Statute of RyAnne

Have you ever had those moments in life where everything seems to align? I am talking about those moments when you can feel a definite shift in the universe. This feeling is as real as if you are standing on one of those moving sidewalks in the airport. Whether you call it God, fate, karma, a sign, something or nothing in between, it is undeniable to me that people and circumstances happen in my life right when I need them – even if I do not realize it at the time. This has been my life the past few months when I was chosen to participate in the National Association of Broadcasters Broadcast Leadership Training school.

My love affair with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) started a long time ago. From a distance and growing up, I always admired the work they did for broadcasters, personally for my Dad and family, the education tool they provided to the public and the needs they served in times of natural disasters. But, if the NAB and I were just grabbing coffee from time to time, our relationship is now a full-on commitment. This past week in Las Vegas for the NAB Show and my monthly class, the NAB and I found a Vegas wedding chapel and made this relationship official.

The Broadcast Leadership Training (BLT) school is a year-long program for broadcast managers and executives that meets once a month, all weekend for school for the better part of an entire year. The goal is to give participants the tools to grow in her profession, inspire ownership of media properties and to give participants the tools to become active leaders and positive agents of change in broadcasting. Past participants have seen tremendous growth in their careers thanks to the skills acquired in the program.  It is always a small group of no more than twenty individuals; this year there are seventeen in the Class of 2015.

Each month I return home more inspired, feeling smarter than when I left and on a mission to set the world on fire. While the material is educational and has exposed me to concepts and ideas that I might have never explored on my own, the class participants and teachers are what really sets the class apart. My classmates are all extraordinary and exceptional individuals.

They are leaders. They are brilliant. They are wanting to be the very best them they can be, and they have been gracious enough to take me along for the ride. I can only hope I have added to their experience like they have added to mine.

When we started the class, we had a team building session where we had to answer the question, “What was the turning point in your career?” I honestly answered that I did not think I had experienced one yet, which felt small at the time since so many had experienced these life-altering events. That is not meant to diminish the things I had done previously, but was a real statement for me. When starting the first session, I was in a place in my life where I had started to doubt my chosen career path and the dreams put in my heart at a young age. I had lost my sparkle.  I can now confidently say the BLT program is my turning point.

The program has helped me to remember me. The suffix “re” means “again” or “back.” I feel put back together, after spending time with these people. I’ve re-membered why I loved broadcasting. I’ve re-membered who I know in my heart I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to do. They have helped to put me back together, and I will be forever thankful.

If you would like more information on the NAB or the Broadcast Leadership Training program, then please visit the websites HERE and HERE.  Consider supporting the NAB, your local broadcasters and the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation.  You just might have the opportunity to make a huge impact on someone else’s life.

Enjoy the photos*** from the NAB show and see the smiling faces of my broadcasting soul mates.  Stay Tuned In!

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*** Many thanks to class member Erica Pefferman for allowing me to use some of the photos she took.  She is our designated class historian.  Also, all of this would not be possible without our leader, coordinator and friend Michelle Duke with the NABEF along with Diane Sutter’s tireless energy who had the vision to start the program. 

My Team! We were VMG and had to pitch to buy a set of television stations. From left to right – Roberto Yanez, Claudia Puig, Me, Mary Rogers and Marlon George

Shonda Rimes creator of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder

Sharon Stone

Scott Shurz, Dustin Hall, Kelly Landeen, actress Marilu Henner, Mary Rogers and Erica Pefferman

Jerry Lewis winning the Service Award

This was in September when I started the program. I had to make a “First Day of School” sign like all of my friends’ children did for Facebook.

Our Deans for the Broadcast Leadership Training program grilling us.

We’re each commonly referred to as “the other attorney in the class.” This is Deborah Salons, and she’s my legally broadcasting sister. Seriously, we freakishly have a lot of things in common.

One of classes earlier in the program focused on engineering! How cool is that?