John kentera biography

John Kentera, better known as Coach, has been hosting sports talk shows on San Diego radio stations since On practically any sports topic, including high school sports, Kentera does his homework and it shows with intelligent opinion.

In , the San Diego native launched a first-of-its-kind Saturday morning show that covered high school football scores from the night before. Now, he’s making local radio history again with a Thursday night show that previews upcoming high school football games. The “Lolita’s Mexican Food High School Sports Preview” airs on Thursdays, 9 to 10 p.m. on KEGY FM “The Fan,” one of five local radio stations operated by Entercom Communications San Diego. The show began Aug.

“It’s one of the fastest hours of my week,” said Kentera, who spent a combined 17 years coaching high school and college athletes while at the same time hosting radio talk shows. “In our market in previous years, I recall we’ve had stations airing play-by-play high school football games and other shows that focused mostly on scores. But, this show is highlighting games ahead of time. And, it’s a lot of fun. We mention as many names as possible and give some shout-outs to the guys at the small-sized schools around the county.”

Kentera’s radio co-host sidekick is Braden Surprenant, an assistant football coach at Cathedral Catholic High School and producer at Entercom San Diego.

Over the years, Kentera has worked at several radio stations, including a year stretch from to at XPRS AM, The Mighty In October , Kentera decided he needed a break from radio to focus on serving as general manager of the San Diego Sockers, which he did for six years ( to ).

Then, starting this current San Diego Padres baseball season, Kentera returned to the airwaves as a host of pre-game and post-game shows on The Fan, an all-sports FM station and the English-speaking flagship home of the Padres (Kentera, 60, attended his first Padres game in when the team was a member of the Pacific Coast League).

“I’ve been blessed with a lot of great opportunities in radio and this new prep football preview show is just another extra blessing,” said Kentera. “High school sports is something everybody can relate to it, it helps bring the community together.”

SAFE Seeking Nominations for Mike McCarthy Spirit Award

The San Diego Advertising Fund for Emergencies is seeking nominations for its third annual Mike McCarthy Spirit Award. Nominations for the award can be submitted at The award is for someone who works in San Diego’s marketing and advertising industry who has given their time and energy in the spirit of philanthropy, mentoring, industry and civic involvement.

McCarthy worked in television sales in San Diego and Los Angeles. He worked at KFMB-TV for nine years and at KNSD-TV for 15 years before being named VP of sales with KNBC-TV Channel 4 in Los Angeles in In October , he suffered a heart attack at his Burbank office. He was

Sheila Fox of Fox Marketing Network was the recipient for the inaugural Mike McCarthy Spirit Award. In , founding SAFE board member Sharon Massey, executive VP of BrandSavants, was the award winner. SAFE is a volunteer, non-profit organization providing confidential financial assistance to local advertising and marketing professionals and their families facing a life crisis emergency.

American Marketing Association Offering Scholarship

San Diego’s American Marketing Association chapter is looking for applications from San Diego-area college students for its $1, scholarship, which is named after Parker Pike, founder of the AMA’s annual Cause Marketing Conference, which began 20 years ago.

Deadline for Parker Pike scholarship applications is 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. The winner will be recognized at the AMA’s Cause Marketing Conference to be held Friday, Oct. 12, at the Town & Country Resort Hotel and Convention Center in Mission Valley.

Applicants must demonstrate how they have helped a local, regional or national nonprofit organization. The act of service should be related to the Cause Marketing Conference them of “Power in Purpose: Advancing the New World of Commerce and Cause.” The goal of the scholarship is to provide an incentive for a college student to embrace and apply their acquired skills to the nonprofit sector, according to Mary Beth McCabe, scholarship committee chair. The application is available online.

“This scholarship calls attention to the power of community marketing partnership that can help nonprofits achieve their social mission and develop sustainable relationships that can support the bottom line,” said McCabe, director of the marketing program at National University.

Pike started the Cause Conference in as president of Catalyst Marketing. Today, he is a partner with San Diego Social Venture Partners and marketing instructor at UCSD. He also serves on the board of the San Diego Nonprofit Association.

Direct Marketers Learn About Online Training

SD Direct will host “Change the Face of Your Business with Online Training” from a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 18, at UCSD Extension, Room , Greenwich Drive. The speaker will be Gina Onativia, co-founder and managing director, Course Creation Boutique of San Diego. Discussion topics will include how to take advantage of the online learning market and design the framework for your own online program. Cost to attend is $20 for members, $40 for guests and $12 for students. To RSVP, visit Onativia has previously worked as director communications and content marketing at Vistage International, creative manager at Anthony Robbins Companies and weekend section editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper.

Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.