Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 9-4-15 Edition

FLORIDA SENTINEL FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
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Tampa Native’s Dream Comes True As Fulltime Sportscaster At ESPN
By KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
The next time you’re watching a college football, basketball, softball or women’s volleyball game on ESPN, the voice you hear calling the games may sound a little familiar.
That’s because it’s likely hometown girl Tiffany Greene is the one behind the microphone calling the plays of the game.
Ms. Greene, an alum of Hillsborough High School, was recently hired by ESPN network in a full-time position as a commentator.
The now seasoned sportscaster has done contract work for ESPN for three years, while working full- time as a sports reporter at Bright House Sports Net- work. She also did freelance work for FOX Sports 1.
Ms. Greene said she’s always loved reporting on sports at every news outlet for which she’s worked, but it was always her goal to work for ESPN.
“It’s a dream come true,” she said.
Her first real taste of what it would take to get
there, was 15 years ago when she attended a Job Fair at Howard University. At the Fair, Ms. Greene made contact with an ESPN employee who sug- gested she consider working in TV production. She knew that wasn’t the route she wanted to go because her heart was in sports reporting.
After graduating from Florida A&M University in 2003, Ms. Greene returned home to Tampa and took a job as a production assistant at WB38 (now WTTA). However, she never lost sight of her goal to be a sports reporter, and was soon shooting and re- porting Friday night high school football games.
In 2004, Ms. Greene landed a job in Savannah, Ga. as a general assignment reporter. After working for three and a half years at two stations in Savan- nah, she came back to Florida in 2007 to work for Central Florida News 13 in Orlando.
While still juggling community news and the oc- casional sports report, things were about to change. After a year with the company, Bright House Sports Network (BHSN) formed and offered her a sports re- porter position.
Ms. Greene said it was at BHSN where she real- ly grew in her career by going beyond her reporting
TIFFANY GREENE
duties and taking on opportunities to do play-by- play announcing, hosting, and anchoring.
Looking back, she credits every job in her career for preparing her to take on her new position.
“I really feel like every stop was a training ground,” she said.
To stay on track, Ms. Greene said she made it a point to keep in touch with contacts both in and out- side of ESPN by sending emails, video clips of her work, even Christmas cards.
She even reached out to people whose careers she admired, like former sportscaster and now Good Morning America host Robin Roberts.
“She has always been willing to look over my work,” said Ms. Greene, who met Roberts during the National Association of Black Journalists Con- ference (NABJ) in Tampa in 2009. “She’s just been great.”
Another big step toward her goal happened in 2012, when she attended the NABJ Conference in Orlando.
It was there that she met a Senior Vice President of Talent Development for FOX Sports 1. She was soon hired as a freelance commentator for the net- work, calling Big East women’s basketball games.
“It gave me exposure on the national level,” she said.
Her work at FOX Sports 1 soon got the attention of ESPN, and she began calling women’s basketball games for the worldwide leader in sports, including the 2015 Women’s NCAA Tournament.
After three years of contributing solid work as a college football sideline reporter and play-by-play announcer, ESPN offered Ms. Greene the chance to join the network full-time. She said she didn’t hesitate to accept, knowing this was the opportunity she’d been working so hard for.
She says the support of her family and her strong faith kept her grounded and hopeful.
Her parents, Dayle and Patsy Greene are the root of her foundation, and the examples she follows. Her father, Dayle was the first Black anchor and re- porter in Tampa and Tallahassee. And she says they have “prayed for me without ceasing.”
Whenever she felt down or discouraged, Ms. Greene said she would recite to herself, Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”
“My cousin told me that a long time ago and it’s just stuck with me,” she said. “That’s what helped me to get over.”
A newlywed, she says her husband, Aaron Berry – an English teacher at Alonso High School – is her biggest cheerleader and critic.
“He is not afraid to be honest, and I need that,” she said. “He’s the one who really picks away at me, saying ‘c’mon, you can do more, you gotta out work everybody.’”
The offer of the job at ESPN was timely: among her three jobs, Ms. Greene was often working seven days a week and the schedule had become quite grueling.
“I was exhausted,” she said. “I had very little left in the tank. We prayed on it, and here I am.”
And while the pathway to fulfill her dream was at times trying, she said she knew her hard work would one day pay off.
“The support of the ESPN folks has been tremen- dous,” she said. “They really believe in me and are excited about me coming on. They see just as much as I see for myself. I know I am in the right place.”
Charmettes Host Back To School Affair
Recently, with the assis- tance of a grant from the New York Yankees Steinbrenner Foundation, the Charmettes extended its focus to include children living in foster care facilities, with a special em- phasis on youth residing in group homes.
The targeted segment of this population was students considered “at-risk,” or aging out of foster care. These were the students who had not been adopted or reunited with their families.
On August 15, 2015 mem- bers hosted a Back to School Drive and luncheon for two group homes operating under the auspices of C.H.O.I.C.E., an all male res- idential facility located in Brandon Florida.
C.H.O.I.C.E. is an acronym for Children Hav- ing Opportunities in a Caring Environment.
Executive Director Trevor Nelson and Ms. Amy Corbitt gave a tour of both houses and explained that currently nine boys ranging from middle to high school age reside in two houses operated by CHOICE.
The main goal of CHOICE is to help young men over- come abandonment, poverty, poor education and involve- ment with the criminal jus- tice system.
There is an on-going need for canned goods and other nonperishable food supplies, as well as for twin sheets, towels, wash cloths, com- forters, blankets, and scien-
Among those participating in the event were from left to right: C.H.O.I.C.E. Staff member Amy Corbitt, Charmette Vivian Kitchen, Trevor Nelson Executive Director of C.H.O.I.C.E., Delores Williams President the Charmettes, Charmette Aretha Smith and Charmette Janice London.
tific calculators. The day ended with the ladies pre- senting the group with book bags and school supplies as well as a monetary donation.
Anyone wishing to make a donation to the C.H.O.I.C.E. program can contact Charmette Sylvia Salter, at (813) 863-0487; or Trevor
Nelson at (813) 813-369- 3225.
Charmette Sylvia Salter is Chairperson of Public Relations and Charity.