Published: March 1, 2017
West Bend’s Van Vooren promoted to sports director
Has been with Fox 6 for almost 30 years
ndettmann@conleynet.com 262-306-5043
In September 1990, Tim Van Vooren was just happy to be working at his hometown television station.
On Monday, the West Bend native and 1983 West Bend West High School
graduate was named the sports director for that same station — WITI-TV
Fox 6 in Milwaukee — a place he’s called his home for almost 30 years.
“When I was in high school, I couldn’t imagine being a sports director
at a Milwaukee television station,” Van Vooren said Tuesday.
Van Vooren replaces Tom Pipines, who retired Feb. 12 after more than 30 years with Fox 6.
“I really enjoyed working with Tom Pipines,” Van Vooren said. “He
never really treated someone different. I hope to have learned some
lessons from that.”
As
sports director, Van Vooren will oversee the day-to-day operations of
the Fox 6 sports department, which also announced the hiring of Kaitlin
Sharkey to replace Van Vooren’s sports anchor position.
Sharkey, a Theresa native and a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
graduate, started at WSAW-TV in Wausau in 2013 and worked there for 16
months before moving to WBAY-TV in Green Bay.
Sharkey joins Brandon Cruz as the other sports anchor on the station’s staff.
“We’re excited to add Kaitlin,” Van Vooren said.
Since joining WITI in 1990, Van Vooren has put together an
awardwinning career. He is a three-time recipient of National Sports
Media Association Wisconsin Chapter Sportscaster of the Year (1995, 2001
and 2015).
In October, he was one of five inductees into the Silver Circle of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the National Academy
of Television Arts and Sciences. The Silver Circle recognizes
individuals who have devoted 25 years or more to the television
industry and who made significant contributions to their local market.
“Growing up in West Bend, I never would have believed that I’d get the
chance to cover events such as Super Bowls, Final Fours, major league
playoff games and NASCAR events as a Milwaukee sportscaster,” Van Vooren
told the Daily News in September.
But the best part for him is that he has enjoyed this career in his home media market, 45 minutes from where he grew up.
“I came to Milwaukee in 1990,” Van Vooren said. “It was just great to be here and I just didn’t know what was going to happen.
“The years have rolled off and the seasons rolled off so quickly.
Suddenly, it’s a whole bunch of years and a bunch of seasons.”
Van Vooren, who used to assist WBKV radio in West Bend with its high
school sports broadcasts, knows there is pressure to step in to a spot that was occupied by a person beloved by so many.
“He did such a great job connecting with so many people for so many
years,” Van Vooren said of Pipines. He added he does have one advantage.
“I’ve been in the department since 1990,” Van Vooren said. “It’s not
like I’m coming in from like Pennsylvania and it’s like, ‘What’s going
on?’” Van Vooren never gave thought about one day becoming sports
director. Nor was it a goal. He was too busy covering the Packers,
Brewers, Badgers, Bucks and everything in between.
“I was surprised Tom retired,” Van Vooren said. “I thought he had plenty of energy. I wasn’t even thinking about it.
“Once he decided to retire, then it made sense to make the step up.”
Van Vooren learned several lessons from Pipines. He holds two of them
closest to him as far as he goes about his day-to-day responsibilities
and with how things will be at Fox 6 as sports director.
“Preparation is very important,” Van Vooren said. “The viewers have
become so much more informed than they used to be. You need to be very
prepared.”
Van Vooren also admired how Pipines treated people.
“He was one of the guys,” Van Vooren said, adding Pipines never made himself bigger than anyone else.
“Everybody’s trying to stay focused on local teams and local sports as
best as you can,” Van Vooren said when asked what the goal of his
department will be with him at the helm. “We need to be the best we can
with that.”
No comments:
Post a Comment