Everblades get a new radio voice
It’s only been a week since the Florida Everblades prematurely exited the ECHL’s Kelly Cup playoffs and already changes are being made within the organization.
For the past five years, public relations manager Kevin Reiter has been the broadcast voice of the Everblades, calling all the goals, penalties and hits – but no more. Reiter Monday became the organization’s marketing director, a move prompted by several factors in Reiter’s personal life.
“I have a newborn child and my wife is going for her Masters degree,” Reiter explained. “So it was going to be tough being away on road trips and it would have been tough being away from them during next season.”
John Curtis steps into Reiter’s old role as public relations manager, broadcaster and sales representative.
“Last year (president Craig ) Brush asked me if I would be interested in the position of marketing director, but at that time I still had some broadcasting left in me,” said Reiter. “But, when my wife decided she wanted to pursue her Masters degree, I discussed my options with Mr. Brush and here I am.
“I am very excited about having this position,” he added Monday. “One of the benefits of my former position was being able to see what other teams were doing for promotions and this is definitely one of the areas I am going to focus on.”
Fans shouldn’t be disappointed with Reiter’s replacement on the airwaves.
Curtis, a native of Ann Arbor, Mich., has more than 12 years of public relations and broadcasting experience in minor league professional hockey. His most recent stint in the ECHL was with the Reading Royals, a Los Angles Kings affiliate, where he was director of broadcasting and media sales and hasn’t had to worry about the travel constraints that come with broadcasting games and he is up for the challenge.
“It’s been several years since I last had to travel with a team and call the games,” said Curtis. “I got burned out on it and moved into more front office positions with other organizations, but I’ve recharged my batteries in terms of my willingness to travel with the team to call the games every night and I’m looking forward to doing it again I’m excited to be traveling with a team again and to be a part of this organization.”
Curtis said he heard about a year ago that the Everblades might be making a change.
“I have known Craig Brush over the years,” he explained. “When I heard through the grapevine that there was a possibility of something opening up within the organization I contacted Craig and said I was interested if anything came available.”
This should be the first of many changes for the Everblades, who are likely to turn over much of their roster in the offseason after their disappointing exit from the playoffs last week.