Voiceover Talent and Live Announcer Peter K. O’Connell at the 2026 Run The Peak 10K & 5K Race in Apex, NC. Photographed by Natasha Gilliam of TLG Film Group. Connect: linkedin.com/in/tlgfilmgroup/

A microphone, a finish line and a Saturday morning that reminded me exactly why I do what I do.

Last week when I did the live announcing for the Apex (NC) Chamber of Commerce’s Run The Peak 10K & 5K race, it was fun on many levels, including a few I had not thought about.

I’ve been doing Live Announcing and Emceeing (like at the Run) for decades.

It’s always a great gig, as is the Voice of God (VOG) work as well. Whether it’s a race, a corporate event, an awards ceremony or a conference, live event hosting and emceeing is one of my favorite things to do as a voiceover professional.

But I had not done anything local in a while, so I forgot how many friends I would likely see at the race.

Peak City Drone, Apex, NC

In addition to the many new folks I met, like the team at Peak City Drone who captured awesome drone footage of the race, I also caught up with some relatively old friends.

VMA Studios, Fuquay-Varina, NC

Out of the crowd came Aaron Lurie from VMA Studios in Fuquay-Varina, whose photography is more like artistic storytelling. It’s just so sharp, and he has the most infectious, happy attitude. https://vmastudios.com/

Both Peak City Drone and VMA were kind enough to share some of their footage and photos with me so I could cut together a quick one-minute video of my performance as a Live Announcer and Emcee at Run The Peak.

TLG Film Group, Raleigh, NC

Also out of nowhere I heard someone call “Peter! Hi Peter!” and it was Natasha Gilliam from TLG Film Group! We had a lovely visit and she took some pictures of me that look great and that I am free to use, so you’ll be seeing them on social media. She has real talent because I don’t look like my weirdo self in the shots. That takes artistry!

I was so lucky to reconnect with current friends and make new ones. It made getting up at o-dark-thirty on a Saturday morning completely worth it!

HERE’S THE VIDEO WITH VIDEO FROM PEAK CITY DRONE AND PHOTOGRAPHY FROM VMA STUDIOS:

Tags: commentary, emcee, live announcing, VOG, voice of God, voiceover by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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WATCH A SAMPLE OF PETER’S LIVE EVENT EMCEE WORK:

At the 5th Annual Run the Peak, the Apex Chamber of Commerce needed an emcee who could handle everything – sponsors, crowd, energy, timing. I was asked to take on that role, and when the day was done, the feedback from the client and sponsors was universally positive. Glad I could deliver. That’s exactly what my years of experience offer all my live announcing clients.

What Run the Peak Is

Run the Peak is a 10K and 5K road race produced by the Apex, NC Chamber of Commerce and presented by WakeMed. Now in its 5th year, it’s become a real fixture in the local running community – this year drawing over 650 registered runners. My job was to make sure the day reflected the trust the community has placed in this event.

What an Emcee Actually Does

The emcee isn’t just a warm body with a microphone filling dead air. At a well-run event, the emcee is the connective tissue – holding all the moving pieces together and making it feel seamless to everyone in attendance.

At Run the Peak, that meant a few things done well:

Sponsor acknowledgment done right. Recognizing sponsors in a way that feels genuine (not like a commercial break stapled onto the program) is a real skill. It’s about understanding the sponsor’s connection to the event and communicating that to the crowd in a way that actually lands. Happy sponsors come back. That matters to event producers.

Keeping the crowd engaged. Over 750 runners means a similarly large crowd of family and friends there for the long haul. Keeping that audience informed, connected, and energized is an ongoing job from the moment the event opens until they shut the power down

Making it all feel effortless. The best emcee work is the stuff the audience never consciously notices. If everything flows naturally and transitions are smooth, people just experience a great event. They don’t stop to think about why. That’s the goal.

Why Experience Matters

I’ve announced and emceed events across the country – corporate conferences, charity galas, awards shows, and community events of all sizes. That experience is what you draw on when something unexpected happens, when the energy shifts, when you need to find the right words on the fly.

When a client tells you the feedback was universally positive – that the sponsors were happy and the crowd was engaged – that’s the professional equivalent of a standing ovation.

Run the Peak was a great day in a great community. I’m glad the Apex Chamber of Commerce brought me in, and I’m already looking forward to seeing what year six looks like.

Tags: emcee, live announcing by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Here’s what I expected from Tuesday’s Apex Chamber networking event: coffee, handshakes, maybe a new lead.

Here’s what I did NOT expect: to become a corporate race sponsor rubbing shoulders with companies that have actual marketing budgets.

I had been to more than a few networking events at the Apex Chamber of Commerce, so this week’s morning gathering wasn’t going to be out of the ordinary as far as I was concerned. It was going to be held at the new Foxtail Coffee in Apex, NC – it’d been there some months but it was new to me.

Anyway, it was a very nice early morning crowd as I was walking around, mingling with familiar and new faces — talking about their businesses, chatting a bit about audio’connell. Then, kinda outta nowhere I was at a table with Amy Riley who is the Volunteer Relationship Coordinator for the Apex Chamber of Commerce.

Live Announcer and Emcee Peter K. O’Connell networking at the Apex Chamber of Commerce AM Networking in February just before getting roped into becoming the Entertainment Sponsor for Run The Peak on March 7th

If you haven’t met her, she’s just all the good things – smart, happy, interested, conversational, with everybody. We just got to talking about the various things she was doing with the Apex Chamber and how she’s now in charge of the Run The Peak 5K & 10K race on March 7th.

This upcoming 5th Annual running of this race is her first time overseeing it and she went on to talk about some of the things was involved in the planning and in that list – blamo!- here it came: “Oh, hey, we need an announcer for the race.”

“Oh s—!”, said the voice inside my head.

Yes, I do live announcing, yes I do live emceeing but I DIDN’T wake up and expect *this* on my early morning networking plate.

A few minutes later, I became not only the Emcee Host / Announcer of the Apex Chamber of Commerce’s 5th Annual Run The Peak 5K & 10K race, I became the race’s Entertainment Sponsor. Yup, that’s me up there sponsoring with Dell Technologies, Fidelity Bank, Wake Med Hospital and a bunch of other significantly laaaarrrrger businesses than mine.

So at Zero Dark Thirty on Saturday, March 7 (WHY do runners need to get up so early??!!!) I will be on the mic at the Run The Peak, beginning at Apex Town Hall on Hunter Street. Hope to see you there…please say hi!

Tags: emcee, live announcing, marketing by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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There are many great things about WoVOCon The Voiceover Unconference coming up October 17-19, 2025 in New Orleans.

The energy, the education, the networking and the friendship are the first great things that come to mind. Plus I am very honored to be asked back to serve as Emcee in New Orleans.

Unfortunately, this job also means I have to do some promotional work — which I don’t mind at all, except they ask me sometimes to do videos.

As you well know, I have a face for radio.

But they asked…and I am a loyal volunteer glad to help as the leadership sees fit. Plus the video is less than a minute long. Feel free to close your eyes and just listen.

Most importantly, I hope you join us!!

 
VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION

Peter K. O’Connell speaking:
Hey, how are you? I may be a little early on this out of studio message, but I wanted to let you know October 17th through the 19th, I will be out of Raleigh, North Carolina, and in New Orleans, Louisiana enjoying WoVOCon The Voiceover Unconference, October 17th through the 19th. I hope you’ll join us. WoVOCon is unlike any other kind of voiceover conference you’ll ever attend. That’s why they call it an unconference. a unique format, a great group of people, and very, very impactful for your voiceover business. Performance, marketing, technology, we cover it all, and we cover it with experts. Nobody’s selling anything. They’re just there to help your business. WoVOCon The Voiceover Unconference in New Orleans, October 17th through the 19th. I hope you join us.

Tags: emcee, live announcing, WOVOCON by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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Over the holiday, someone asked me how long I’ve done live announcing and emceeing.

I had to think about it for a second and I still did not immediately have an answer.

I started in professional radio in 1982 but for live announcing and emceeing, I didn’t have such a concrete date. I remember live events but not dates.

But I found a picture on line from the University of Dayton 1984 yearbook where I hosted a WDCR-AM (campus radio station) promotion called The Dating Game in the Kennedy Center Theatre.

The little I remember from the event was that Lisa Curie Boggs was backstage with me, John Luttrell did the intro and if it was a DCR promotion at that time, Ron Alexander had to be involved.

So if not first semester of 1983, it has been since 1984 that I have been emceeing and doing live announcing.

Now, knowing the answer to the question, I hope you can all sleep better tonight.

Tags: emcee, live announcing by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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I was honored to be asked to serve as the Master of Ceremonies (i.e. Emcee, i.e. Waiter with a Microphone) of the 2012 Sisters Hospital Black and White Gala on Saturday, April 21, 2012 at the historic and beautiful Connecticut Street Armory in Buffalo, NY.

Mrs. audio’connell has been on the committee for the event seemingly since it started but my primary purpose there in past years was to serve as eye candy. This year, I had a script and kept the night moving with a few laughs along the way.

Yes, I own my own tuxedo. I make a fetching penguin, don’t you think?

Kudos to Sisters Hospital Foundation Executive Director Anne Snyder (shown with me at the podium) and her team for putting together a terrific event for an amazing place from whence three fine little people I know well made their first appearance – safely- into the world.

Tags: commentary, emcee, master of ceremonies by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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