VIKING INTERNET BROADCASTING NETWORK
STAFF BIOGRAPHIES
Current Staff:
John Pearson, Staff Supervisor
John Pearson has been with the Tri-Valley School
District for over 30 years as a teacher, administrator, and coach. He currently
serves as the District
Technology Coordinator/Webmaster and an assistant Middle School and High School Track coach.
After founding the VIB in 2003, he has been instrumental in its continued
success by ensuring that the technology associated with the program is always
top notch and of the utmost professionalism. He served as the VIB's color
commentator for the 2003-2004 basketball season, and can be found sneaking back
in the broadcast booth every once in a while. His most memorable call of
"We have just invented time!" came in the boys basketball regional game vs.
Clinton in 2006. John has the distinction of being the first state
championship coach at Tri-Valley high school after he led the 1997-98 Varsity girls track
team to a state title. In his spare time, John can
be found bike riding, playing golf, ping
pong, and working on his house and land. His favorite sports teams include
the St. Louis Cardinals and any Viking Athletic team.
Parker
Timmermann, Commentary
Parker Timmermann, a member of the Class of 2013, joined the VIB crew in the
fall of 2009, assisting with football broadcasts. He is a St. Louis
Cardinals fan. He has approved this message.
Nick
Kauzlarich, Commentary
Nick Kauzlarich, a member of the Class of 2013, joined the VIB crew in the
fall of 2009, assisting with football broadcasts. He is a St. Louis
Cardinals and Illinois Fighting Illini fan.
Austin
Weigand, Video
Former Staff:
Steve
Miller, Play-by-play Commentary (2003-2004)
Steve Miller was the VIB's first play-by-play commentator, teaming up with
John Pearson on the microphone to provide coverage of the 2003-2004 Varsity Boys Basketball team
in postseason play. Steve is the father of Tri-Valley graduate and former
VIB crew member Brett Miller. He currently resides with his family in Downs.
Brett Miller, Video &
Technology Coordinator (2003-2004)
When one thinks of technological innovations at Tri-Valley, Brett Miller's
name inevitably comes to mind. In addition to his multitude of other
multimedia projects, Brett served as the VIB's video and technology coordinator
for the 2003-2004 basketball postseason. His duties included filming the games
and running the live stream. His four years at Tri-Valley saw his
involvement with a plethora of organizations and sports, including golf, cross
country, track, the drama department, National Honor Society, student council,
and the FFA. He was also the winner of the Travis McMillan, I Dare You,
and DAR awards at Tri-Valley in 2005, as well as being voted "Most Likely to be
the next Bill Gates" by his class. Brett is a 2005 graduate of Tri-Valley and
continues to contribute to various media projects in the district. He
graduated in 2008 from the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago and in 2009 from Argosy University. He has also founded several small
businesses since his time at Tri-Valley, of which you can find more information
on his
website.
Charlie Prochnow, Video &
Technology Coordinator (2005-2006)
Charlie Prochnow served on the VIB crew for the 2005-2006 basketball season.
His duties included filming the games and running the live stream. While
at Tri-Valley, Charlie saw action on the gridiron with the football team.
He graduated from Tri-Valley in 2006 and graduated in 2010 from Bradley. His younger brother, Curtis, served as the VIB's current video
coordinator during the 2007-08 school year.
Steve Stark, Color Commentary
(2005-2006)
Steve Stark served as the VIB's color commentator for the 2006 baseball
season. He also assisted with other various duties during the broadcast.
Steve's distinguished high school career saw involvement with the drama
department and student council, among many other organizations. He was
also voted "Class Clown" by he peers as a Senior. Steve graduated from
Tri-Valley in 2006 and recently graduated Lincoln Christian College. He is a die
hard St. Louis Cardinals fan.
Tim Ditman,
Play-by-play Commentary, Technology Coordinator, Project Advisor, & Website Administrator (2005-2008)
Tim Ditman was recruited by John Pearson in the fall of 2005 to resurrect
the VIB. He did just that, and much more. Under the two year Ditman
regime, the VIB expanded its capabilities by leaps and bounds. Broadcasts
extended to coverage of away athletic events and non-athletic events, such as
Homecoming festivities and the High School Graduation ceremony. Additions
were made to the broadcast crew, allowing new innovations to be implemented in
the broadcasts. These included in-game interviews, commercials, and
statistics. Furthermore, it was during this time that the VIB began to
become a respected and revered organization both in the Tri-Valley community and
in Central Illinois. Tim graduated from Tri-Valley in 2007 and continues
to assist with VIB broadcasts whenever he can. Tim recently graduated with a Broadcast
Journalism degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. When not in class, he worked as
the sports director for
the on-air division of the Daily Illini
student newspaper and was a part of two sports related programs on WPGU 107.1 FM,
the student radio station on campus: He serves as the host and producer of "The Illini Drive at 5"
sports talk show
on Monday nights and serves as the color commentator for broadcasts of lllini Hockey
games on Friday and Saturday
nights. In the spring of 2009, Tim called his first college sporting event
as he was at the microphone as the Fighting Illini softball team took on the
Michigan Wolverines on April 18th. The next weekend, Tim called another
Illini softball game, this time against the Northwestern Wildcats, which ended
in a walk off home run.
In the spring of 2010, Tim lent his services to the
Big Ten Network to call a pair of
Illini softball games, and he again was able to call a
walk off home run. Tim currently works as a reporter and anchor at
WDWS radio in Champaign, covering both news and sports. His favorite broadcasts as a part of the VIB were the Girls
Basketball Senior Night game on January 8th, 2007 and the
2008 and 2009
softball postseasons. His favorite sports
teams include the Chicago Cubs, Green Bay Packers, and the University of
Illinois Fighting Illini.
His favorite commentators include Ron Santo, Bill Raftery, Gus Johnson, and Brent Musburger.
Click here for some of Tim's memorable calls as
play-by-play commentator.
Want to hire Tim? View his resume
here, view some of his on-air work
here and
here, view some of his
production work here, or
get in touch with him via e-mail at tditman2@gmail.com.
Taylor Springer, Color Commentary
(2006-2007)
Taylor Springer joined the VIB crew for the 2006-2007 basketball season,
teaming up with Tim Ditman on the microphone. When not in the VIB booth,
Taylor could be found on the playing field. He played football,
basketball, and baseball during his High School career, earning many accolades
in the process. In addition to his athletic achievements, Taylor was
also active in the classroom and the community. He was the 2007 winner of the
Travis McMillan, Marty Westerfield, DAR, and SAR Awards. Taylor graduated
from Tri-Valley in 2007, and recently graduated from
Illinois College in Jacksonville, where he also played baseball for the Blueboys. He hopes to pursue a coaching career
after college. In his spare time, Taylor can be found
cheering on the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Bears. He also finds
time to return to the VIB booth whenever his announcing services are needed. His trademark
call as a VIB commentator was an enthusiastic "Hi-o!" whenever a three-pointer
was made. Click
here to watch Taylor in his first VIB commercial from 2006.
Shane Chestney, Video Coordinator
(2006-2007)
Shane Chestney served at the VIB's video coordinator for the 2006-2007
basketball season. While at Tri-Valley, he was active in various fine arts
organizations and was also the recipient of the 2007 Louie Boward
Scholarship.
Jake
Nalley, Color Commentary (2006)
Jake Nalley teamed up Tim Ditman to provide commentary for the 2006 football
season. He also served as the VIB's statistician for the broadcasts.
While at Tri-Valley, Jake was active in Student Council, National Honor Society and played baseball for
four years. He, along with Tim Ditman, was voted "Most Likely to be
President" by his classmates as a Senior. He graduated in 2007 as an
Illinois State Scholar and currently attends Loyola University.
He is an avid Chicago White Sox fan.
Tyler
Sonka, Play-by-play Commentary
Tyler Sonka, a member of the class of 2010 at Tri-Valley, joined the VIB crew in
2006, serving as the technology coordinator and statistician for basketball and
baseball. He along with Trevor Halloran took over as VIB team leaders for
the 2007-2008 year. Tyler played football and baseball at Tri-Valley, as
well as being involved with the FFA. He currently attends Southern
Illinois University. His favorite sports teams include the
Chicago Cubs and the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Trevor Halloran, Color Commentary
Trevor Halloran, a member of the class
of 2010 at Tri-Valley, joined the VIB crew in 2006, serving as the technology
coordinator and statistician for basketball and baseball. He along with
Tyler Sonka took over as VIB team leaders for the 2007-2008 year. When not
in the VIB booth, you could find him on the field as a member of the Viking
baseball team. He currently attends Southern Illinois University. His favorite sports teams
include the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Rams, and the University of Illinois
Fighting Illini.
Josh Scott, Video Coordinator
Josh Scott, a member of the class of 2010, joined the VIB crew in the winter
of 2008, serving as the video coordinator for basketball broadcasts. Josh
played baseball and is involved with several academic clubs at Tri-Valley.
He currently attends Parkland College.
His favorite sports teams include the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Bears, and
Chicago Bulls.
Blake Rosensteel,
Color
Commentary
Blake Rosensteel, a member of the Class of 2010, joined the VIB crew for the
2008 football season, teaming up with Trevor Halloran on the microphone.
In addition to his VIB involvement, Blake played basketball and baseball at
Tri-Valley.
He currently attends Illinois State University.
His favorite sports teams include the St. Louis Cardinals,
Chicago Bears, and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini.
Alex Schaffer, Technology
Coordinator (2006)
Alex Schaffer, a member of the class of 2010 at Tri-Valley, served as the VIB's
technology coordinator for the 2006 football season. He is a St. Louis
Cardinals fan.
Curtis
Prochnow, Video Coordinator
Curtis Prochnow, a member of the class of 2010, joined the VIB crew in 2007
as video coordinator. Curits played football and is involved with several
academic clubs at Tri-Valley.
He currently attends Parkland College.
His older brother, Charlie, was a former member of
the VIB crew in 2005-2006.
Billy
Domitrovich, Technology Coordinator
Billy Domitrovich, a member of the class of 2010, joined the VIB crew in
2007 as technology coordinator. His duties included running the
technological side of the live broadcasts and producing the commercials and
graphics seen during the broadcast. Aside from the VIB, Billy played baseball at Tri-Valley.
He currently attends Parkland College.
In his spare time. you can find him cheering for the Pennsylvania sports teams:
the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Pittsburgh
Steelers.