No Title 1786
Supplement to “Family Fun Baseball Stadiums”
Florence Freedom announcer’s dream comes true
Florence Freedom is big on the wow factor as its full roster of theme nights proves.
Family Fun Sundays are for the kids with Liberty’s Freedom Fighter Kids Club. Kids Club members can run the bases after the game and get autographs from the Florence Freedom players.
On Monday Madness, fans can buy an all-you-can-eat ticket to sample food from various area restaurants while enjoying the game. Mondays also feature $1 hot dogs, popcorn, or 12-ounce soda.
The Bank of Kentucky returns on Tuesdays with Caught Up in a Cause, with a different charity benefiting from each Tuesday game. Themes include Pink at the Park and a Salute to our Troops night on selected Tuesdays. Before each game, fans can donate $5 to that evening’s selected charity then head down to the field to play catch before the game begins. They’ll also receive a special Catch for a Cause baseball. Florence Freedom players will be wearing special jerseys to be auctioned off, with part of the proceeds also going to that night’s charity.
Wednesday night games feature Wrapped Up in Reading with Liberty’s X-Treme Reading Team members. Kids participating in the program have the opportunity to earn up to seven free vouchers to come out to a Wednesday night baseball game.
Fan favorite nights like Thirsty Thursday and Fireworks Friday return, and Super Saturdays promise good times with live entertainment following each home game.
More information about Florence Freedom’s theme nights and events is available at www.florencefreedom.com.
FLORENCE FREEDOM ANNOUNCER’S DREAM COMES TRUE
Roger Redmon, the gregarious play-by-play announcer for the Florence Freedom at Champion Window Field, is living the dream.
Formerly in media sales at a newspaper in London, Kentucky, Redmon lost his job in 2005 when the newspaper owner closed up shop. His wife, originally from the Independence area, found a job in northern Kentucky and the family, which includes the couple’s two children, moved north to Burlington.
“I had a hard time finding a job in broadcasting, so I was working the third shift as a data entry clerk at DHL when I heard the Freedom may be in need of a radio broadcaster,” he says.
Redmon applied for the job and was hired, beginning with the organization in May of 2006 in the seasonal position of play-by-play announcer. Then, in November of that year, he was hired in a full-time capacity with sales duties added during the off-season. In 2007, Redmon was awarded the honor of 2007 Frontier League Broadcaster of the Year.
“Doing professional baseball on radio is the culmination of a lifelong dream for me,” he says. “Being from Kentucky, I’ve had the opportunity to listen to some of the true greats in sports play-by-play broadcasting.
“I grew up listening to Cawood Ledford bringing UK basketball and football to life on radio. During the summer, my focus turned to baseball, the Cincinnati Reds and the radio broadcast team of Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall.”
Redmon compares baseball on the radio to a soap opera.
“Throughout the summer months, you tune in because you want to see what happens next, who succeeds, and who doesn’t.
“To be the link between the listeners and the day-to-day exploits of their ‘favorite team’ is a responsibility that I take very seriously, and enjoy very much.
“The fact that I’ve been able to carve out my own small niche in sports broadcasting is still unbelievable to me.”
To read the Kentucky Living April 2008 feature that goes along with this supplement, go to Family Fun Baseball Stadiums.
