Big Wins in the Big Apple(and a loss)
After a week hiatus it is time to get back on the scale and get back to blogging about my life on Sunday Morning Selfie! It is amazing how quickly a routine can be unlearned. I was really getting on a roll both with providing some decent content and also with losing weight. Now that I took time away I am trying to remember why I promised myself I would do this every Sunday morning in 2017! 🙂
I will start today letting you know that the trip my class made to New York was a BIG TIME thrill and we brought home several new ideas, great experiences and eight Golden Microphone awards! Here is a recap provided by my employer the MISD.
March 8, 2017 – KMIH 889 The Bridge, the Mercer Island High School student radio station, received eight Golden Microphone awards at the 77th Annual Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Conference and Awards in New York City.
Sophomores Luka Marceta and Max Tanzer were awarded the Grand Prize Golden Microphones for delivering the nation’s Best Newscast and Sports Interview. Tanzer also received an award for Best Sports Talk Show.
Other Islanders receiving awards were Best Air Personality Finalists, Matt McLellan and Emily Reyes; Best Sports Interview Finalist, Natalie Newcomb; Best Promotional Production Series, Parker Simpson; and Best Newscast Finalist, Hannah Wainwright.
“Congratulations to these students,” said Superintendent Dr. Gary Plano. “They have achieved a high level of excellence while competing against the best radio programs in high school and in college as well. Their teacher, Joe Bryant, is the reason our students have soared to new heights in broadcasting.
This annual gathering gave students the opportunity to meet media professors and advisers from top universities nationwide and also attend sessions hosted by Industry professionals that are working at the stations and networks in New York City.
“To hear our students’ names called and watch them as they received Golden Microphones in a hotel ballroom packed with broadcasters, students and educators from all over the country was a thrill that I will never forget,” said Joe Bryant, KMIH broadcast media instructor. “I have been telling my students that they are doing some of the very best high school radio in the country and this national recognition makes it official.”
Contact: Joe Bryant, joe.bryant@mercerislandschools.org
Needless to say I am a VERY proud teacher and am blessed to be able to go to work every day to a job I love. Another teacher friend brought up a good question… do we get up and go to work or do we go to school? When school is your work it gets confusing what to call it!
Spring Forward
Did you set you clocks forward this morning? One reason this blog is so late to publish is the time change and my reluctance to deal with it. When I was doing morning radio I HATED daylight savings time. It’s still not my favorite thing but now that I don’t set an alarm for 3:00 am it is more tolerable. My Great Grandma Bagwell never did acknowledge DST. She maintained that you were messing with “The Lords Time” and refused to change her clock. I never change the clock in my car I suppose partly in Grandmas honor.
One thing I am looking forward to is more daylight for bike riding. Many of you may have read last month that I purchased a new electric bike. It has been cold and wet EVERY SINGLE DAY since I made that purchase. I really want to start riding to work but, being a brand new rider, don’t want to have to do in in freezing rain and wind. It looks like we are back in the 50’s next week so I may just have to throw on a Poncho and go for it!
Before I reveal my weight after taking a trip to the land of pizza and bagels I want to take a moment to brag on another group of students. My Badminton girls SWEPT Inglemoor 11-0 in our first match of the season! Last year the team only won one match and the goal this year is to win two. After week one we are half way there!
Coaching is an absolute blast and it is unique for me to have teens that actually do what I say. Both my real kid and my radio kids tend to look at my requests and assignments more as suggestions as opposed to orders. When I tell the Badminton team to take down the nets or practice serves they actually hop to it! I am not sure why “coach Joe” gets listened to better than “teacher Joe” or “parent Joe” but that seems to be the case.
And speaking or parenting Emily is doing great and I want to brag on her some too. Last week she sang the National Anthem at the school assembly and by all accounts brought the house down! I have not found a recording but if I do I will share.
So, weight wise, in spite of a couple of decadent meals in NY and a schedule that has me WAY overloaded I got on the scale this morning and weigh…. 225 pounds! That is two pound less than the last time I reported. I am not thrilled with only a pound a week but also know how to speed the losses up. I have strayed off the 30/10 path a bit but, now that I am finding the rhythm of my busier than ever schedule, I am ready to bust out a PERFECT week following the program. I am now more than 30 pounds down from where I was when I began in January so overall I am pleased BUT… it’s time to really get on it so I can be where I hope to get by graduation season.
I am told that SOME DAY warm weather will come. If you are not ready to put a bathing suit on yet or could use less weight for better health go visit my friend Dr. Linda DeGroot at 30/10 Weight Loss For Life in Renton. There is no question that this program works great and the weight can come off FAST… as long as you stay away from NY pizza slices and fresh bagels.
Cheers, Joe
Sunday Morning Selfie 