Chris Johnson

Four years ago, when social studies teacher Chris Johnson learned that the announcer position for Gunn’s football games was open, he decided to volunteer, combining his passion for the sport with his experience in voice work. “I’ve gone through voiceover training, and I was a football coach about 20 years ago, so I thought, ‘Why not?’” he said.

To prepare for each game, Johnson requests an updated roster from the visiting team’s coach ahead of time. He contacts Gunn’s coach before the game to ask for a script if there are special announcements. Finally, he organizes the information into a document so he can read it more easily when announcing. “There are a lot of other places where you can find the rosters, like MaxPreps, but they’re not always correct, so I just go straight to the source,” Johnson said. “I want to make sure that all of their players get the credit that is due to them.”

Of all the games Johnson announces throughout the football season, he especially appreciates Senior Night. Reading out a short description of each senior player allows him to connect with a more personal side of them. “When I get little biographical blurbs on players who are graduating, I learn just a bit more about them as individuals and what their playing time at Gunn has meant to them,” he said.

Johnson appreciates that his announcing job allows him to spend time with players’ parents as well as social studies teacher David Bisbee, who operates the scoreboard next to him in the announcer’s booth. “[Bisbee] would probably say the same thing because he’s always there doing the scoreboard and the clock,” he said. “For the last four seasons, we’ve enjoyed our Friday evenings together in the fall working the football games.”