Nov. 5, 2014

By Chris Hagstrom

For Immediate Release

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The South Bend Cubs today announced a contest to find the next Public Address Announcer for the 2015 season.

Open submissions begin November 5th and run through December 5th. Then the South Bend Cubs staff will interview their top 10 applicants and record a new demo of each. All demos will be loaded on the South Bend Cubs YouTube page for the fans to vote on their favorite PA Announcer. Finally, the field will be narrowed down to two who will be invited to Four Winds Field for their final audition. The winner will be announced February 20th when pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training.

"With all the great talent in Michiana, we thought it best to open up the search process and see who could be the best candidate," said Team President Joe Hart. "And because we loved feedback from our fans, it made sense to allow them the opportunity help in the selection process."

In order to be considered, all applicants must be 18 years old, fill out the official contest form, which can be found at SouthBendCubs.com and include a demo reel that should not exceed five minutes. Applications and demos will only be accepted via email at [email protected]. No applications or demo reels will be accepted at the Four Winds Field Front Office. The contest came about as a way to fill the void left by the previous announcer.

"Gregg Sims did a fantastic job since I've been in South Bend," said Hart. "At the end of the 2014 season, Gregg decided to step away from the microphone in order to focus on his full time career but will still be available to fill in when needed."

Aside from announcing batters, the PA Announcer will also read sponsored announcements during the game and provide their voice for some team promotional videos.

The South Bend Cubs are a Class-A minor league team affiliated with the Chicago Cubs. Through the past 27 seasons, the team has won five Midwest League titles, most recently in 2005, and captured 12 division titles. The team is owned and operated by Swing-Batter-Swing, LLC, whose sole shareholder is Andrew T. Berlin of Chicago. Opening Day is on April 9th, 2015.