It’s about people
June 2nd, 2008Emerge partners with three Lorain County radio stations (WEOL, WOBL, WDLW) to simulcast their local sports broadcasts over the Internet on LorainCounty.com.
This weekend, we simulcast audio from three local teams that competed in the Regional Girls Softball Finals. Elyria and Wellington won their games and will now play for the State Semi-Finals later this week and hopefully the State Championship on Saturday. All of which will be simulcast on LorainCounty.com.
Simulcasting local sports started years ago as a way to provide content on LorainCounty.com, to experiment with audio over the Internet and for the marketing benefit, as the radio stations mention LorainCounty.com and provide us with advertising space.
Over the years, we have heard stories of people listening from far away, grandparents out of town, parents away on business and the occasional service member listening from overseas.
On Sunday, both local newspapers shared another one of these stories. Elyria star Sarah Bracey shared with reporters that her brother, serving in Iraq was listening to the game on LorainCounty.com.
From the Chronicle Telegram:
It had extra meaning for her on Saturday. Her brother, Army 1st Lt. Dan Richard, is stationed at Camp Taji, 12 miles north of Baghdad. He told Bracey he would be following the game via Internet on Lorain County.com.
“I really like this field,” said Bracey, who was the only player on either team with more than one hit. “Today I was really excited because my brother’s in Iraq in the Army. He was listening online and I knew I had to do something good. He’s my favorite person. I love him so much. He’s like my best friend.” Richard comes home in September.
From the Morning Journal:
“I guess that I like this field,” Bracey said. “I was really excited about today because my brother, who is in Iraq in the Army, was watching the game on-line. I knew that I had to do something for him.”
This is a great reminder that our work has meaning. It’s not just about zeros and ones or lines of code. It is about people.
Update (June 5, 2008): The story has now been in all 3 local newspapers.
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Elyria (27-1) will play Mason (24-8) in a Division I state softball semifinal at Akron’s Firestone Stadium at 5:30 p.m. Friday. Richard, stationed at Camp Taji, just north of Baghdad, will be able to hear the semifinal on LorainCounty.com, the Web site linking to Elyria radio station WEOL AM/930.
