About Big B

    First of all . . .in case anyone is wondering “who the heck is Big B in Big B Files?”, the answer is that it is me.   Big B is the nickname that was given to me by Ms. Tracy Durdel in the early 1990s that eventually stuck ans as the saying goes, “the rest is history”.
     I was born at 7:00 a.m. on June 22, 1975 as a fraternal twin at St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital in Effingham, IL. My twin sister Melissa was born four minutes later at 7:04 a.m., also at St. Anthony’s.
    I grew up in rural Neoga, IL with two sisters and two brothers (all younger) each. We all attended school in Neoga and graduated from Neoga Jr.-Sr. High School in Neoga, IL in June 1994.
    While I attended School in Neoga, I was a member of several clubs at one time or another. Those clubs were S.A.D.D. (Students Against Driving Drunk), The Messenger (school newspaper), Prevention Club, Scholastic Bowl, Tomahawk (yearbook), and A.F.S..
    I was awarded the Youth of the Year Award from St. Mary of the Assumpion Catholic Church in Neoga, IL in June of 1994.
    After high school, I attended Lake Land College in Mattoon, IL, pursuing an Associate’s Degree in Radio-TV Broadcasting. While at Lake Land College, I was a member of the WLKL Radio Club and a Disc Jockey at WLKL-FM in Mattoon, IL. I Graduated from Lake Land in May 1997 with an Associate’s Degree of Applied Science in Radio-TV Broadcasting.
    I then transferred to Eastern Illinois University (EIU) in Charleston, IL to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication in the fall of 1997. While at EIU, I concentrated on my studies and worked at WEIU-TV at the same time. While I was at WEIU-TV, I worked all the student positions except for the positions of Producer, Technical Director, Show Director, and Anchor. I Graduated from EIU in December 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Speech Communication with a Radio-TV / Film Concentration.
    I was employed as a Master Control Operator at WICD-TV NewsChannel 15 in Champaign, IL. I worked there from June 2001 until October 2001. I also volunteered for Believers Broadcasting Corporation at WEIL-LP in Effingham, IL (which they purchased in 2003). In fact, those of you within a 30-mile Radius (Approximate) of Sigel, IL may have seen a little bit of my work at the top or bottom of the hour on when the station was on Channel 54 (Over the Air).
    Now, I am living in Chesterfield, MO after living in Florissant, MO for therr wonderful years and am looking for another job in the Broadcasting, Information Technology, or Insurance Fields and in other areas while at the same time maintaining three websites (This website, Neoga Pole People Online [Neoga, IL], and the Big B Online) and with plans to do something along the lines of video work, web design, or computers (from my home in Florissant, MO) and eventually Public Ministry in the Roman Catholic Church.