Our people: Voice of the Wildcats
Jul. 22—Nick Brady broadcast Clovis High School Wildcat sports for six decades, radio broadcasting and television, back when Clovis had its own television station. These days the Clovis native sells real estate for Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, something he's been doing for seven years. Thursday, The News caught up with Brady via phone, while he was in his home office, to talk about his life.
Q: Are you Clovis born and raised?
A: My dad was born and raised in Clovis as was I. My grandfather homesteaded in northern Curry County near Grady, but the Great Depression hit so he, like most everybody out in the country, moved to town for the jobs. He was a carpenter. I was born at the old hospital (on Thornton Street) before they added that west wing.
Q: Clovis High School class of...? And what's the difference between your high school class and those that followed?
A: Class of 1967. We had a saying, "Hail to the stars, hail to the heavens. Hail to the Class of '67. The difference between then and today is education is tougher for the teachers, tougher on the students, it's just totally changed. When I grew up there was one superintendent and one assistant superintendent and a few employees in the administration. When they took discipline out of the schools, like paddling, and when the state legislature took control of the education out of local control that's when things changed. I saw it as a sportscaster, you see how things change.
Q: Did you, the sports broadcaster, engage in high school or college sports?
A: I played some football and basketball in junior high. I was on the tennis team in high school.
Q: Did you go to college? If so where and what was your major?
A: I went to Eastern New Mexico University. My degree is a bachelor's in business administration with an emphasis in accounting. But then I discovered radio with (local station) KTQM when I worked for Norman Petty.
Q: How did you become a sports broadcaster?
A: I was in college at ENMU so I got this job with KTQM when the studio was downtown. I was hired as a radio advertising salesman by Manager Bob Parks and my territory was Portales. You could barely pick the station up in Portales back then and here I am trying to sell something the Portales businesspeople couldn't really hear. I had been there a bit and I talked Parks into letting me do sports. My first game was an away baseball game, Clovis against Amarillo Tascosa. That would've been 1968.
Q: Tell us about your television sports broadcaster days in Clovis.
A: I think it was 1982. 'Mac' McAlister owned a local radio station and was president of the television station company. He bought a station for channel 12 here and his son Bill McAlister ran it.
We would tape all local programming; news, sports, commercials and such, and take them down to the transmitter down by Arch in Roosevelt County. The station repeated other programming from the Lubbock station.
I was general manager and sportscaster.
The Clovis station was called KMCC, "K-Mack" television station. We were a satellite station of a Lubbock TV station. At one time we had, like, 23 employees.
Everyone thought it was live. But Bill McAlister died, I think it was 1984, the station was in his estate and the estate ended up selling the station to Stanley Marsh III of Amarillo. He closed down the Clovis operation. All of us were out of work.
Q: Tell us about your family.
A: My oldest daughter is Leigh Morris, she's been working in the Clovis school system for many years — 20, 21 years. My son-in-law has been a principal at Marshall for many years and will continue as principal of the Sixth Grade Academy at Marshall. My daughter Nicki Graham is married to Joshua Graham who is in the Air Force stationed in England. I met my wife Patty when I was at ENMU and she was a senior at Texico High School. We met one night when we were 'draggin' Main,' I was driving a 1964 Chevrolet with a friend of mine and she was in her mother's car by herself. We were at the same stoplight with our windows down and I said, 'You wanna drag?" and Patty said, "Yeah if you've got a chain long enough. We just went from there. I remember Keith Ingram (TV station news anchor) and I dribbled basketballs from Clovis to Portales to promote a game in Portales. Patty followed along in her car. It took us just over four hours. We're still married, 52 years."
Q: Your sister is on the school board?
A: "My sister Sharon Epps, I call her 'Shah-RON-ski,' was principal at Highland Elementary for about 20 years. In 2021 she was elected to the school board."
Q: What do you do these days?
A: I'm a real estate broker with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services.
Q: What is your philosophy of selling?
A: Selling is basically developing relationships with people. You show people homes and if they like you, you'll do business. You have to see the people.
Q: If someone is interested in going into sales of any kind what would your bit of advice be?
A: You have to be like a politician. If you were running for governor what would you do? You would go out, see people, give them your business card. It doesn't matter what you're selling you have to see the people and ask them to buy.
Sales is public relations; getting out, getting to know people. Selling is a win/break even proposition. If you go out and ask them to buy and they don't it's a break even proposition. If you go see the people and they buy then it's a win.
Q: Do you have a favorite saying?
A: I have two of them that come to mind: The first one is "Good grief, Charlie Brown." The other one is "Well, if the Good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise we'll see you tomorrow."
