FROM THE PRESS BOX: VALLEY SPORTS REPORT CELEBRATES 15TH ANNIVERSARY (2024-08-10)

15 years.

Hard to believe, but today marks the 15th anniversary of Valley Sports Report, and I would have never envisioned the site being what it is today, or that there would be four sister sites.

I've been blessed to have covered four school districts whose teams and individual athletes have won countless league and district / section titles, as well as a dozen team state titles, and a host of individual state gold medals.

More importantly, I’ve been blessed with a tremendous support system at home, beginning with my wife Nikki Birney, who is the backbone behind The Sports Reports — the launch of the four sites after Valley Sports Report would not have been possible without her.

She is intelligent, quick-witted, and beautiful. She is a great mother, a great teacher, a great wife, and, more importantly, a great person.

She gets annoyed that I keep repeating this each year, but Nikki is not only my muse, my harshest critic, and biggest fan, but she is my sounding board, my voice of reason, and the smartest person I know.

And then there are the kids.  Andrew and his wife Jessica, whose daughter Natalie celebrates her eighth birthday later this week, son Nathan will be 6 in December, and son Nolan will turn 3 in November. ... Alex and his wife Rebecca ... Emily, a graphic design specialist at Rainbow Lettering ... James, a recent graduate of St. Bonaventure ... Cassie, a senior at St. Bonaventure, and Patrick, a sophomore at St. Bonaventure. They are the reason I do what I do, and they all have great things ahead of them.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my parents — Elizabeth and the late Jim Birney, who played a crucial part in helping me get started with this venture in 2009.

My father passed away seven years ago, and not a day goes by that I don't think about him and the life lessons I learned through his actions, while my mother's zest for life at 89 years of age continues to be a source of inspiration.

As I said, I’ve been blessed to cover highly successful teams and individuals. The number of Division I athletes the four "little Valley schools" have produced in recent years is truly mind-blowing.

All this has made my job quite a bit easier, and resulted in rabid fan bases in the four Valley school districts, which has led to consistent, and constantly-expanding viewership numbers for the site.

So to the student-athletes, the coaches, the athletic directors, and readers I’d like to say "thank you."

I also have four incredibly talented people running the other four sites in Brian Fees (Southern Tier Sports Report), Chris Manning (Northern Tier Sports Report), Tim Taylor (Tioga County Sports Report), and Lance Larcom (Northern Tier West Sports Report), and I could not be more thankful for the time and effort they put into their Web sites to make them as successful as they are.

I’ve also been blessed with a tremendously loyal advertising base. Even during the Covid shutdown, VSR lost just one advertiser.

I’d like to thank the Valley Bowling Center and John H. Murray & Sons — both with us since Day 1, as well as longtime supporters Williams Auto Group, Dandy Mini Marts, First Citizens Community Bank, Gannon Associates, Sutryk & Sons, Tioga State Bank, Croft Lumber, Austin Excavation, Guthrie Community Credit Union, Beeman’s Restaurant & Lounge, The Club at Shepard Hills, and Visions Federal Credit Union.

Over the years, we've added loyal advertisers like Owen Insurance Agency, Coaches Pizza, Waverly Wine & Liquor, Kinsley Chiropractic, and Camco Manufacturing.

In the last few years, we've added Guthrie Sports Medicine, Decatur Automotive, Allstate (Aaron Lounsbury), Hal Fish Heating and Air Conditioning, Sam's Bar & Grill, 2 Rivers Insurance, At Your Door Dog Grooming, Naglee Moving & Storage, Simmons-Rockwell, Cayuga Health, Shores Sisters, Bodine Motors, I-R FCU, LaneEdge (Jim Lister, vehicle broker), Apothecary of Mary, and Bishop Brothers Construction.

One thing I can't stress enough is the importance of doing business locally. We are very fortunate to have the options we have in the Valley, and spending your money in the Valley is the best way to ensure we maintain our quality of life.

I also need to thank a small group of photographers whose work with the camera bring more quality photos to the pages of Valley Sports Report than I could have ever managed by myself. My thanks goes out to Matt Patton, Brandon Claypool, Christina Rossi, Miranda Szymanski, Liza Henderson, Mike Lubertowicz, Chela Bubniak, Jessica Smolinsky, and Christina Kreykenbohm.

For me, this site is mainly about the student-athletes and the fans, the majority of whom view the site multiple times per day, so I offer a huge "thank you" to both.

The 16th year of high school sports coverage for VSR begins Monday, and I’m looking forward to another historic year.

I continued to be amazed by the support this site continues to receive. I look forward to the future, and I hope to see a lot of familiar faces on the sidelines, and in the stands this fall, winter, and spring.

Print Friendly Version