Ben Catley's Bio

This is a longhand look into my professional life ... a more detailed look into my past work history can be found on the resume page.

I started in radio with WCTR/Chestertown, MD in October of 1988, assuming the Saturday morning duties within
two weeks of being hired, and given the task of reviving the station's Sports department within six months.

I had fun developing the WCTR Sports department into one of the more successful operations in the area, anchoring up to five
sportscasts a day, doing play-by-play of Washington College men's lacrosse as well as Kent County High School and
Queen Anne's County High School football.

In 1994, I was able to (somehow) convince the management at WCTR to add more to its sports menu, and added Washington College men's and women's basketball, Washington College baseball and Babe Ruth Summer baseball. By 1996, my work load had increased to 65-70 play-by-play events per year.

The next radical change came in 1997, when WCTR did a near-full Washington College schedule for the first time ever.
The schedule increased from seven to 13 broadcasts per season, not including the Shoremen's three-straight
Championship-game run in the NCAA Division III playoffs. We were also doing high school lacrosse games, which meant that I was quite busy during my final two years at WCTR.

I was lucky enough to do a total of seven championship games on the air for WCTR Sports, including all four championship games for Washington College men's lacrosse in the 1990's, including its first NCAA Division III title in 1998. My increased work doing Shoremen lacrosse on the radio earned me, much to my surprise and honor, the Moloney Award, given by the team at its annual awards ceremony.

Then, I took his talents to the Michiana area, after being hired by VanHawke Communications in August of 1998. I was the play-by-play voice of the Dowagiac Chieftans while working for WVHQ/WDOW. I took over as Operations Manager in December 1998 and worked in that capacity there until the station was sold in July 1999. I also had the opportunity to train the new ownership on the existing software being used to do traffic and music logs.

Then, I caught a fortunate break, when my prior boss, who had purchased WKAM/WZOW in Goshen, IN, took me into the VanHawke-Johnson Communications family in July 1999. I performed a multitude of tasks in Goshen, including play-by-play and sideline reporting, as well as becoming the station's Webmaster.

Another one of my duties allowed me to win two national awards. I was fortunate enought to win an Award of Distinction from the Communicator Awards in 1999, for work done on NLC GameNight. The half-hour conference preview show ran from 1999-2000 before high school football on WKAM-AM. I was further blessed when I received the top award from the Communicator Awards ... the Crystal Award of Excellence, in 2000.

In December of 2000, I landed on the staff of KVAY-FM in Lamar, CO. After coming to the High Plains, I made my mark as a true sportscaster. I have done more than 650 games from my arrival through May 2005, and established KVAY as the source where people in the Arkansas Valley get their local sports ... whether it's play-by-play or sports information. I was the morning show co-host at KVAY, and last did the afternoon show. Not long after the new ownership came here (Beacon Broadcasting), I was promoted to Assistant to the General Manager, and had my hand in just about every aspect of operating KVAY.

Since that time, I have moved on to another challenge ... taking the place of a legend here in Miles City, MT. That's how some people here are viewing it ... I look at it as just carving my own way.

I can no longer say that I am a "free agent," however, I remember something a dear friend of mine said ... never close the door totally, because you may end up shutting out what you really want. I will discuss any potential position with you ... but know in advance that it's hard to beat what I call "sportscaster heaven!" You are invited to give it your best shot.

Contact info:

Phone: (406) 853-2910

E-mail: [email protected]