As someone who writes about people, I should revel in telling you about the person I know best - me. I'll try limiting this to the highlights, though, so you can zip over to the rest of this site. (Or click here for my resume.)
Growing up in Houston, I loved playing sports and reading about them. Baseball was my favorite, and I dreamed of playing for the Astros. While I was good enough to once pull off an unassisted triple play, that was in about fifth grade. By high school, I knew my limitations and set my sights on a more realistic sports career: writing about it.
I got on the path early (high school paper, college paper, campus correspondent and summer intern for The Houston Post), then got another boost by joining The Associated Press on a summer stint before my senior year of college. I was invited back for two weeks over winter break. I ended up sticking around with the AP for 20 years.
I proved myself as a newsman during the 1993 Branch Davidian saga, from befriending David Koresh's mom to providing the first account of what happened inside the cult's home the day of to the fatal fire that ended their 51-day standoff with federal authorities. Between stints in Waco, I coaxed a jailhouse mea culpa from a convicted skinhead who hadn't testified at his own trial; the story earned the rare feat of a front-page byline in both The Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram. I also served as interim state news editor for four months in 1998, a span that included the dragging death of a black man, James Byrd, in the mostly white town of Jasper.
Sports remained my focus, though, and my first big break was covering the World Cup in Dallas in 1994. A few months later, at age 23, I became the youngest person to date to receive the "AP Sports Writer" byline. The next spring, I flew to Buenos Aires to cover the Pan Am Games, launching a collection of datelines from every continent but Africa and Antarctica.
I went on to cover seven Olympics (four summer, three winter), four NBA finals, three World Series, two Super Bowls, two Stanley Cup finals, two men's Final Fours, a BCS Championship and more. I treated each big event as if it would be my last, so I savored them all. I even kept a file called "How Lucky I've Been," a nod to my career exceeded even my wildest expectations.
Along the way, I wrote a few books. Best of all, I met the love of my life and started a wonderful family.
Fast forward to 2011.
Worried about the long-term outlook for daily journalism, and tired of a lifestyle heavy on working nights, weekends and holidays, it was time for a change. But what do you do after doing the only thing you've ever wanted to do?
I hit the jackpot again by landing a great job telling stories for the national headquarters of the American Heart Association.
The new lifestyle triggered an urge to shed my sportswriter-esque health habits. I lost 50 pounds and became a devoted runner. I even ran my first half-marathon ... just six weeks after running my first mile.
Now you know more than enough. I hope you enjoy what you find on this site as much as I enjoyed creating it all.
Growing up in Houston, I loved playing sports and reading about them. Baseball was my favorite, and I dreamed of playing for the Astros. While I was good enough to once pull off an unassisted triple play, that was in about fifth grade. By high school, I knew my limitations and set my sights on a more realistic sports career: writing about it.
I got on the path early (high school paper, college paper, campus correspondent and summer intern for The Houston Post), then got another boost by joining The Associated Press on a summer stint before my senior year of college. I was invited back for two weeks over winter break. I ended up sticking around with the AP for 20 years.
I proved myself as a newsman during the 1993 Branch Davidian saga, from befriending David Koresh's mom to providing the first account of what happened inside the cult's home the day of to the fatal fire that ended their 51-day standoff with federal authorities. Between stints in Waco, I coaxed a jailhouse mea culpa from a convicted skinhead who hadn't testified at his own trial; the story earned the rare feat of a front-page byline in both The Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram. I also served as interim state news editor for four months in 1998, a span that included the dragging death of a black man, James Byrd, in the mostly white town of Jasper.
Sports remained my focus, though, and my first big break was covering the World Cup in Dallas in 1994. A few months later, at age 23, I became the youngest person to date to receive the "AP Sports Writer" byline. The next spring, I flew to Buenos Aires to cover the Pan Am Games, launching a collection of datelines from every continent but Africa and Antarctica.
I went on to cover seven Olympics (four summer, three winter), four NBA finals, three World Series, two Super Bowls, two Stanley Cup finals, two men's Final Fours, a BCS Championship and more. I treated each big event as if it would be my last, so I savored them all. I even kept a file called "How Lucky I've Been," a nod to my career exceeded even my wildest expectations.
Along the way, I wrote a few books. Best of all, I met the love of my life and started a wonderful family.
Fast forward to 2011.
Worried about the long-term outlook for daily journalism, and tired of a lifestyle heavy on working nights, weekends and holidays, it was time for a change. But what do you do after doing the only thing you've ever wanted to do?
I hit the jackpot again by landing a great job telling stories for the national headquarters of the American Heart Association.
The new lifestyle triggered an urge to shed my sportswriter-esque health habits. I lost 50 pounds and became a devoted runner. I even ran my first half-marathon ... just six weeks after running my first mile.
Now you know more than enough. I hope you enjoy what you find on this site as much as I enjoyed creating it all.
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www.JaimeAron.com
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