjoy the spectacle as a spectator and through the eyes of the audience she’s long served. It will surely stir up a variety of emotions and memories.

Just as many athletes find themselves coaching the next generation of gold medalists, she now serves as a coach. Some Olympics content she consumes in July and August will be created by students she trained.

“As fulfilling as it was to be an Olympics reporter,” Michaelis said, “the reward of seeing our Sports Media Certificate graduates live their dreams is beyond compare.”

Countdown to the Olympic Games: Dick Yarbrough

Posted on by admin

This year officially marks 25 years since the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. These games have gone down in history for bringing international attention to the south and also for the tragic bombing in Centennial Park. 

University of Georgia broadcast journalism graduate Dick Yarbrough was instrumental in planning these Games and in the subsequent crisis management after the bombing. In honor of the 25th anniversary of the Atlanta Games, Yarbrough has re-released his book And They Call Them Games detailing his experience. 

He served as managing director for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games from 1993-1996 where he was responsible for media relations and government relations. Yarbrough worked hard for three years alongside his team to ensure that the United States — and the state of Georgia — was prepared to host an event with as great a magnitude as the Olympics while the entire world was watching. 

While there were certainly stressful times that came along with the Games and the planning, Yarbrough says this time in his life was filled with fond memories.

A page from Yarbrough’s book.

“There were many. Seeing the Olympic Flame lit in the ancient city of Olympia. Having the opportunity to travel to many countries across the globe. Watching young Olympic athletes interacting with each other in the Olympic Village, not caring about their own countries’ political positions,” he remembered. “It was brought home to me that no matter how well an athlete fared in their competition, they were and always would be known as Olympians. I was also heartened by the enthusiasm of the five million who attended the Games and the 50,000 volunteers who showed everyone the true meaning of the term ‘Southern Hospitality.”

After the Games had ended, Yarbrough said he kept waiting for someone to write a book about everything that had happened, from the idea to host the Olympics in Atlanta to the planning stages to the fruits of the ACOG’s labors to the bombing. 

While working on the planning committee, Yarbrough recorded tapes of what had happened each day on the way to and from work. His habit of documenting everything had been reinforced by his career, which had him regularly visiting the White House, working with Congress, navigating “high-profile issues” and traveling the globe.

“After the Games, it became clear no one was planning to do a book on the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games,” Yarbrough said. “I asked if I would be interested in taking on the project. With 82 tapes as a resource, I produced the book in roughly six months.”

Yarbrough’s book is available for purchase on Amazon. (Graphic by Sam Perez)

His goal for his book is that readers would see the complexity surrounding the planning and staging of the Olympics. As for the name, And They Call Them Games, Yarbrough says it holds a very intentional meaning.

“It is easy to forget that the Olympics are a chance for nations to put aside their differences for even a brief period and allow people to engage in peaceful competition,” he explained. “With all the politics, money, controversy, special interests involved, the title was meant as a dig at those who forget that.”

Dick Yarbrough graduated from Grady College in 1959 and has gone on to accomplish many impressive achievements. Most recently, he has been named Georgia’s most widely-syndicated columnist with his name appearing regularly in over 40 newspapers across the state. 

“The Georgia Press Association has recognized my column with first place awards for humor, although a number of politicians would like a recount. They don’t find me that funny,” he said. 

Throughout his exciting — and impressive — career, Yarbrough has managed to stay connected to his alma mater. He served as president of UGA’s National Alumni Association, received the university’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1995, was recognized as an Outstanding Alumnus and Fellow of the College at Grady, has the C. Richard Yarbrough Laboratory named in his honor and established the C. Richard Yarbrough Chair in Crisis Communications Leadership. 

“I owe more to Grady than I have the words to express,” he said. “A chance internship led to a job in radio upon graduation. That led to an opportunity to join Southern Bell as a public relations manager. Twenty year later, I was a corporate vice president of BellSouth Corporation.  Having developed a reputation for crisis management, I was offered a once-in-lifetime opportunity to become a managing director of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.  And it all started with a dedicated faculty who saw some merit in a raw kid from East Point, Georgia.”

The revenue from Yarbrough’s column goes toward fellowships for students at Grady. He also funds the Crisis Communications professorship under the leadership of Dr. Bryan Reber, which he says is a “small effort to repay Grady for all it has meant to me and done for me.”

You can buy his book on Amazon here. 

Editor’s Note: This feature was written by Sam Perez, a 2021 Yarbrough Fellow in the Grady College Department of Communication. As part of the fellowship, she is helping market the re-release of Yarbrough’s book.

Countdown to the Olympic Games: Emily Giambalvo

Posted on by admin

Emily Giambalvo graduated from the University of Georgia in 2018. Now just a few years later, she is in Tokyo covering the Olympics for The Washington Post. 

While this is the first time Emily is covering the Olympics post-graduation, this actually marks the third olympic game she has worked at. While at UGA, Emily pursued a Sports Media Certificate through Grady College. This opportunity combined with her work for the student-run newspaper The Red & Black helped introduce her to the world of sports writing and reporting. 

“I think that Grady sports program was what kind of opened my eyes to the fact that this could be a career,” she said. “Before that I don’t think I even really knew what a sports writer was, like I didn’t grow up reading sports journalism.”

An athlete herself, Emily was a gymnast for 15 years. It was a sport she loved competing in and a sport she loved watching, which has helped launch her into her current role as a reporter covering University of Maryland athletics for The Post. In Tokyo, she will be primarily covering the sport she’s grown up practicing.

“It’s just kind of like this dream to even be going to the Olympics and then also to be covering the Olympics,” she said.

Right now Emily says she is doing absolutely everything she can to prepare for the Olympic Games. 

“It’s my first time doing this with The Washington Post and I don’t really know if this is the best way to do it but I’m just trying to be really proactive so I can have deeply reported stories in Tokyo,” she said.

This prep work includes brainstorming potential stories, researching all the American athletes and familiarizing herself with past contestants. While this is her first time covering the Games with The Post, Emily has a unique experience that she can look to — she has covered two Olympic-related games in the past for Grady.

Emily sits writing a story at the Olympics in Pyeongchang. (Photo: submitted)

 

In 2016, she covered the Paralympics Games with Grady College in Rio de Janeiro for the Associated Press. The following year, she covered the 2018 Winter Olympics with Grady in Pyeongchang, South Korea through TeamUSA.org. Over the course of three weeks, she helped produce more than 20 stories covering the mountain and snow sports from ice skating to snowboarding to hockey and more. 

All of these roles eventually helped her land an internship with The Washington Post after graduation, which turned into a full time offer. 

Emily particularly points to her experience with the Paralympics as something that makes her stand out to employers. “It was the thing that everyone asked about and almost started that snowball effect of just getting more and more opportunities so I’m a big, big advocate of what Grady does with sending students to the Olympics,” Emily said. “I think it’s just this really great way to get people unique experience that not a lot of other college students have.”

Because she’s covered the Olympics before as a student, Emily says she has a better idea of what she will be walking into. In fact, she said she finds herself wanting to prepare for the Tokyo games in the same way that her professor instructed her to for the 2018 games. That being said, the experience is different since a few years back when she was preparing as a student journalist.

Emily poses for a photo at the Olympics in Rio. (Photo: submitted)

“There’s just I guess a little more pressure to do a good job and to write stories that are Washington Post-quality stories,” she said. “And, you know, that’s kind of true with all aspects of my job, but I think The Post has historically done such a great job covering the Olympics so it’s really cool to be part of that, but you just kind of hope you can contribute to that good coverage,” she said.

Sports media students write stories for U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum

Posted on by Dayne Young

Students in the Sports Media Certificate program profiled athletes from the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, including Bart Conner (gymnastics), Edwin Moses (track and field) and Megan Neyer (diving) in stories published to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Digital Museum.

The profiles were part of the curriculum in the spring 2020 section of “Multiplatform Storytelling for Sports.” The stories were published for the 40th anniversary of the U.S. boycott of the Moscow 1980 Games.

Zach Miles profiled Isiah Thomas, 1980 Olympian basketball player.

Zach Miles, one of the profile authors, researched, conducted interviews and wrote about Basketball Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas. Miles impressed the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Digital Museum staff and landed an internship with them over the summer.

“To be able to talk with former athletes and their families while hearing their stories and what representing the United States meant to them truly left me in awe,” said Miles. “It’s so important and valuable for these athletes to be remembered and honored in this way, and I was grateful that I was able to play a role in this by telling their stories.”

Museum communications professionals helped students refine their writing and provided feedback on their stories.

“The Museum is committed to education and working with future generations to instill the Olympic and Paralympic values,” Museum Chief Executive Officer Christopher Liedel said. “We are proud to work with a program with such a strong track record and the University of Georgia. Allowing students to learn about and tell the stories of these incredible athletes is just a terrific opportunity for us.”

The partnership builds on half a decade of coverage by sports media students for the Olympic Games, Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Games.

For 12 years, Vicki Michaelis, John Huland Carmical Chair in Sports Journalism & Society, was the USA Today lead Olympics reporter. She now teaches students the cultural influence of the Olympic Games as an international athletic showcase and the importance of documenting the athletes who perform on the global stage.

“Finding the stories worth telling is at the core of everything we teach, and, in my mind, no sports event offers up more of those stories than the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Michaelis. “They provide seemingly limitless opportunities for our students to hone their storytelling skills, whether they’re covering the Games as they happen or peeling back the pages of history.”

Sports media students have covered the 2016 and 2018 Olympic Games as credentialed journalists. A team of the college’s sports media and visual journalism students also covered the 2016 Paralympic Games in Brazil, with their stories and photos distributed globally by The Associated Press. Thanks to a gift from the John Huland Carmical Foundation, the AP partnership will continue at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo next summer.

You can read the profiles of the following 1980 U.S. Olympians:

Gymnast Bart Conner
Kayaker Greg Barton
Swimmer Rowdy Gaines
Wrestler Lee Kemp
Track and field athlete Edwin Moses
Diver Megan Neyer
Basketball player Jill Rankin Schneider
Field hockey player Julie Staver
Basketball player Isiah Thomas

Learn more about the partnership in this release from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum.

Grady Sports Media students work 2018 Winter Olympic Games

Posted on by admin

Twenty-three days, 90 nations, 102 events and 15 sports made up this year’s Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. In the midst of the history-making moments, numerous surprises and inspiring action were two students from the Grady Sports Media certificate program, Emily Giambalvo and Cat Hendrick, experiencing the Games in a way few can relate.

After a competitive selection process, Giambalvo and Hendrick were selected by the United States Olympic Committee to report on the games for the USOC’s various information channels including its website, TeamUSA.org.

Cat Hendrick and Emily Giambalvo at the opening of the figure skating events. (Courtesy of Cat Hendrick)

“It was the best, longest, most trying and amazing experience of my life,” Hendrick, a second-year journalism major, reflected. “Every emotion you could possibly feel, it was in there. But, overall I just feel so lucky that we got to experience something that most sports reporters go their whole lives without experiencing.”

Giambalvo, a fourth-year management information systems major, agreed. “Overall, it was really awesome and it was such a cool environment to be in a worldwide setting that has a ton of chaos and a ton of exciting things with journalists from all over. I got to see and learn about a lot of new sports and cover really cool moments where history was being made.”

Over the course of three weeks, both Giambalvo and Hendrick worked under tight deadlines each producing more than 20 stories covering the different mountain and snow sports. These sports ranged from ice skating to snowboarding, hockey, speed skating, luge, bobsledding and many more. It was a chaotic and exhilarating environment where they not only worked closely with athletes but also with seasoned journalists.

“I was way more excited to meet journalists than athletes,” Giambalvo admitted.

Throughout this experience, both Giambalvo and Hendrick’s days were filled with traveling to the different sports venues, interviewing athletes and attending press conferences, working in the main press center and writing daily articles. It was not an easy task and each relied on the skills they acquired from their Grady Sports Media classes.

“Considering the fact that a year-and-a-half ago, I have never written a sports story, Grady Sports has helped me a lot,” Hendrick said. “The sports media certificate favors a trial-by-fire approach, but that has made all the difference in the world. I have Grady to thank for everything, because I was clueless a year-and-a-half ago. It wasn’t easy, but the professors care so much and have gone out of their way to help us.”

This opportunity was made possible with the support of Vicki Michaelis, John Huland Carmical Chair in Sports Journalism & Society and director of Grady Sports. Michaelis was the lead Olympic reporter for USA Today from 2000-2012 and her relationship with the USOC opened the door for students to attend.

 To view a complete collection of the features that Giambalvo and Hendrick wrote at the Olympic Games, please see Grady Sports Media students cover Olympic Games

While Michaelis was a valuable resource and pushed them “to find stories outside of the easy scope,” the Olympics was not without its challenges. Both Giambalvo and Hendrick battled freezing cold temperatures and the pressure to consistently crank out creative stories.

“Any journalist can feel good about writing a story in one day, but after getting into the 14th consecutive day writing a story, it was challenging,” Giambalvo said. “There is no way for [Grady Sports] to teach you every situation, but it can give you the confidence that no matter what the situation is, I can handle it.”

“The most challenging part was keeping our stamina up,” Hendrick echoed. “I was nervous going into the Olympics as a first-time writer, but I just had to trust my training. Grady gave me everything that I needed to know, it was just a matter of executing at that point, but I had all the tools that I needed.”

Emily Giambalvo interviewing an Olympic athlete. (Courtesy of Emily).

By the end of the games, both Giambalvo and Hendrick walked away with countless memories, stories and experiences.

Giambalvo said she most enjoyed watching figure skating, and covering the U.S. gold medal curling game. “The curling gold medal game, was the last event I covered and the last story I wrote. The overall significance of what it meant for the sport and the athletes made it the perfect story. It was a nice way to end it.”

“You see the Olympics through a certain lens your entire life, so to actually be there behind the scenes and see all the work that goes into every single clip was really fascinating,” Hendrick concluded. “I’ve read a thousand stories in my life, but to be in the press conference and see the answers to the question I’ve asked on CNN, Fox and ESPN was really neat. This was literally the Olympics of sports journalism. I am super grateful to Professor Michaelis and the rest of the sports media certificate for working so hard to get us the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Grady alumni cover 2018 Winter Olympics

Posted on by Don McClain

(In addition to two of our Grady Sports Media students, Emily Giambalvo and Cat Hendrick, who are covering the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Grady College also has two young alumni who are there in professional work capacities. We were able to catch up with our recent alumni before the games, and look forward to catching up with Giambalvo and Hendrick when they return.)

Kendra Hansey
Kendra Hansey

The Winter Olympics is an international sporting event that tests the best of the best in their athletic abilities. To compete is considered a great privilege for the athletes; for the sports journalist, covering the Olympics is a similar thrill. At the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Grady alumni Michael Terry (ABJ’12) and Kendra Hansey (ABJ’17) will cover one of the largest competitions on the international stage.

Terry, as the main media contact for the U.S. Athletes, will handle all media requests, produce material helpful to the media such as transcripts, stats and news as well as create content for the team’s own digital channels.

While he is the media contact for U.S. Athletes, during the three weeks of the game, the main event that he will cover is U.S. figure skating.

Once the Olympics begin, Terry’s day will be full, beginning with athlete warm-ups and followed by the actual competition.  At the end of each day he will participate in the related media events.

Reporting on the different events takes hard work and dedication in the fast-paced environment of the Olympics. Reflecting on his job responsibilities Terry remarked, “It’s a unique balance between maximizing publicity for the athlete and the sport, while not distracting from the main goal, which is to win medals.”

This balance is achieved from seasoned journalists who have a passion for the sports industry. While Terry’s focus is on figure skating, Hansey will cover a different side to the Winter Games. In addition to working for the United States Olympic Committee, Hansey will report on the Paralympic Games.

“These athletes have phenomenal stories, however, the part I enjoy the most is finding ways to tell their stories in new ways. Being able to shift the focus from solely being on their impairment and expanding that focus is awesome. Especially being a part of the USOC, I get to meet and interact with these athletes and it just constantly drives you when you have a face, story and purpose to your work,” said Hansey.

Though each will hold different roles, both Terry and Hansey can trace their career success back to Grady College and the professors/mentors who invested in their future.

“My Grady education is the sole reason why I am where I am today and have been able to be successful in the sports media industry.”

–Kendra Hansey

“My Grady education is the sole reason why I am where I am today and have been able to be successful in the sports media industry,” remarked Hansey. “It’s hard for me to believe that I would have been fortunate enough to get the access to high-level opportunities and a chance to speak to and learn from reputable, well-known professionals in the industry without being a Grady student. I’ll forever owe my sports media success to Grady.”

“I started working for Claude Felton (ABJ ’70, MA ’71) in the UGA sports communications office as a freshman in college and continued on as a graduate assistant,” said Terry. “He and other full-time employees in that office like Mike Mobley (ABJ ’89), Chris Lakos (ABJ ’90), Steve Colquitt (ABJ ’89), Leland Barrow (ABJ ’01) and Tim Hix are the reason I do what I do. They showed me it was important to enjoy your job.”

To attend and report on the Olympics is considered a great privilege as journalists gather together to share the stories of the athletes to the world. As the Winter Olympics draw near and Terry and Hansey prepare for three jam-packed weeks, all the skills they will use is a reflection of the education they received from Grady. Grady was the beginning of these two journalist’s career journeys and that has led them to be able to experience one of the biggest events in the sports industry.

“Grady took a gamble on the college junior that didn’t even know what a byline was and within two years, they took another gamble and entrusted that byline to represent them on a global platform,” reflected Hansey. “I remind myself of where I started and how God, my family and Grady have all played a cohesive role in chiseling away at those daunting obstacles and have helped me to achieve all that I’ve wanted and more.”