The
Missouri Monsters of the Ultimate Indoor Football League have announced
their senior management team with the addition of two well-known local
media personalities.
Howard
Balzer, a long-time fixture in the St. Louis market has been named
Senior Vice President of Operations, while Jeff Vernetti will be Senior
Vice President of Marketing.
The
announcement was made by club owner owner Andrew Haines. "We are
thrilled to have Jeff and Howard as part of the Monsters Senior
Management team. Their experience and contacts in the community will be a
big reason why the Monsters are successful."
Balzer
is in his 36th year covering professional football as a writer, editor
and broadcaster. Currently, in addition to his work with The Sports
Xchange, Balzer is the senior editor for Lindy's pro football magazine, a
position he has held since 1992; and a talk-show host for SiriusXM NFL
Radio and KFNS Radio. He is also one of 44 voting members on the Pro
Football Hall of Fame selection committee.
Balzer
is also no stranger to indoor football. In 1986, while with The
Sporting News, he wrote the first published story on the sport after a
demonstration game in Rockford, Ill. Balzer did national broadcasts for
Arena Football from 1988-91 and was part of the television broadcast
team for several years for the St. Charles-based River City Rage and
Renegades. He was also the public relations director for the Arena
Football League in 1993.
A
1974 graduate of Hofstra University, Balzer was the sports information
director at the school while a student and after graduation worked as
director of public relations for the National Wheelchair Athletic
Association, director of public relations and promotions for the Long
Island Tomahawks of the National Lacrosse League and director of public
relations for the Continental Basketball Association.
In
the community, Balzer is currently a board member for Athletes &
Entertainers Circle of Influence and has hosted the unique Celebrity
Karaoke event for seven years that has raised funds for local charities.
He was also on the original board for the Ronald McDonald House in St.
Louis and was a longtime committee member for the Gateway Chapter of the
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
"This
will be a unique challenge and one I am very excited about," Balzer
said. "I have always been interested in team operations and look forward
to helping create a championship organization with the Monsters."
Vernetti
joined the KFNS staff in August of 2007 and has worked in radio in a
number of on-air roles. He has hosted the daily talk show "The Sports
Edge" on both 590 the Fan and Sports Radio 1380 and worked for two years
on 1380 ESPN. He and Balzer currently co-host "The Sports Edge" each
day on KFNS from 2-3 p.m.
In
addition to his hosting duties, he has covered a number of major
events, from the World Series to NCAA Championship games to the MLB
All-Star Game. He has covered five Super Bowls as a host and reporter
and traveled with the Rams in both 2006 and 2008.
He
has done regular play-by-play work, serving as the voice for the Indoor
Football League team the RiverCity Rage for two seasons, where he was
nominated for broadcaster of the year both seasons. In addition, he has
handled the call of numerous Missouri Valley Conference tournament
games, high school football and basketball, collegiate basketball and
baseball, and minor league baseball.
Vernetti
is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University and spent five
years in marketing before returning to radio in St. Louis.
He owns and operates two Balls n Strikes baseball training centers in the St. Louis area, one in Westport and one in Fenton.
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