As fate may have it, here we are again, at the Super Bowl.
Making this trip 3 times in 3 years has been a blessing beyond but there’s something that is widely unseen that begs for my gratitude. I am surrounded by a talented, hungry, innovative, and excited crew of women and men that are hoping to find themselves on the winning end of yet another huge game.
With that journey comes explosive content and ideas. Ideas that have been brewing in our minds, simply waiting for the right moment to be executed. With each win, the directive is the same… yet different. Each week offers the team a new challenge because no week is inherently the same. Opportunities are presented and we work as a unit pushing out world-class content that tops the NFL charts, but it doesn’t stop there.
Along with post produced work, the team places their efforts into live events (we just completed our 3rd home AFC Championship game as a group since I rejoined the Chiefs) and everything that surrounds a game of that magnitude. Entertainment teams, pyro, flyovers, you name it, we have touched it! The nearly 30 people in the content and production arm of the team are a mere sliver of the fabulous humans that keep the Chiefs franchise running from top to bottom.
With that, I wanted to particularly focus on the people that I am blessed to have on my leadership team. Some I have hired, some I inherited, but all I am proud to connect with daily to keep the content wheels spinning.
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” - Aristotle
We’ve heard this before, but this expression fittingly defines the concept of synergy and that is exactly what we experience at the Chiefs; Synergy. In this Super Bowl Week, we are seeing a Chiefs team strive for greatness, using all its “parts” to complete the mission. I thought it was only appropriate to share with you some insight from the people that I call teammates who are amongst the “parts” that have us moving in the right direction.
If you have read any of my blogs in the past, you know that I often share my best advice, however, I thought we’d go the team route this time around! I want to let you read about how a talented crew uses life experiences to motivate, create, and push themselves to the tops of their professions. These are their words of encouragement.
Glenn Connelly: Director of Production
As the leader of our crew on domestic production and 65 Toss Power Trap’s producing corps, Glenn’s job is to assure that the team is pushing out weekly work of the highest level. From short to long form production, Connelly is asked to keep people on task and with the best gear possible so that Chiefs Kingdom can be as close to the team as possible.
“My dad instilled in me growing up a work ethic. He was a perfectionist. He built a loft bed for me when I was younger, and it took him 9 months! He never cut corners though. He always said, ‘if you’re going to do something, do it right.’ I always think of that. He said not to cut corners or do things halfway through. I always think of that in my work.”
Glenn’s attention to detail is measured in fractions of seconds and it shows as the team’s production outlet is often imitated and called upon when speaking of the upper echeclon of creator’s in team sports.
Steve Sanders: Director of Photography
I was lucky enough to have hired Steve in 2012 and to find him putting out his best work when I returned to Kansas City in 2021 was not a surprise. Testimony to Steve’s mentorship, a solid percentage of the NFL’s full-time team photographers originate from his family tree. Steve has an eye for talent that is only rivaled by his composition and ability to tell a story through a still shot.
“See it. Imagine It. Capture it. When you are trying to be creative try not to overthink it.” Steve’s words are indelible for so much of what creatives are hoping to accomplish. “Just be yourself. With every image I take I want to see something that nobody else sees and then monumentalize that.” Sanders’ decades behind a lens speaks volumes but the simplistic approach allows for him to rely on instincts and talent. That is why he is widely seen as one of the best in the sports photography business.
Kristen Pugh Scarbrough: Director of Game and Event Entertainment
Kristen has been with the Chiefs in the best of times. She is the woman behind assuring gameday runs like a top as it pertains to the scoreboard show and in-game entertainment and the team has not disappointed! She has crafted scripts for some of the biggest games in recent history and her memory-making work stems from one phrase: “Congratulations on getting the job. You have 10 games to get it right and no games to get it wrong. Good Luck!” Although her director at the time (Bill Chapin) certainly said this with a smile on his face, it was also said with an air of truth.
“With the NFL and the number of games we have, we don’t have any room to get it wrong. You have to give them all the same amount of love and put the same amount of effort into them.” The message – although geared toward football – rings true; focus your efforts, as you’re only as good as the last thing you’ve done.
Joe Helder: Director of Production, Special Projects
Joe’s connect stems back to my Philadelphia Eagles days, as I hired a budding videographer whose raw talents I had rarely seen. In 2005 Joe became a full timer and we became close not only because of work hours and courseload, but primarily because of sharing the same beliefs in terms of family, friendship, and more. His blue-collar ability to get the job done with precision is one of Joe’s greatest strengths, but his ability to teach with patience and lead by example is what set him apart.
It seems, after asking Joe about the best advice he had ever received, that his personal ecosystem built him into the man he is today. “I was about 20 years old, and I had just started in the business, and I wasn’t making any money” Joe explains.
“I spoke to my uncle who asked me a question as he was listening to me talk. The question was simple, ‘It’s a struggle when you’re young, but do you like what you’re doing?’ I said, yes, I love it, and he replied, ‘The money will come. It’s more important to love what you’re doing.’ His words were so on point and to this day, they are true.”
We often joke that work is still work, no matter how you cut it. There are days that are great, and there are days that challenge even the best of us. But if you can put your life’s efforts into something that moves your soul, you’re already a success.
Stephanie Judah: Senior Director of Entertainment Teams
I have had the pleasure of working alongside of Stephanie in my first stint with the Chiefs and I have watched her grow into a leader. A Chiefs Cheerleader alum herself, she oversees all of our entertainment teams including Cheer, Flag runners, Rumble drum corps, and the world-famous KC Wolf! Seems like an easy gig, right? Wrong! Stephanie is an organized master of moving parts. The volume and level she works never ceases to amaze me, so nailing her feet to the ground and getting her best piece of advice was a win in its own right!
“One piece of advice I lean in to and share a lot, is be where your feet are. Be present in the moment. If you are wishing for the next thing, you are not present. At a young age I didn’t understand that fully, but as I look back on things I realize that being present in those moments allows you to truly take in every experience.” Stephanie continues, “Take mental snapshots. As we head into playoff games, championship games, you only get one of these days and by getting the gift of that moment, don’t wish for tomorrow, don’t wish for the outcome, be present and whatever happens, happens.”
Matt McMullen – Senior Team Reporter
Matt has been an on-camera institution since he completed his internship with the club, but his greatest gift is found in his ability to be kind to everyone around him. A complete gentleman, he is the perfect ambassador for this team and his knowledge for football and the club is boundless. I have spent a significant amount of time watching Matt grow as well as teach others around him, so I was interested to hear his advice and not shocked when he dropped two great pieces of knowledge on me.
“I’ve thought long and hard on this, and I have two! The first one happened right after I completed my internship here. My lead at the time (former director of digital, James Royer) mentioned to me that things like talent, how one does tasks and certain things, those all can be learned. The one thing, though, that you can control is attitude. Attitude is the most important thing you can bring every day. No matter how good someone is at something, they can always have a great attitude. It has an effect on other people as well, particularly more novice staff, and they will see your attitude as the norm. So, it’s important to bring that great attitude with you every day.”
Matt followed up with some extra nuggets of wisdom. He harkened back to when he and I had done personal reviews which are staples here at the Chiefs. Reviewing staff and taking the process to heart is key for growth for every employee at the club. I personally review my team with insight, solid feedback, and with the hopes that those reviews aren’t just a formality. In his next point, Matt put my mind to ease that this process proved valuable.
“I’m confident but always looking to get better and when we first sat and did reviews, you (Rob Alberino) mentioned to me ‘just because you ranked yourself a certain way, doesn’t mean you don’t have room to grow.’ In everything I do, even the areas I ranked highly, there’s always room to get better. It’s a growth mindset.”
This is a great example of the employees that we have here in Kansas City, and it made my heart sing knowing the team also put pride in assuring their growth was not only financial, but personal.
Brad Young: Senior Director, Live and Gameday Production
Brad holds the moniker of being one of the founding employees of 65 Toss Power Trap Productions, created in 2010. He is also a live events jack-of-all-trades and the key person behind Arrowvision at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. His crew is small but expands exponentially on game days and with 70,000+ people awaiting the production teams’ next move, he is the Wizard of Oz behind the scenes making the earth shake at the right time.
“The best advice I’ve ever gotten all circles around working hard and doing things properly. I had a junior high offensive line coach say, ‘Don’t be hesitant, if you’re going to commit to something, commit to it.’ What he meant by that was, go out there and block somebody, if you’re unsure of who to block, pick somebody and block the hell out of him! If you’re going to make a mistake, do it 100 miles an hour. Being all in and committed – no matter what you’re doing – is a learning experience. The other piece that always exists in my head is that fear is the killer of creativity and going in and giving it your all is being fearless. They go hand in hand.”
Mitch Holthus – The Voice (The team’s radio play-by-play announcer)
The Kansas City Chiefs and Mitch Holthus go hand-in-hand. Mitch is an icon in the city and his voice is heard from local farm towns to countries across the world. He is simply the brush to the canvas of Chiefs history. Beloved by all who know him, he’s a small-town kid who just so happens to embody the Chiefs and the Kingdom itself. He is also a devout man, and we chat often about our faith and how it is the bedrock of our daily lives. Thus, it was no surprise when I asked my final direct report about the best piece of advice he had ever received.
“Two verses – ‘Gods opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Basically, stay humble, stay hungry, stay focused, you’re never the smartest person in the room. But the important thing to know is to not take that for meekness because another scripture says, ‘For God did not give us the spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.’ Meaning, the advice is to have confident humility… it’s not a contradiction, but a cocktail. A perfect mixture.”
After hearing my team share their wisdom, it’s easy to see how this crew is coveted. As we travel across the country to events, games, conferences and more, I watch them continue to learn and, more importantly, to teach. Here’s to hoping some of their words rang true and that you can see why I believe when speaking about them, our whole is TRULY greater than the sum of OUR parts.
- Robert Alberino
