Tag Archives: Coastal Today

Angel Thursday Rundown

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If you read one of my blog posts from earlier this week, you know how much I love October! So far, just three days into the month, it is living up to its billing. Hopefully this latest Thursday Rundown will live up to its billing as well. Here we go…

Angels – Once a month, our parish hosts Family Faith Night. These events revolve around a single topic and include lessons, food, games, and fellowship. This past Saturday, our Director of Religious Education Marie Bricher presented “Angel Flight Academy,” an evening all about angels. It was so enlightening to learn about these spiritual beings and how they help and protect us every single day. Although the content was superb, Beau’s favorite part was decorating the homemade angel food cake that was cut into—you guessed it—angels.

Beau and Sloan having a great time at St. Mary’s angel-themed Family Faith Night.

Mr. McMahon – Even for someone who doesn’t typically binge shows like myself, it took me very little time to rip through the six episodes in the Netflix documentary series “Mr. McMahon.” The episodes resonated with me because throughout my childhood I was a big professional wrestling fan so it packed a lot of nostalgia. Besides learning about some of the truly despicable things done by Vince McMahon, I was also surprised by how obsessed he was with success and the lengths he would go to “win.” It was really interesting hearing insight from Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Dwayne Johnson, The Undertaker, and more. Also, all of the footage incorporated into the documentary will have you traveling down memory lane. If you are/were a pro wrestling fan or if business interests you, I recommend “Mr. McMahon.”

Vince McMahon is a complex and win-at-all-costs person.

Friday Night Lights – This past Friday I had the thrill of attending my first high school football game of the fall. And it wasn’t just any football game, it was the Battle of the Bell rivalry game between the two high schools in the Mead School District—Mead High School and Mt. Spokane High School. As an alumnus of both Mead High School and its football program, I naturally cheered for my Panthers. In front of 6,000+ people on a beautiful evening, Mead defeated Mt. Spokane, 27-7. The victory nudged Mead ahead in the overall head-to-head record as the Panthers now lead the Wildcats 14-13 in the rivalry.

It was a beautiful scene at Union Stadium as Mead High School defeated Mt. Spokane High School in the 2024 Battle of the Bell.

Social Circle – One thing I miss from earlier in my career was the chance to work on a campus television show. This month marks 10 years since we launched Coastal Now, the revamped campus show at Coastal Carolina University. When we debuted the fresh version a decade ago, it was a breath of fresh air as we used a digital-first blueprint that was popular in pop culture at the time. The launch of Coastal Now included a segment that was written and delivered by me. Called the Social Circle, I was able to highlight the cool stuff our social media program was doing. To see that first Social Circle segment, tap here.

Me on set of Coastal Now.

Reading Rainbow – It is always ideal when I can end with something fun and wholesome. My niece, Olivia, was born last May. Not even six months yet, she is already starting to follow in the footsteps of her niece when it comes to reading prowess. Last Sunday when everyone was over at my parents’ house for Sunday dinner, I had the pleasure of reading “Five Little Pumpkins” to her. She was engaged the entire time and my brother (Olivia’s dad) managed to take this special candid shot.

I read a book to Olivia while her Aunt Sidney holds her and cousin John looks on.

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Thanks for taking time to read Don’t Blink. Hope your enjoy your first October weekend. Don’t Blink.

My Own Segment: The Social Circle with Brent Reser

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To see my segment in Coastal Now, click here and go to the 26:22 mark

Today marked an important day at the Office of University Communication at Coastal Carolina as we released our brand new show titled Coastal Now. This program was the result of countless hours of brainstorming, debating, and collaborating. Intending to appeal more to our student population, we wanted to introduce a modernized version of our former show, Coastal Today. By modifying the show’s format, introducing hipper segments, and rolling out fresh graphics, we achieved our objective.

Here is the funny part: As part of the show’s revamp and the mission to grab the attention of our digitally obsessed students, it was decided that I would receive my own segment.

I was given my own segment. Let me introduce to you the Social Circle with Brent Reser.

I was given my own segment. Let me introduce to you the Social Circle with Brent Reser.

Say what?! Like, seriously…I was going to be trusted with developing my own social media segment?…For the University’s news program?…And then actually present it on camera? Talk about an intimidating and humbling proposition! Although a little timid to come up with a package and then nervous to tape it on set, I went ahead and accepted the opportunity because of the amazing team I have around me.

The week before filming, I sat down with Martha Hunn, our Director of News and Public Affairs. A former hot-shot news anchor in the Myrtle Beach/Conway area, I knew I was in good hands as we started to plan my segments. Using an idea-sharing approach we talked out the beginning and end of my first two show packages. After our discussion, half my script was written in Martha’s iPad. She then gave me the freedom to write the meat of my segments myself. With the great start she gave me, I filled in the middle portions and my first two scripts for Coastal Now were complete.

The next week at the studio I felt a little nervous as I waited in the greenroom area. I watched our host of Coastal Now, Robin Russell, film her pieces and interview a couple guests. It was then time for me. I walked into the filming area and stood in front of the green screen. Our media services crew cued me and I hit it. I stumbled a couple times resulting in new takes. However, the whole time throughout the shoot I had Martha and Robin rooting me on and assuring me that I was doing a decent job. To have two veterans of the news business in your corner makes things so much easier. You know what else makes things easier? A teleprompter! It was so nice to read a script with no fear of your brain turning off and your voice disappearing.

Me on set of Coastal Now.

Me on set of Coastal Now.

All the times in the past when I had gotten in front of a camera I always dreaded the end product. However, after filming my first segments for Coastal Now I actually felt good about what the outcome would be. To make it even better, I had a great time during the filming. This past Friday our office had a premiere party in the studio. We sat around a TV and munched on snacks while watching the historic first show of Coastal Now. The finished product was amazing. Our media services team did such a great job shooting and piecing the show together. Segments were fresh and fun. The 30 minute show seemed to fly by. They even managed to make me look somewhat respectable. It was cool to see a group work so hard on something and have their efforts pay off.

If you care to watch me, the Social Circle with Brent Reser starts at 26:22. I want to thank Martha Hunn, Robin Russell, David Russell, Bryan Stalvey, and Josh Chesson for the help with creating/filming/producing my segment and for all the encouragement. This so far has been a great experience and I can’t wait to help out with more shows. Don’t Blink.