Olszowy: How one Giant PA voice is influencing generations of women
From Lynn Olszowy at espnW on October 26, 2014:
Renel Brooks-Moon still remembers when she got the call to try out for the big leagues. It came in the form of a voice mail from a member of the San Francisco Giants marketing staff asking if she would be interested in auditioning to become the team’s public address announcer. Three auditions later, the longtime radio and TV broadcaster got the gig as the official voice of the Giants, a title she has held for the past 15 years.
Her path to the announcer’s booth began while growing up in the Bay Area, where she attended A’s and Giants games with her baseball-loving parents. Today, Brooks-Moon, 56, is in the midst of calling her fourth World Series, and she remains the only female PA announcer currently in Major League Baseball. Three women have held the title full-time in MLB history.
Before taking the microphone for Game 4 of the World Series, Brooks-Moon took time to talk with espnW about everything from who her favorite player is to announce to where she keeps her two World Series rings.
By getting the call out of the blue to audition for the Giants, it seems like your job is a dream you didn’t know existed.
“You know, I say that all the time. People ask me, ‘Did I aspire to do this?’ And I say, ‘This wasn’t possible for me when I was a little girl.’ This [job] has exceeded my wildest dreams. One of the most rewarding things now is that it is a possibility. I am thrilled that I am able to open up the door and have young girls and young women see that anything is possible.”
When did you know you had a great voice?
“It’s really been in the last few years that I’ve acknowledged it and made the connection that this is my dad’s voice. I give all the credit for this voice to my father. And everything that I do as a living now is everything I enjoyed as a little girl and young woman with my dad.”
Read the full article here: http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/11767325/how-one-giant-voice-influencing-generations-women
Originally published: October 27, 2014. Last Updated: October 27, 2014.