When I go to a Hershey Bears game, one of my favorite parts is hearing the announcer say the players’ names and goals. His name is Jarrod, and he’s the PA announcer for the Bears. I thought it would be fun to interview him for my blog and learn more about what his job is like. He told me some really cool stories about how he became the announcer, how he practices names before games, and even what his favorite goal was to call. He also gave advice for kids like me who might want to be an announcer someday.

How did you become the PA announcer for the Hershey Bears?

This is one of my favorite stories to tell. I’m going to give you the full story but cut it down into shorter segments for you because otherwise it’s really long! For many years, I announced games at MCI Center/Verizon Center/Capital One Arena before and after Capitals games. One of those games, the organizer was Bryan Beninati, who was also the head of the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference (DVCHC) and he really enjoyed my announcing. We became friends and one year he invited me to Philadelphia to announce the league’s all-star game at Spectrum. I announced there twice before they closed the building and DVCHC went looking for other sites. One year they were in Camden, NJ, then found a great partnership with Hershey. So the first time I went to Hershey to announce I met two awesome people, Maria Stouffer and Punky O’Connell. Maria coordinated the Youth on Ice games, Punky refereed and is a Bears Off-Ice Official. They liked what I did and the atmosphere it brought. In the late summer of 2016, I’m sitting at home with my young kids and I get a call from Bryan who tells me I need to get in touch with Hershey. I get in touch with Maria, get the link to apply and applied. Because I also run a website for P. A. Announcers, I put the ad up on the website. Shortly after the link was taken down. I was given an audition that went really well, but I wasn’t offered the position originally. Not many people knew I had the audition and it was at Giant Center. One of the questions I was asked was, “do you think you can handle 10,000 fans?” and that charged me up, I said, “absolutely, not a problem, I would love that!”

I was DJing a wedding in Maryland when I finally got the phone call to tell me that I didn’t get the job, so I said to the Bears that I’d be happy to help out if possible and to keep my name on any backup list they may have.

In November, I was at Ft. Dupont Ice Arena in Washington, DC, a rink that has a special place in my heart, breaking down a temporary sound system that I had put in there while a new sound system was put into place. I looked at my phone and saw an email from the Bears. I opened it and it was them asking me to announce one game. The day after Thanksgiving. I started shaking and needed to sit down and honestly I started to cry. I’ve been a P. A. Announcer since 1992 and a hockey fan since my first game at 15 days old and here is the 7th oldest franchise in hockey history asking me to announce. I did, and the response from the fans was unbelievable. In January, I was announcing NCAA women’s hockey when I was asked about announcing for the Bears again that weekend. I couldn’t do it then, but I could come back the weekend after so I did. On the first intermission, I sent it down to Jonesy, and he said, “Thanks Jarrod, and welcome to Hershey.” That was my “official” welcome, though I’ve long said that I treat every game like a one-game contract as it keeps me grounded and focused on delivering a great performance every night and to always keep getting better.

Do you ever practice the players’ names before games so you say them just right?

Yes, I do. And the funny thing is the first one I ever did this with was Mike Sgarbossa. Sgarbs was playing for Springfield who was in the first game I was announcing. He had previously played for San Diego whose P. A. Announcer is a friend of mine so I asked him for help. But even before that, for the audition, I reached out to John Walton (Caps radio play-by-play), Joe Wowk (Phantoms P. A. Announcer) and Frenchie (Reading P. A. Announcer) to help me with some of the names to make sure I pronounced them correctly. I’ve always been that way because names are a person’s identity so I want to make sure to get it right. On top of that, I also practice city names too. Lebanon and Lancaster are not pronounced the same everywhere. I also check the names with the visiting team’s radio broadcaster before every game, even with teams that we see quite a bit. I just want to make sure. If they don’t have a broadcaster, Zack Fisch and I will chat. He’s like me in that we will do research and listen to other teams’ broadcasts to hear how they say names. Plus, I have a lot of contact with other P. A. Announcers around the AHL and NHL.

What’s your favorite name to announce and why?
There are so many, Joe Snively because I announced for him when he was a kid, like his first year playing, in one of those games at Verizon Center. Ivan Mirochnichenko because I called one of my P. A. Announcer friends who had announced for him and practiced that one quite a bit. Even the Caps P. A. Announcer called me to ask about Miro. Liam O’Brien was one of my favorites to announce along with Sam Anas, Alex Limoges and Garrett Roe because they’re all players who I announced for when they were kids.

Do you ever get nervous before a big game or playoff night?

Every game, it means I’m in it and I’m ready to go.

What’s the most exciting Bears goal you’ve ever gotten to call?

“Hershey Bears, Calder Cup Winning Goal, scored by #45 Matt Strome!” Second would be Garrett Roe’s overtime winner sending us to the Finals last year. I’m not counting Mike Vecchione’s winner two seasons ago because even though I did announce it at Giant Center, it was for the viewing party so there is an asterisk with that one.

If you weren’t an announcer, what job would you want with the team?

Goalie coach, I played goalie when I was a kid and have always been able to see little things here and there. Would I be as good as the Bears coaches? Maybe in a few years with a lot of practice and more studying! Also, my daughter played on the same hockey team one year with Scott Murray’s daughter so we got to talk a few times here and there.

What advice would you give to a kid who wants to be an announcer someday?

Have fun, don’t be afraid of the microphone, it’s ok to make mistakes, and names…always find a way to mention someone’s name!

I really enjoyed getting to interview Jarrod and learning about his job with the Hershey Bears. I think it’s awesome how much work he puts into saying all the names the right way and how excited he still gets before every game. Now when I go to a Bears game and hear him announce, it will be even more special because I know the stories behind it.