The multi-state devastation left over from Hurricane Helene (which hit my state on September 27th) shattered countless lives.

Swannanoa residents walk through devastating flood damage from the Swannanoa River in western North Carolina on Sunday.
PHOTO CREDIT: Travis Long / The News & Observer / TNS via Getty Images

Some of the hardest hit communities include those on the western side of North Carolina, in and around Asheville, where rains and the resulting massive floods left many neighborhoods (and lives) in complete ruin.

While national, state and local agencies and volunteers are working to bring aid to those in need, this recovery will require a lot of time and even more money.

There will be no quick fixes or magic wands to solve the devastation.

To help make people aware of the problem and encourage donations for the recovery effort from Hurricane Helene, I’ve produced an audio public service announcement that is available for broadcast use, web use and podcast use to spread the word of where donations are accepted.

FREE PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA FOLLOWING HURRICANE HELENE

(Please note, in this time audio pirating, no portion of the audio from this PSA may not be use for any other purpose than the purpose stated above). LINK HERE.

There are many worthwhile organizations that are accepting donations to aid the Hurricane recovery efforts. For the purposes of this free recording, I chose the following:

• The North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund – helping Hurricane ravaged communities recover from catastrophic damage – donate at nc.gov/donate
• Catholic Charities USA, where 100% of Hurricane gifts collected will go to support recovery efforts. Visit CatholicCharitiesUSA.org
• The American Red Cross, which is accepting Hurricane Helene donations at redcross.org/donate

If you are don’t work in broadcast or don’t produce a podcast, but know people who do, please feel free to share this post and this PSA with them.

Thanks.

This audio public service announcement (PSA) to support regional and national fundraising efforts for Western North Carolina – as a result of Hurricane Helene – is available for FREE all broadcast (Radio/TV/Cable), Podcasters and Webcasters who support this effort. No other use of this audio is permitted.

Tags: audio'connell voice over talent, commentary, podcast, podcasting, public service announcement, radio, tv by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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In almost all of broadcasting, be it radio, TV or cable, making it to the 100th show is a milestone.

The same is true for podcasting and it’s especially true for voiceover podcasting (says the blogger/podcaster who couldn’t get past 3-4 episodes back in the waaaay early days of the medium).

Seriously, I’ve heard and long forgotten a large number of VO podcasts from producers who seemingly lost interest in the medium.

So when I saw a post from my voiceover pal (and fellow Faffer) Natasha Marchewka about the upcoming 100th episode of her SPEECHLESS voiceover podcast with Kim Wilson (on April 18th), I know it promises to be a big deal.

Over 2 (maybe now 3) seasons/years, Kim and Natasha’s SPEECHLESS podcast has been a behind-the-scenes take on real life in the voice over biz! The good, the bad and the ugly.

It takes true production commitment and focus to keep a podcast (or any media program) on-air for ANY length of time. Guest aren’t always great, ideas aren’t always flowing….but if you have the determination, producers like Kim and Natasha fly over the problems and focus on the good stuff.

If you get to 100 episodes, that means the audience likes all the good stuff and wants you to keep going.

And that there (as we say in the south) is the greatest cause for celebration there is!

Tags: commentary, podcast, podcasting, voice actors, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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It was quite an honor to be the first guest in the new studio of the “Guys Who Do Stuff” Podcast, which we recorded a few weeks ago. Yes…I got to go to a REAL podcast studio, none of this phone stuff (which, of course is fine).

The podcast is produced by co-hosted and produced by Joe Woolworth and Josh Manning, both who live in the Cary, Raleigh, Durham North Carolina area where I am. Joe owns a web, media and business strategy company called Relevant Media Solutions. Josh is a media producer (web, photography and film) at his company called Jerico 7.

Joe Woolworth, Co-host of Guys Who Do Stuff Podcast

So as media producers, Joe and Josh are story tellers and through their podcast, they tell stories of unique small businesses and the people that run them. I believe the idea is that no matter how unique the business featured in the podcast, there are universal threads that run through each story and those threads are applicable to any business. By guests talking about the successes and challenges of their businesses, listeners can apply  the business and life lessons shared to their own lives.

How I got involved was just me networking, completely unaware of this podcast.

Josh Manning, Co-host of Guys Who Do Stuff Podcast

Because I’m still meeting new people (having only been in Raleigh Durham for coming up on 3 years) I was reaching out to local marketing and media people on Alignable, a locally focused business networking site. Through that site, I’ve been setting up some Starbucks marketing meetings with folks (similar to my Bagel Marketing back in Buffalo, NY but Starbucks is closer to my house, hence the name I just coined sitting here writing this blog post). I’m focused on folks in my Town of Cary, North Carolina (CARY = Containment Area for Relocated Yankees or Can’t Afford Raleigh Yet).

So I see Joe’s business on Alignable and I either emailed or called him and invited him to Starbuckies for a coffee and a chat (well, I do hot chocolate, not coffee, but it’s in the same cup as the coffee so people think I cool…fooled ’em again!) As we talked, Joe decided I would be a good guest for the podcast…or the guest he had scheduled had died…one of those two things. Anyway we talked.

What did we talk about? Easier probably to identify what we didn’t talk about but to try and summarize it we spoke about my start in voiceover, the University of Dayton, working with kids at home, Tony Stark, Spiderman, the Marvel Universe, co-working spaces (BTW in that part of the podcast, the co-working place I used was called HQ Raleigh…so embarrassed I blank on that name, sorry HQ Raleigh), then Wegman’s, the Gig Economy, Canada, getting the business, working in your underwear, greenways and parks, In-And-Out Burgers, Shake Shack, residuals, picking RDU, restaurants, Ernie Anderson, Mary Tyler Moore, The Partridge Family, Bruce Miles, D.B. Cooper, Mel Blanc, Looney Tunes, acting, Grover, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and after that, I forget.

The podcast has a fun, informative, light-hearted feel to it that makes the listen seem shorter than it is.

Now this co-working space where Joe and Josh have built their podcast studio is pretty awesome. It’s called Vibe and it’s a co-working community inside the Cary Towne Center Mall in Cary, NC. I’m not sure how many co-working spaces you’ve been in…I’ve been in more than a few.Many co-working spaces are very corporate…kinda steel and cold in tall office buildings…or they try and be too UNcorporate…and it’s too country, college-dormy. Vibe Cary is right in between for small business people, micropenuers who want professional and comfortable where you don’t feel like you should wear a tie but you probably don’t want to wear your ripped t-shirt and look like a slob either. Professionally casual. That’s my take anyway. You can get a membership or use it by the hour; you can get a private office or use a meeting space or, yes, record a podcast!

A great experience at a great place with great hosts. Thanks for including me.

Tags: podcast, podcast episodes, podcasting, raleigh, university of dayton by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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The Voice Over Cafe made its way to Charlotte, NC, for FaffCamp and recorded its latest episode there….what a blast.

Female Voice-Over Talent Trish Basanyi and Male Voice-Over Talent Terry Daniel have been hosting and producing the Voice-Over Cafe for a while and it was a special treat for me to be invited on to this live recording session as there was a room full of interesting people with whom they could have spoken. Terry and Trish are supported in their production by the lovely and talented Sean Caldwell, Tom Dheere and Peter Bishop – each a bad ass voice-over talent in their own right and all loyal Faffers to the core.

The episode stars Amy Snively and features Bob Souer, Liz deNesnera, Dan Friedman, (movie star) Melissa Exelberth, Connie Terwilliger and Cliff Zellman.

You can listen here. And I hope you will.

Tags: commentary, community, Faff Camp, faffcamp, faffcon, podcast, podcasting, voice over podcast, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice, voiceover meet-ups by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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So I’m standing in Detroit airport Wednesday evening when I get a call from Tim Keenan of Creative Media Recording.

He said that he produces a podcast called “Audio Follow Friday” and he wants to do an interview with me about Faffcon because everybody else he really wanted to interview about Faffcon said no and he knew I was too narcissistic to turn him down.

Well I never!…turn down an interview so we recorded it today and here it is. Thanks Tim!

Tags: commentary, faffcon, podcast, podcasting, social media, voice over podcast, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover advice by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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If you are in or around the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area and have a new or continuing interest in social media as it pertains to you life (business or personal) I highly recommend you attend Podcamp Philly 2010.

Of course if you have a Podcamp ANYWHERE near you, I recommend you attend it.

The cost is only $20 (which basically weeds out the real attenders from the pretenders and makes headcount more efficient for the volunteer organizers) You can sign up HERE.

Tags: blogs, commentary, community, facebook, google, internet, linkedin, marketing, podcamp, podcampphilly, podcast, podcasting, social media, social networking, technology, yahoo, youtube by peter k. o'connell, your friendly, neighborhood voice-over talent
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