I don’t know if I’m going to get in trouble for doing a piece like this on the sports section or not…but I felt it was necessary and I wanted to do it for my last day.
For those who don’t know who I am, my name is Wyatt Reed. I’ve been the Sports Director for Chisholm Trail Broadcasting since August 2022. I took over for Christian Katt who moved last summer. You may have heard me (and maybe even seen me) calling Enid Plainsmen football and baseball along with some area games of the week and playoff coverage for football and basketball. I’ve also been the voice behind the KNID morning show since I got here as well so there’s been a number of places you have probably heard my voice. But as of today, you will no longer be hearing my voice on the stations of Chisholm Trail Broadcasting (except for the few commercials I cut that are still being used) as today is my last day at the company.
No, I’m not getting fired or anything like that. This was my decision and it has honestly been one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make in my adult life.
I moved to Enid last summer chasing a dream that I have had since I was in high school. Back then, I wanted to become a play-by-play voice for either the radio or for TV. I grew up idolizing guys like Joe Buck, Jim Nantz, and many other broadcasting greats and wanted to one day do what they were doing one day. And last summer, Chisholm Trail Broadcasting and CTB Sports gave me that chance.
After 9 years of working my way towards my dream, I was finally given the chance to work in sports as Chisholm Trail Broadcasting hired me to be their Sports Director. It was a heck of a ride to get to this point. I started my broadcasting career doing behind the scenes work in television before working my way into and up the ladder in the radio world. I’ve done board operating, program directing and even hosted a morning show for a radio station I grew up listening to. Despite the success I’d had in broadcasting to that point, they were taking a big risk on a guy like me. Until last summer, I had not worked in sports in hardly any capacity throughout my entire career. The closest thing I’d done to that point was run the sound board for several sporting events the station would broadcast, but never anything on the air as a play-by-play voice or even a color commentator. I had to sell them on the idea that I was the guy for the job because I had studied play-by-play broadcasters over the years and even done my own play-by-play when I play sports video games. I still to this day have no idea how I pulled it off…but somehow, I did and they selected me. I was on cloud nine and couldn’t wait to move to Enid and put on the headset.
In my short time here at CTB Sports, I’ve gotten the chance to broadcast some incredible things. I did every Enid Plainsmen football game and watched them have their best season in over 10 years. I was on the call for the last 3 Fairview Yellowjacket playoff games on their way to a 15-0 season and Class A State Championship (which that Championship game is still to this day the greatest football game I’ve ever seen). I broadcast some of the legendary basketball tournaments Northwest Oklahoma has to offer during the regular season (the PC-H, Wheat Capital, and Cherokee Strip). I got to broadcast the state basketball tournament at The Big House in OKC where I called 17 games (2 of them being State Championship games) for 11 different local schools in a 9 day stretch. I got to follow and broadcast the Enid Plainsmen baseball team as they made their magical run to the State Championship game which included some insane moments (Jake Kennedy’s 14K game, the regular season sweep of Bixby, the comeback against Bartlesville, and Jake Kennedy’s no-hitter in the Quarterfinal just to name a few). Plus, I can’t forget the NJCAA Division II World Series held at the beautiful David Allen Memorial Ballpark where I got to broadcast 12 of the 18 World Series games over that 7 day stretch. These are moments that I will never ever forget for the rest of my life! .
Some of you may be asking, “Why are you leaving if you’re having so much fun?” That’s a very fair question and one that I’ve had to answer for weeks and months now as I’ve let me know about my impending decision. While doing all these incredible things that I’ve gotten to do throughout my broadcasting career, the last several months (before I even moved to Enid) I’ve had this voice in my head trying to tell me something. What was it? At first, I didn’t know. I just tried to ignore it because I had a dream that I needed to chase. After I moved to Enid, the voice in my head got louder and louder. Finally, when I went back to Iowa for vacation time in mid-March, I finally figured out what the voice in my head was trying to tell me.
As I was back in Iowa and Illinois visiting family and friends, it finally became clear that that was where I belonged…in Burlington, Iowa. The voice in my head was telling me, “Hey, you only have one family in life…you may want to spend some more time with them!” Burlington is a little over an hour away from where I grew up where I still have a lot of family and friends in that area. In the town of Burlington (and surrounding towns), I’ve got friends who I grew so close with while I lived there that they’ve become a part of my family as well. And finally, I’m much closer to my mother who lives in southern Minnesota and a 5 hour trip to visit her is a lot easier to plan for than a 10+ hour trip (which is what it is from Enid). I had come to realize that I had missed out on a lot of things family wise, and I wanted to make an effort to be a part of more things. So that’s why I made this decision.
I’m going to miss doing sports for this amazing part of the country. But rest assured…you sports fans are in good hands. Derek Darr will be taking over the Sports Director role, and I know that he will do incredible work! I’m excited for him and the future of CTB Sports…even though I’m not going to be a part of it.
I just want to take the chance to thank everyone in Enid or the surrounding areas for listening. The community of northwest Oklahoma is incredible and one that I will never forget! You will have a special place in my heart as you were the first community who gave a young kid from the upper Midwest a chance to live out his dream job. And for that…I am truly grateful!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Wyatt Reed
