Communiqué
Former WOUB Student Preaches Importance of Learning it All
< < Back to former-woub-student-preaches-importance-of-learning-it-allRE/MAX Technical Production Manager Tom Maynor calls WOUB experience “invaluable”
ATHENS, OH – Tom Maynor, the technical production manager at RE/MAX, LLC Corporate Headquarters, didn’t know all the places his career journey would lead him when he started as a student at Ohio University in the early 1980s. But he now knows that what he learned at WOUB is what got him there.
At RE/MAX, Maynor works in production, corporate training, event creation, communications, marketing and presenter coaching. RE/MAX is a worldwide organization supporting over 120,000 associates in over 110 countries and territories. Maynor says his RE/MAX career is another example of one thing building on and leading to the next, just like he learned back at WOUB.
“What I experienced at WOUB was invaluable,” said Maynor. “The hands-on experience, where you stepped into jobs, and you were given more responsibility, made you understand how important every role is to successful productions. One thing built on the next, and one opportunity led to another.”
Maynor grew up in Cincinnati and came to Ohio University in the early 1980s to study radio and TV production. He had some TV production experience from work he did in high school and wanted to build on that at WOUB.
“I heard WOUB needed people,” said Maynor. “So, I got introduced to staff at WOUB, and it grew from there. I started doing radio feed tape records at 6 a.m. on the weekend. Then, I was doing AM news and board operating shifts. I did some AM evening radio as well where I played music. FM Radio was the pièce de résistance of radio broadcasts at the time, and I did some one-hour country music shifts. I wasn’t a country music fan, but I did it and learned. Then, I started working at WOUB television. I did floor directing, graphics, audio, technical directing and directing. I also became the newsroom staff videographer/editor.”
Maynor never turned down an opportunity that came up at WOUB. Because of the experience he had in high school, he was able to move up more quickly. And because of what he learned at WOUB; he was able to get a summer internship at WKRC in Cincinnati. That internship led to a full-time job after he graduated in 1985.
“I worked at both WKRC and WCPO in Cincinnati,” said Maynor. “Then, I became a volunteer firefighter. I eventually took the Cincinnati Fire test and began a career as a firefighter in 1994. I continued to work in TV on the weekends and did freelance video work. In 2007, I accepted a production manager position available at RE/MAX in Denver, Colorado, and I decided to go back into production work. I’ve been there now for 13 years.”
Maynor says working in television news and firefighting helped him further develop his skills in teamwork, time management, deadlines, problem solving, creativity and communication.
“The thing I love about WOUB broadcast journalism is that to work in the news program there, you started with writing,” said Maynor. “You had to know what you wanted to say. Then you started to work on the radio and learned how to say it. You learned about things like timing and inflection and learned to communicate verbally. Then you moved on to television and you focused on how you looked when you communicated. You made sure your tie was straight and other things. You learned as a journalist, what you say and how you say it is the most important thing. That lesson is one I still utilize to this day, especially when I coach other people about presenting.”
Maynor encourages current students to take advantage of every opportunity WOUB provides for them in the media industry.
“The media landscape is so vast and varied these days, and WOUB is a great place to learn,” said Maynor. “WOUB is a very professional environment. You can get some experience in the classroom but doing it day in and day out and having the responsibility of broadcasting information to the public, there is no better training than that.”