Carroll Broadcasting Sports Director, Jeff Blankman, will be joining the ranks of some of his broadcasting heroes tomorrow (Thursday) as he is inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame. After almost 12 full years of covering area sports, Blankman says he was surprised by this announcement.
Blankman said he does not do this job for the awards, he does it because he cares about the programs, kids, coaches and athletic directors he covers, and this award is really theirs. Earlier this spring, Blankman moved from the position of news and sports director to focusing on sports. He has been pleased with the ability to bring more to area coverage with this change.
He has already been able to implement longer video profiles of area athletes and coaches and wants to expand the website presence with these in-depth features. He is also hoping someday to be able to have a video broadcast available for every game covered by the radio stations. As for his personal goals, he says those have really changed over the years, thanks to this experience.
True to form, Blankman is quick to thank everyone who helps him out in the hard work and long hours it takes to comprehensively cover 10 area schools.
And, because of these relationships and his love of his career, Blankman says he would be happy if he can continue to do good things here for the next 50 years or so. He will receive his Hall of Fame award during intermission of the class 3A championship tomorrow (Thursday), Nov. 19. To join us in congratulating him on this honor, email him at jeff@carrollbroadcasting.com. The IHSAA award biography can be found below.
JEFF BLANKMAN, Carroll: A familiar voice of sports in Western Iowa, Mr. Blankman graduated from Dow City-Arion in 1989. An all-around athlete in high school it perked his interest in doing sports and news on radio. He started his career in 1999 in the Des Moines market as a producer and sideline reporter for a two years with The Jock. He followed that with two years at station I-98 in Osceola as operations manager. In 2003 he accepted a position with Carroll Broadcasting where he is news and sports director covering 10 schools and communities in their listening area. His play-by-play and news reporting talents plus social media skills provide his audience with up to the minute commentary. Well respected by his colleagues and coaches, he won the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association Media Award in 2010.
