MIKE VERCRUYSSE
Monday, June 26, 2000
Dear Mr. Trout:
My name is Mike V. of Virginia Beach, VA, which I have called my home my entire life. Growing up with seven brothers and sisters, my family shared a lot of time together during my pre and teenage years, often involving outdoor activities. Due to the closeness in age, we could pick up a game of basketball between us, or recruit a few kids form the neighborhood and head down to the sandlot for a baseball game. Thus began my passion for sports, possibly due to my parents’ enthusiasm to teach us the proper way to field a ground ball or shoot a free throw. While the Dodgers or Celtics never called, I became a pretty good baseball and basketball player in my teens, actually making the All-Stars.
Through my high school years I guess my studies were never my top priority. While excelling in a couple of courses, more often I struggled in the classroom due to poor habits, and barely making graduation day. A couple more years at a local community college, I seemed to settle in with better grades, but chose to go into the civil engineering field, which my best friend was studying at a large, four-year university. Wrong decision for me, as he cruised through school and I became disinterested. While I continued my education at night school, trying to contemplate my next move, my brother offered me a job with his construction company. Ten years of building residential custom homes, and three or more on the commercial end, I was tired of making a living this way. Ready to make a drastic career change, I went into sales, which is where we stand now. Although I dislike being on the road all the time, I enjoy the interaction with customers and people in general. You have to keep the wolves from the door, as they say.
I am still involved with sports when time is available, first coaching basketball and then baseball, and lately as an umpire, which is a real love/hate relationship.
Having garnered a vast knowledge of facts, and enjoying a wide variety of sports, I began considering the radio broadcasting field. I began making a few calls and beating on doors, often receiving a polite "not hiring at this time" or "send us a tape on your background". Thumbing through the employment ads while in Charlotte, N.C., on business, I saw Mr. Trout's ad for the apprentice-mentor program and called. After a few weeks of follow-up conversations and receiving literature by mail, I have decided to pursue my dream of radio broadcasting. I am hopeful that with a lot of focus and perseverance over the months and years to come that I will enjoy the journey as much as achieving my ultimate goal.
Sincerely,
Mike Vercruysse
